Free Girl on a Diamond Pedestal by Maisey Yates

Noelle’s stomach tighten.
    “It’s all right, you don’t know me either.”
    “It’s probably why we get on so well.”
    She laughed. “Is this your definition of getting on well?”
    “We’re both still standing.” Ethan cocked his head to the side, his expression intense. She could feel his gaze, almost like a physical touch as he looked at her body. Her breasts. She was certain he was looking there because she could feel it. “For now.” The air in the room seemed to thicken, a strange electric feeling arching between them as he took a step towards her. Only one step. No more. And she had the feeling that if there was going to be anything more, she would have to make the next move.
    Her feet seemed to be rooted to the spot.
    “I guess we’ll get to know each other in Australia,” she said. “Although I think it’s kind of a raw deal, you hiring me and then making me ask my boss for vacation time.”
    “I’ll keep you busy,” he said, his voice rough. “And yeah, we may get to know each other a little better.”
    “We won’t actually be staying with my grandparents.” Ethan turned to look at her as he navigated the busyBrisbane expressway and took an exit that led off into one of the suburbs.
    She could swear that Ethan’s accent had thickened the moment they’d landed in his home country. And she liked it. A little bit more than she should. But it was fascinating, being alone with a man like this. It was something she’d never really experienced before. Well, discounting her piano instructor.
    “Where will we be staying?”
    “One of my hotels. On the beach. I think you’ll like it.”
    “How long have you owned it?”
    “It’s been there for years, but I bought it and had some renovation done on it about six years back.”
    “I’ve been here before,” she said, looking out the window at the passing scenery. “I didn’t get to see anything. Just the roadway from the airport to the hotel, to the theater, then back to the airport. We went to Sydney after. I didn’t get to see much of it either.”
    “You never went sightseeing when you traveled?”
    She bit her lip. “When we were in Europe we did a bit of it, as part of my schooling. I had a good tutor. He made sure I finished my studies early. I graduated at fifteen, so I was able to practice my music more.”
    “Have you ever concentrated on anything but your music?”
    “I’ve just been concentrating on breathing this past year,” she said, watching the deep green eucalyptus trees blur together into a continuous smear of color. “And before that, just breathing and playing. I want to do more than that now.”
    “Data entry?”
    She shot him her deadliest glare, which, she knew, wasn’t very deadly. She’d been told she looked like a Kewpie doll more than once. Not very threatening.“Something more than that maybe even. But it’s a good start.”
    The car pulled up to a massive, wrought-iron gate and Ethan leaned out the car window and punched in a series of numbers. “Gated community,” he said. “Nothing but the best, you know.”
    “I think it’s nice.” The car wound up a long, winding hill and she knew that Ethan’s grandparents’ house was certain to have billion-dollar views.
    “It’s a bit pretentious, actually, but don’t tell my grandmother I said that.”
    “I wouldn’t.”
    He turned to her, sliding his hand across the expanse of seat between them. He laced his fingers through hers, his thumb drifting over the back of her hand. She felt goosebumps raise up on her arms. He hadn’t touched her for a long time. Only a few days, actually, and yet … it felt like a really long time.
    “I’m going to introduce you to my grandparents and get the family ring from my grandfather after dinner, let him know my intentions and all that.”
    Her heart slammed against her breast. She nodded, trying to pretend she was unaffected.
    “And then I’ll give it to you after we leave. We’ll have to come up with