His To Keep

Chapter Five

Our last day in Dubai started with breakfast on the terrace. The city sprawled below us, already shimmering with heat even though it was barely nine in the morning.

Ethan had canceled his meetings. Said he wanted to spend the day with me before we flew back tomorrow. Just us.

“What do you want to do?” he asked, pouring me coffee.

“I don’t know. What is there?”

“Everything.” He smiled. “We could go to the desert. See the old city. Shop. Or we could stay here.”

The way he said it made heat pool low in my belly. “Here?”

“Here.” His eyes were dark, intense. “Just you and me.”

I knew what he was really asking. What had been building between us since that first night. Since every kiss, every touch, every moment we’d spent pretending this was just business.

“Okay,” I whispered. “Here.”

-----

We didn’t make it past the living room.

Ethan’s mouth was on mine before I could finish my coffee, hungry and desperate. I kissed him back just as fiercely, my hands tangling in his hair, pulling him closer.

“Are you sure?” he asked against my lips.

“Yes. God, yes.”

He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to his bedroom. The one I hadn’t been in yet.

He laid me on the bed like I was something precious. Then he stepped back, his eyes dark and hungry.

“Take it off,” he said. “Slowly.”

I sat up, keeping my eyes on his as I reached for the hem of my shirt. Let it fall. The shorts came next, until I was in nothing but the lace underwear from the shopping trip.

“f**k,” Ethan breathed. His hands went to his shirt, pulling it off. “Do you know what you do to me?”

“Show me.”

He moved fast, backing me against the floor-to-ceiling window. The glass was cool against my heated skin, and below us, the entire city spread out.

His hands cupped my breasts through the lace, and I gasped. “You drive me crazy,” he said, unclasping my bra. “Can’t think about anything but you.”

His mouth found my breast, tongue circling my n****e before he sucked hard enough to make me moan. His hand slid into my panties, finding me already wet.

“f**k, you’re soaked,” he groaned, pushing two fingers inside me.

My head fell back against the glass. “Ethan..”

“I know, baby. I know.”

His fingers worked me expertly, curving to hit that spot that made my knees weak. I was already close, wound up from days of wanting him.

“Not yet,” he said when I started to tremble. “When you come, I want to be inside you.”

He pulled his hand away, and I whimpered at the loss. But then he was stripping off his clothes, and goodness, he was gorgeous. All muscle and tan skin.

He grabbed a condom from the nightstand and rolled it on. Then he lifted me, my back against the window, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

“Look at me,” he commanded, positioning himself at my entrance. “Want to see your face.”

Our eyes locked as he pushed inside, slow and deep. We both groaned.

“f**k, you feel incredible,” he breathed.

“Move. Please.”

He did. Hard and deep, exactly what I needed. The window rattled with each thrust, and I didn’t care if the whole city could see us.

He carried me to the bed without pulling out, laid me down, and hitched my leg over his shoulder. The angle made him go deeper, hitting spots that made stars explode behind my eyes.

“Too much?” he asked.

“No. More. Don’t stop.”

His hand found my c**t, circling while he drove into me. The dual sensation was overwhelming.

“Come for me, Aria.”

Like my body was waiting for permission, I shattered. Pleasure rolled through me in waves, intense and all-consuming. I cried out his name, my body clenching around him.

“f**k, yes,” he groaned, his rhythm becoming erratic. A few more thrusts and he followed, my name on his lips.

Afterward, we lay tangled together, both breathing hard. The city glittered below us, oblivious.

“That was—” I started.

“Yeah.” He kissed my shoulder. “It was.”

I should’ve felt satisfied. Happy. But something felt different now. Like we’d crossed a line we couldn’t uncross.

“I need to shower,” I said, suddenly needing space to think.

“Want company?”

“I need a minute. Is that okay?”

Something flickered across his face, but he nodded. “Of course.”

I grabbed my robe and headed to my bathroom, closing the door behind me. Leaned against it and tried to catch my breath.

What had I just done?

My phone buzzed on the counter. I’d left it in here yesterday. The screen showed multiple notifications. Texts from Maya. Missed calls.

I unlocked it, frowning.

ARIA. Call me. NOW.

“ Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.

“Why didn’t you tell me???

My stomach dropped. I opened the next text. A link.

The headline made my blood run cold.

**“Billionaire Playboy Ethan Blackwood’s Latest Conquest: From Strip Club to Private Jet”**

No. No no no.

I clicked the link with shaking hands.

The article had photos. Me at Eclipse in my first outfit. Me getting into Ethan’s car outside my apartment. Me at the airport, us in Dubai, someone had photographed us at the restaurant, at the Burj Al Arab.

The text was brutal.

*“Sources confirm that Blackwood’s mystery woman is Aria Carter, 21, a dancer at exclusive gentlemen’s club Eclipse. The billionaire reportedly offered her a private arrangement after seeing her perform. How long before he trades her in for a newer model? Our sources say his last ‘arrangement’ with socialite Victoria Chen ended just three weeks ago when he got bored.”*

There were comments. Hundreds of them.

*“Gold digger.”*

*“She’s pretty but he’ll dump her in a month.”*

*“Another one bites the dust.”*

And then I saw it. A comment from a verified account.

