Chapter 8

'Collateral Damage'

Ethan woke up smiling. It might have come at a cost but he had made it clear to the board that he would not be going into the office for the day. He could spend the whole doing anything he felt like. Hell, could spend the whole splendid day to stay in bed. Flipping onto his side he turned to look at the lovely woman beside him. Gently he pushed her dark hair from her face and pulled the blanket up to cover her bared shoulder, tucking the corner under her chin. She looked blissful as she slept. He knew he should be catching up on his own sleep but he was glad to have this moment to gaze at her looking so peaceful, especially after the night before.

Just leaving the office was a nightmare. With guard walking before them with the umbrella open to block the cameras they managed to get into the limo unscathed. Once they arrived at the hotel Abe had to repeat the procedure all over again. Glancing at the clock Ethan noted that the guard would change in half an hour and he'd have to introduce Simone to another one of her bodyguards. He knew she was under the impression they were hired to protect him but he didn't want to clarify things last night. They had enough to deal with last night.

Turning over and drawing Simone to his chest he spooned her to his body. He thought briefly about how perfect it seemed to wake with her in his bed, in his arms. He had considered asking her to move in with him but he didn't want to rush her. He had told her how he felt about her. The next step had to be hers. For mornings such as this he was willing to wait.

Sighing he closed his eyes, rested his cheek upon her hair and tried to fall back asleep but she was so warm and soft in his arms that Ethan couldn't resist the draw of her silky skin. It was as if hands had minds of their own. They sought to explore the length of her arms, the gentle curve of her waist, the long stretch of her thighs, unsatisfied until they reached between her legs and found her secret warmth. He felt her stir and afraid of waking her he carefully began to withdraw his hand when he felt her hips lightly rock to the motion. Even in her sleep Simone responded to his touches, her body moving to the sensation without any thought.

Half-asleep Simone was caught off guard by her sudden rush of desire. Her flesh was flush and sensitive but she still couldn't break from the spell of his touch. She placed her hand over his and pressed his fingertips to her, urging him closer as she leaned against the wall of his chest. She reached back and gently stroked the backs of his thighs until the want of him drove her to try to pull him even closer. She took Ethan's hand from her and brought it to her bare breast. Reaching down she took him in her hand and gently stroked him before guiding him to the mouth of her sex.

Gently, Ethan gradually entered her, careful of her over tender flesh. He made love to her slowly, languorously; tenderly rocking her until her soft whimpers grew to the sound of harsh breathing. He felt her back arch as her supple flesh rhythmically contracted around him. Taking each breast in his hands he cupped them lightly as he caressed her with his fingertips. Overwhelmed, Simone gasped; arching her back further she turned her head toward him just as he leaned forward to for her kiss. With his lips barely brushing hers he whispered the words he hoped she would echo, "I love you."

Everything shifted as she quickened the pace and pressed harder against his body. At last she cried out his name and he called out to her in return just as he spilled himself deep within her depths. Still holding her nestled to his chest, his flesh encased in her body he listened to the soft rhythm of her breathing as he slipped back to asleep again.

Reaching for Simone Ethan woke with a start. Panicked he sat up. The bed was cold and Simone was missing. It took a moment for Ethan's eyes to adjust but then he saw her sitting at the desk and staring into the flat screen TV he kept there. Her eyes were wide, cast with the light of the screen her face seem eerily pale. Ethan stepped out of bed and taking the blanket with him he went to wrap Simone with it.

Draping the blanket over Simone's shoulders as he bent to kiss the top of her head Ethan looked into the screen and froze. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Oh Bloody Hell! He heard. He knew. But he hadn't seen it. He anticipated it to be bad but this was so much worse than he imagined. Ethan stood in shocked silence watching the set. When the show cut to commercial Ethan snapped out of his daze and took the remote from her hand and let the screen go black. "Simone," speaking softly and trying to sound calm, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light caress, "Why don't you get into the shower? I'll call room service and then I'll join you."

