Free Ethan (Alluring Indulgence) by Nicole Edwards Page A

idea why he bothered
to say anything. He didn’t owe Blake any explanations.
    “Are
you dating him?” Blake asked, not seeming to have heard a word Ethan said.
    Ethan
leaned in closer to Blake, lowering his voice so only he could hear. “That’s
not any of your damn business.” Ethan knew he should’ve just denied it, but he
didn’t. He wasn’t dating anyone, hadn’t ever dated anyone, in fact. But
more accurately, there wasn’t anything between him and Beau.
    Blake
met his gaze, his green eyes glittering like emeralds. He was pissed, but Ethan
wasn’t sure why that was.
    “You
fucker,” Blake yelled at Beau over Ethan’s shoulder. “You should learn to keep
your fucking mouth shut. What happens between us is none of your goddamn
business.”
    Ethan
grabbed Blake’s arm, pulling him around the side of the truck and out of Beau’s
line of sight. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
    “I
know he told you. But he’s a fucking liar.”
    When
Ethan stared back at him, trying to catch up to the crazy that had obviously
infiltrated Blake’s brain, Blake stopped talking. Ethan spurred him on when he
said, “What exactly did he lie about?”
    “I
wasn’t really with that guy that night. But I knew he’d lie about it so you
wouldn’t want to see me anymore. He was just a friend. Nothing happened.”
    Ethan’s
heart did a strange misstep in his chest. He felt his face warm as the ever-present
anger that simmered on low inside of him roared to a full boil. The biting cold
wind had nothing on the fire that suffused his face as he stared back at Blake.
Of all the crap he had expected of Blake, being a cheater hadn’t been it. But
obviously, based on the story he was telling, that’s exactly what he was. And
Ethan had no room in his life for that shit.
    “You cheated on me?”
    Shit. Why did he ask that? It sounded like they’d actually been in a relationship.
They hadn’t. It was just casual sex. Friends with benefits. Ethan didn’t do
relationships. And he damn sure didn’t have a relationship with Blake.
    “I
didn’t. Beau’s lying,” Blake retorted defensively.
    “Well,
then, why don’t you explain your side of the story.” Crossing his arms over his
chest again, Ethan tried to contain his temper.
    Sure,
Ethan was now being manipulative, but he deserved the full story. Part of him
wanted to rip Beau a new one for keeping something like that from him, but if
he honestly thought about it, it wasn’t any of Beau’s business. Still wasn’t Beau’s business.
    “It
was one date. A long time ago. The guy wouldn’t leave me alone, so I met him at
a restaurant, but I was very clear up front that I wouldn’t sleep with him.”
    Narrowing
his eyes at Blake, because honestly, he didn’t believe a single word that came
out of his mouth, he waited for him to continue.
    Blake
looked down at the ground, then back up at Ethan. “I only slept with him once.”
    Ethan’s
throat closed, he couldn’t swallow.
    It
didn’t matter that what he and Blake had before wasn’t serious. Never had been.
However, during their time together, Ethan thought it went without saying that
they wouldn’t be with anyone else. Cheating was one thing Ethan didn’t
tolerate.
    Yanking
his ball cap off of his head, Ethan shoved his hands through his hair, he
turned his back on Blake, making sure not to look at Beau. How the hell had
this happened? And why did Beau have to be witness to this? Why the hell did
Beau have to be anywhere around him?
    He
felt like an idiot. He’d kept Blake around because he was convenient, but that
wasn’t something Ethan would’ve ever shared with Blake. He wasn’t that guy. He
didn’t get off on hurting people.
    Before
he could relay how he felt about the whole thing, Blake pushed past him, moving
at a fast clip toward Beau.
    “You
son of a bitch! Why couldn’t you just stay the fuck out of our business?”
    Beau
cocked an eyebrow, never moving a muscle and Ethan’s gaze was locked on