**Victoria Chen:** *“Good luck, honey. You’re going to need it. He did the same thing with me. Made me feel special. Made promises. Then disappeared when something shinier came along. Hope you got paid upfront.”*

The phone slipped from my hands, clattering on the marble floor.

This couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be happening.

A knock on the door. “Aria? You okay?”

I couldn’t answer. Couldn’t breathe.

The door opened, and Ethan walked in, concern on his face. “What’s wrong?”

I just pointed at my phone on the floor.

He picked it up, read the screen, and his expression went dark. “Fuck.”

“Is it true?” My voice came out broken. “Victoria. Was she before me?”

“Aria…”

“Answer the question, Ethan. Was she part of an arrangement like mine? Did you pay her too?”

His silence was answer enough.

“How many?” I asked, my voice rising. “How many women before me? How many ‘arrangements’?”

“It’s not what you think…”

“Then what is it?” I grabbed the phone from him, holding up Victoria’s comment. “She says you made her feel special. Made promises. Is that what you’re doing with me? Is this just your pattern?”

“No. You’re different—”

“That’s what you told her too, isn’t it?” Tears burned my eyes. “God, I’m so stupid. I actually thought… I thought maybe this was real.”

“It is real.” He reached for me, but I stepped back. “Aria, please. Let me explain.”

“Explain what? That I’m just another girl you bought? That when you get bored with me in a few weeks, you’ll move on to the next one?”

“That’s not—”

“How did they get these photos, Ethan?” I demanded. “How does the press know about our arrangement? About the club?”

His jaw tightened. “I don’t know.”

“Bullshit. Someone talked. Someone from your world who knew exactly where to look.”

“I’ll find out who”

“It doesn’t matter.” I grabbed my robe tighter around me, suddenly feeling exposed. “Everyone knows now. Everyone knows I’m a stripper who sold herself to a billionaire. My school knows. My friends know. Granny is going to see this.”

The thought of Granny reading that article made me feel sick.

“I’ll fix this,” Ethan said. “I’ll have my lawyers—”

“You can’t fix this!” My voice cracked. “You can’t lawyer away the truth. I danced at a club. I agreed to this arrangement. And now everyone knows I’m exactly what they’re calling me. A gold digger. A whore.”

“Don’t say that. You’re not—”

“Aren’t I?” I laughed, but it came out bitter. “I sold six months of my life for money. What else would you call it?”

“I would call it survival. I would call it love for your grandmother. I would call it strength.”

“You would call it whatever makes you feel better about buying me.”

He flinched like I slapped him. “Is that really what you think this is?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore.” I sank onto the edge of the tub, my legs giving out. “I just… I need you to be honest with me. About Victoria. About the others. About all of it.”

Ethan was quiet for a long moment. Then he sat beside me, careful not to touch.

“There were three before you,” he said quietly. “Over the past two years. Similar arrangements. Companionship in exchange for financial support. Victoria was the last one. It ended four weeks ago.”

Four weeks. A month before he saw me at the club.

“What happened?”

“She wanted more. Wanted a real relationship. Marriage. I couldn’t give her that.”

“Because you don’t do relationships.”

“Because I didn’t feel that way about her.” He turned to look at me, his eyes intense. “But you… You’re different, Aria. From the first moment I saw you, you were different.”

“That’s just a line.”

“It’s the truth.” He reached for my hand, and I let him take it. “I know how this looks. I know what the article says. But what we have, what we had this morning, that wasn’t part of any arrangement. That was real.”

I wanted to believe him. God, I wanted to believe him so badly.

“Victoria said you made her feel special too.”

“I never made love with Victoria the way I did with you. Never kissed her the way I kiss you. Never looked at her and felt like I couldn’t breathe.” His grip on my hand tightened. “You’re not just different from her. You’re different from everyone.”

“How do I know you’re not just saying what I want to hear?”

“You don’t.” His honesty hit me harder than any pretty lie could have. “I can’t prove it. I can only show you. Give me a chance to show you.”

My phone buzzed again. More notifications. More comments. More people tearing apart my life.

“I need to go home,” I said. “I need to see Granny before she sees this. I need to… I just need to go home.”

“Okay. I’ll have the jet ready—”

“No.” I stood up. “I need to go alone. I need space to think.”

“Aria—”

“Please.” My voice broke. “Please just… give me space.”

He stared at me for a long moment, and I could see the war in his eyes. The desire to fight versus the need to respect my wishes.

Finally, he nodded. “Okay. But I’m covering your flight. First class. And Marcus will drive you to the airport.”

“Ethan—”

“It’s not negotiable. I’m not letting you navigate this alone, even if you don’t want me there.”

I was too tired to argue.

I got dressed in a daze. Packed my bags. Avoided looking at Ethan because I knew if I did, I would either start crying or start screaming, and I couldn’t do either right now.

At the door, he stopped me.

“I meant what I said,” he told me quietly. “You’re different. This is real. And I’m not giving up on us.”

“There is no us,” I whispered. “There’s just a contract. Remember?”

I walked out before he could respond.

In the car to the airport, I finally let myself cry. Not because of the article. Not because of Victoria or the comments or the public humiliation.

But because of one stupid, perfect morning, I’d let myself believe this could be something more.

And now I knew the truth.

I was just another one of Ethan Blackwood’s arrangements.

And when he gets bored, I would be just another Victoria Chen, warning the next girl not to fall for his lies.