Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3) by Sharon Cummin Read Free Book Online Page A

enough for Ethan to hear.
“Are you always such a gentleman?”
    The
guy sat down next to her just a little closer than she was
comfortable with. Please don't let this backfire, she thought.
    “ My
name's Jeff? These are my friends Matt and Roy. This is Roy's new
friend Sally,” he said pointing to the girl she had chased away
from Ethan.
    She
was glad that Sally was to busy kissing on Roy's neck to notice her.
    “ My
name's Julie. It's very nice to meet you Jeff.”
    He
reached over and put his arm around her shoulder, and she felt her
body stiffen as a deep breath escaped her throat. What was she doing,
she thought? Maybe she had made the wrong decision. Jeff leaned in
toward her ear and moved his hand up her neck. Julie heard pounding
footsteps approach as Jeff's hand flew up off of her neck. Before she
could turn to look, there was a strong grip on her arm, and she was
pulled to her feet.
    “ Outside,
Now.”
    Julie
was startled by the demanding tone of Ethan's voice. She turned
around to face him. He stared at her with a look she had never seen
before. He stood tall, with his shoulders held high. His eyes were
the darkest green that she had ever seen them. She stood frozen in
place, unable to move her feet. Julie was so upset at Gavin's that
she hadn't even noticed what Ethan was wearing. He had on a tight
t-shirt with his muscles peeking out from under the sleeves and a
very nice looking pair of faded blue jeans. Her mouth dropped open
slightly as she took him in, attitude and all. There was heat oozing
from him. She could feel it cross the empty space between them. As
nervous as he made her, she could not help but notice how damn sexy
he looked at that moment. There was a dominating way about him. She
couldn't place the feeling it was giving her. Julie had never felt
heat like that, even when a man was touching her. It was like he was
letting the guys around them know that she was not to be messed with.
She had never felt so protected or turned on in her entire life.
    “ I
said outside,” he snapped, keeping his eyes locked on hers.
    She
felt warmth spread through her body at his words. Julie shivered and
turned away from him. Her feet finally began to move toward the door.
She felt as if some outside force was moving her. The door opened,
and she found herself standing outside with Ethan's hand on the small
of her back.
    “ Take
me home,” he demanded, as he opened her door for her and went
around to get in.
    She
could still feel the warmth on her back from where his hand had been.
    “ Okay,”
she said. “I need you to tell me where I'm going. I haven't
been there before.”
    “ Fine,
turn right out of the parking lot,” he snapped. “Don't
ever pull that shit on me again.”
    The
ride to his place was quiet. She hadn't expected him to react the way
he did. Of course, she thought he would walk over to the table and
talk to her, but she didn't expect him to go all alpha on her. She
had never seen him so stern and rough. Even at the wedding, when he
snapped at her about changing who she was for her date wasn't the
same. What had just happened was different. She wasn't even sure what
it was. There had been a time in her past she had been treated
aggressively. She made sure to stay away from that behavior, but what
Ethan had done was different. She felt safe, like he was protecting
her. What scared her even more was the way her body was reacting to
him.
    They
drove through a nice neighborhood with huge homes. She looked around
and imagined all of the happy families that lived in each home. When
Ethan told her to turn into a driveway, she looked over at him with
her eyes wide. She put the car in park and looked up at the house in
awe.
    “ This
is your house?” she asked.
    “ Where
did you think I lived?”
    He
looked over at her with his head tilted and a serious look on his
face. She looked down into her lap and spoke quietly.
    “ I'm
not sure. I thought you lived in an apartment. I have never heard