Wordlessly Simone stood to leave but Ethan took her hand and drew her too him. Reaching under the blanket his hands traveled the length of her back and Ethan couldn't help but notice how tiny she was. He wanted to enfold her to his chest and wrap himself around her and protect her. Frustrated, he bitterly considered that it was being with him that had exposed Simone to this. He lightly brushed her forehead with his lips and felt her tremble in his arms; giving her a light squeeze he released her and turned her toward the bath.

"Forget the shower Simone. Run the tub. I have to check in with the office. It won't take long. I'll be in after I've placed an order for food." Grateful that he had a very large Roman tub installed into his suite Ethan knew he had bought some time. Simone paused at the door and looked at Ethan with a brief quizzical glance before she stepped out of the room. He waited until after she had closed the door behind her before he picked up the receiver.

Taking a moment to collect his thoughts Ethan dialed, "Stern! This is Ethan Cambias. I know what time it is! Angry? No! I'm bloody pissed!" Ethan growled. His voice ratcheting up in pitch as he continued, "See here jackass. It was bad enough that they managed to get a clear view of my bare backside. I knew that they would rake me over the coals. I expected them to come after me."

Ethan's voice grew softer and more menacing, "But damn it, they're running a piece about Simone! They are talking to her ex-boyfriends. They are delving into her past. Damn it to hell! This was bloody malicious Stern!" Ethan's voice was at a strangled pitch as he tried to keep from shouting by talking through clenched teeth. "What the fcking hell is this? When I left the office you assured me that you would personally take care of this."

Ethan paced frantically as he listened to Brad, "Are you FREAKING kidding me? You thought I'd prefer it if you threw her in front of me like a sacrificial lamb?" Ethan stopped and took a breath before growling, "I don't care what it takes. You will cauterize this you bloody moron." Savagely running his fingers through his hair Ethan continued, "Whom the hell have you been working with? Because I know you didn't cause all this damage by yourself. I want names now or I swear, by God, I don't care how much it costs I will crush you until you are bleeding out of every fcking orifice…I want the name NOW Stern…tell me who the hell are you working with."

Slamming the receiver down Ethan sat on his desk and pressed his fingers to his temples and made another call, "Harold, good man. I knew you'd be up. Thanks for covering for me today. You saw it? Good, good. That makes this easier for me. I need you to make it clear to everyone in the office, to anyone working for Cambias Industries anywhere, that I will not tolerate any employee discussing Simone with the media. Is that understood? Whatever you have to do Harold…And Harold, keep an eye on Stern. He knows that I know that this was intentional. We're going to have to make a move to eliminate him from the board. Yes. I think it will have to happen quickly. Start with Richards, Owens, Holloway, and Chen, if we get Chen then Grabowski will also vote with us. Thanks Harold. I'll check in later."

"I'm such a freaking ass…" Ethan closed his eyes and pounded his fist onto his desk as he spoke aloud to himself, "bloody hell… I should have known…she tried to tell me…why wasn't I fcking listening?"

Ethan took a deep breath and looked through his PDA before picking up the receiver to make his next call. "It's Ethan. I know. I'm sorry to call at this hour. I…" Ethan paused before he could find his voice again, "Look. I need your help. No. This isn't about me. It's about Simone. I'm afraid everything changed overnight. This is not just a bad joke about me any longer. The media has set their sights on Simone…Yes. She's seen it. They're portraying her as a gold digging whore. Stern at CI has been working with someone in the media. The woman's name is Lauren Clark. She went to NYU with Simone. There's some bad blood there but I think this is bigger than an old grudge. There's more to this. There's obviously something else, someone else at play here. I'm asking for a favor. I need you to go after her. Find out what you can. I could follow up behind her plugging up the holes but I want to end this before it gets worse and I'm so fcking angry I don't trust myself to do it. I could wring that bitch's neck with my bare hands." Ethan paused to listen, "Why? Because I trust that you'll do what ever needs to be done. And Zach… thank you."

Ethan hung up the phone and called room service to order nearly everything off the menu he could think of. He listened for the water to stop and slowly walked to the bath trying to think of what he could possibly say to make her feel better. Nothing. He had nothing.

Chapter 9 'Going Home.'

Simone and Ethan take some time and decompress.