Chapter 5 Dangerous Liaison

Olivia looked up, meeting Ethan Blackwood's eyes in the mirror. "This is the ladies' room."

"And you're the lady my brother is parading around like his newest toy." Ethan approached slowly. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," she said automatically.

"No, you're not." Ethan leaned against the counter beside her, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. "I saw what happened out there. Isadora Graves has been Sebastian's on-again, off-again plaything for years. She hates being replaced."

"I haven't replaced anyone," Olivia said bitterly. "I'm just another possession."

"Is that what he's convinced you?" Ethan's voice softened. "That you're nothing but a signature on paper?"

"Isn't that all I am?" Olivia laughed, hollow. "A business deal that breathes."

Ethan's hand came up to brush a strand of hair from her face, the gentle touch so unlike Sebastian's possessive grip that she nearly gasped. "You're more than what he's reduced you to."

"Don't," she whispered, but didn't move away when his fingers trailed along her jawline.

"I called you," he said quietly. "Every day this week. Don't ask how I got your number."

Heat bloomed in her chest. "My phone's cut off... Only calls inside his fancy penthouse."

"He controls everything else," Ethan murmured, his thumb tracing her lower lip. "Don't let him control this too."

The door to the bathroom swung open, then closed again as whoever had started to enter saw them and retreated. The sound snapped Olivia back to reality. She stepped back, her heart pounding.

"I should go back," she said shakily. "Before he notices I'm gone."

Ethan's eyes darkened. "And if I asked you to leave with me instead? Right now?"

For one wild moment, she wanted to say yes-to escape with this man who looked at her like salvation. Then reality crashed back.

"He'd destroy my father," she said quietly. "And probably you too."

"I can handle Sebastian," Ethan said, his voice hardening. "I've been handling him our entire lives."

"But I can't handle what he'd do to my father. We made a deal."

"Deals can be broken," he said, stepping closer again, his hand finding the small of her back. "Especially ones made under duress."

The feel of his touch-gentler than Sebastian's but no less electric-sent heat spiraling through her. "I can't," she whispered, even as she leaned into him.

"Can't?" His lips hovered inches from hers. "Or won't?"

The door burst open. Sebastian filled the doorway, his expression murderous as he took in the scene before him.

"Get your hands off my wife," he said, his voice so quiet it was more terrifying than a shout.

Ethan didn't move. "Your wife was upset. I was making sure she was alright."

"How touching," Sebastian sneered. "Always the hero, aren't you, little brother?"

The tension between them crackled like electricity. Olivia stepped away from Ethan, her heart pounding fast.

"I was just coming back," she said, trying to defuse the situation. "Felt sick for a moment."

"Sick," Sebastian repeated, eyes locked on Ethan. "Was that before or after my brother followed you into the ladies' room?"

"Does it matter?" Ethan challenged. "You were too busy with Isadora to notice your wife's distress."

Something dangerous flashed in Sebastian's eyes. "My relationship with Isadora is business."

"Is that what you call it?" Ethan laughed coldly. "Strange. She used to call it something else entirely."

Sebastian moved lightning-fast, grabbing Olivia's arm and pulling her to his side. "We're leaving," he announced. "Now."

"Sebastian-" she began.

The slap came without warning, cracking across her cheek with enough force to snap her head sideways. Silence fell like a guillotine.

"I said now," Sebastian repeated, deadly quiet.

Ethan lunged forward, fists clenched, ready to strike.

But Sebastian was already dragging Olivia toward the door. "This isn't over," Ethan called after them.

"It was over the day you betrayed the family," Sebastian replied without looking back. "Stay away from my wife."