Serena's Secret (Primrose Valley Series Book #1)

Chapter 7 - Ethan -

***

He watched from the garage as pigs came in and out of the house.

He was careful to make no noise, and not be seen.

It took hours but eventually, they disappeared.

The house stood empty and cordoned off.

Boards covered the windows. The tape was across the door.

There was no way he could re-enter that house to terrorise her.

He wasn’t stupid enough to follow her to the boyfriends.

Instead, he decided to move his attention to the only place left.

Time was up for her to finally pay for what she did.

How would he make his next move?

***

    The light from the window streamed in through a break in the curtains. The break was just enough to land on Ethan's face.

    As he stirred, he felt the warmth of another body pressed against his own. The smooth, soft skin, next to his felt amazing. He had become intimately aware of every inch of this beautiful figure last night and just the thought of what they had done had him fighting the urge to do it all over again.

    Serena was tucked up into his side, one of her long sexy legs wrapped around his own. Both of his arms were wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him and her head rested between his neck and shoulder.

    He couldn't imagine a more perfect way to wake up, than this. He placed a kiss on her temple and ran a hand through her soft brown locks.

    As much as he wanted to dive into her again and re-explore her delicious body, he had a feeling she would be sore not to mention exhausted. He had lost count of the number of times she had cried his name, but it had been almost dawn when they'd pulled apart and slipped into sleep. A glance at the clock told him it was almost noon.

    As that thought settled, he heard Monster scratching at the back door, letting him know he needed to take care of his business.

    Ethan slipped from the bed, careful not to disturb his sleeping beauty. He disappeared into the bathroom tugging on a pair of shorts as he went. He relieved himself and cleaned up afterwards.

    He exited the bedroom and immediately opened the back door onto the balcony. He had a small table and two chairs out there. To the left, two small gates led to a set of metal steps that allowed Monster down into the small, shared garden at the back of the flats. He watched Monster wander around the garden. He chased a squirrel up a tree and barked at the birds as they flew by. He chuckled to himself.

    Whilst Monster was distracted, he sorted out his breakfast. He had taken a few raw chicken wings from the freezer before Serena had called. He placed them into Monster's bowl and topped up his water. He'd been feeding Monster on raw meat since he was about one year old. It was better for his health and it had helped build his muscle strength and maintain a healthy weight.

    As if on cue moments later Monster bounded into the room. He sniffed the air and made his way to Ethan's side. He sat by his bowls, head pointed upward towards Ethan and his head c****d to the side slightly in waiting. He would never eat without Ethan's command. He had made sure to train him from an early age.

    "Go on Monster," Ethan instructed and gave him an encouraging pat on the head and Monster immediately dug in.

    He went back into the kitchen, washed his hands and began to prepare breakfast well with it being almost noon maybe it would be better to call it lunch. He flicked on the kettle, pulled out bacon and eggs from the fridge and gathered up the ingredients for French toast.

    The bacon was under the grill sizzling away, the eggs were in the frying pan just awaiting the heat to be turned on the hob. He started mixing the mixture for the bread. He placed the slices into a dish and coated them in the egg, milk and vanilla mixture. He allowed them to soak for a few moments while he cleaned up the pots he had already used. He had just placed the slices onto a frying pan when he heard his bedroom door open and close behind him; he turned and grinned at the sight before him.

    Serena stood in front of him wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts, bare feet and hair all mussed up atop of her head. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She approached and leaned against the marble island between them.

    "Good Morning," she said with a quiet voice and a shy smile.

    "Good Morning beautiful." He leaned across the counter and kissed her gently. "You look stunning in my t-shirt."

    She giggled and kissed him back.

    "You look amazing with your t-shirt on me and not you," she said and looked over at the stove. "Something smells amazing,"

    "I thought you might like some breakfast. How does bacon, eggs and French toast sound?" He turned back to flip the bread in the frying pan and turned the eggs on to cook.

    "Perfect. Do you need any help?" she asked.

    "Sure, you could set the table."

    "Okay, I'm just going to call Tina and let her know what happened and where I am." She picked up her phone and sat on the sofa to make her call.

    He overheard her call to Tina, and he was happy to overhear her say she planned to stay at his home for the time being.

    As she finished up her call, it didn't take long for the table to be set. Ethan placed a plate of eggs, bacon and toast at the table for each of them. He busied himself making her a cup of tea and himself a coffee. He placed a fresh mug of tea beside her plate, and a coffee for himself.

    "This is amazing," Serena said after a few bites of her food.

    Ethan hadn't been sure if she would like the combination of the sweet French toast with the savoury eggs and bacon. He found the mixture of sweet and salty very tasty and it appeared she did too.

    "Try it with a bit of syrup," he suggested, scooping a bit of everything onto his fork and drizzling a bit of syrup onto it. He held the fork out for her.

    He watched as she considered him for a moment before accepting the food on the fork. Her moan in appreciation was not missed. He leaned across and kissed the corner of her lip gently, licking a drop of syrup that had escaped.

    Her eyes found his. He couldn't help the smile across his face. He had never been so comfortable eating with someone before. Sure, the crew came around sometimes to watch football and have pizza or curry, but this was different.

    It felt as if they had been doing it for years. It was effortless and yet meant so much to him. He liked that feeling, and as he looked at her, he took hold of her hand and linked their fingers together.

    "Thank you," he said as he placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

    "What for?"

    "For being you," he said simply and gazed at her.

    "No, thank you for being you." She looked down and bit her lip. "I've never... I've never felt anything like this before." She gestured to their hands, but he knew what she meant.

    "Me neither," he admitted. "I'm glad you're my girlfriend. I know we've not been together long, but you should know I'm all in with this. You're stuck with me, no matter what." He kissed her hand once more.

    "I feel the same way." She smiled widely.

    Ethan grinned and stood abruptly; he cleared the plates and cups off the table and placed them in the sink. He then scooped her up into his arms.

    "I like the sound of that," he whispered against her lips as he carried her back to his room and showed her exactly how much he liked it.