Chapter 33 TRIP TO PARIS VI

             El walked slowly to the stairs of the pool and Ethan watched her every step that got her closer to the pool. He could see that she was struggling with her fears as she took deep breaths with every step she took. She was scared, he knew but he didn't care. He wanted her to get over her fear of water just in case she happen to fall into any situation where she needed to swim, she would be able to get out of it alive.

       She stopped and closed her eyes when it was remaining just one step for her legs to touch the water. She couldn't do it. Her mind was yelling at her to just go in, but her body didn't move, couldn't move. She froze on the spot as her hand folded into fists. She could still feel it, that suffocating feeling, and her body didn't want to go through that pain anymore, it couldn't bare it. It was as if it took control of her mind and all of a sudden, it refused Ethan's orders. 

       She turned to look at Ethan who stood behind her, watching her, and wanted to refuse his orders when he took her hand in his and led her into the pool carefully through the stairs. She was finally in, and as she felt the water lap against her skin, her emotions worsened. She could feel her leg lose strength all of a sudden, and she felt like falling into the water. She closed her eyes as her grip on Ethan's hand tightened.

        "Hey, look at me. Look at me, Eleanor." His words rang in her head, and slowly she opened her eyes to look at his face. His face was calm, without any emotion, but when he spoke, she swears she could hear a faint hint of concern in it. Looking at his face made her relax a little and when she looked at their hands which were entwined, she felt like she had someone who would save her even if she fell into the water. The thought that someone, but more importantly, Ethan who wouldn't allow any harm come to her was there with her, calmed her down.

       "Yes, just keep looking at me. I'm here with you." He raised their hands which were intertwined together with hers to her and she took a deep breath as she stared at his face. "See, that wasn't so bad." She forced a smile. He guided her deeper into the water, where she would be able to swim carefully and as they walked deeper, the water rose slightly above her breasts while it was slightly above his waist. Her breath was steady and slow, and she never removed her eyes from his face because his perfect face kept her distracted from the water.

       "We're going to proceed to step 2 which is actually learning to swim," he said when they stopped in the middle of the pool. "You're doing great." He added when he saw the hesitation in her eyes. "And I'm here with you, so try not to think about drowning."

      "I wasn't, you just made me think of it." She rolled her eyes at him. For a moment she had forgotten she was in a pool filled with water, thanks to him, but now he just made her remember she was inside one. Why does he always ruin everything? It was as if he deliberately wanted to always annoy her.

      "There's no need to act, Eleanor. You were obviously thinking of it and I can see it from your eyes."

       "I never knew you were an empath who read people's minds, Ethan. This is surprising because I've known you for a month, and you're the complete opposite of that."

       "I never said I was one. You know, you should stop assuming things about people. You can never truly know a person. The only person that truly knows who he or she is, is that person. No one else. So, don't act like you know anything about me because you don't," He said with seriousness as he stared at her face, and she regretted ever making that statement.

        She removed her eyes from his face and looked at the water. Right now, what she needed distraction from wasn't the water, but the man who stood right in front of her. She couldn't look at his face not because she was scared of him, but because she had so much to say that she couldn't. She didn't know if whatever she was going to say to him was going to provoke him, and right now she couldn't afford to do so. She was in the middle of a pool that was bigger than a standard inbuilt pool of 75 feet around the pool edge, and if she was to say something provoking to him and he decides her punishment is to leave her all alone in the water, how was she going to swim out of it?

      She never said she knew anything about him, but one thing she knew was that this man was cruel and an empath wouldn't be this cruel if he could read someone else's thoughts. That was what she meant, so why was he taking everything so literally today? Was he mad at her? If he was, why couldn't he just come clean with her, and then they could discuss it like mature individuals? On second thought, it was better if he kept it inside of him, she immediately corrected herself when she remembered who she was living with. Whenever Ethan expressed himself, it always came with punishments, and right now she can't afford to do any.

         "Just follow my lead." She heard him say and she looked at his face once more. His free hand slid down her thighs and he raised her legs from the floor of the pool. His hand that was intertwined with hers left her hand and was placed below her breast to support her float in the water. She was lying vertically in the water, with both hands stretched to her front as instructed by Ethan. She could feel the water move up to her face as she lay in that position, because of the waves and she lifted her chin from the water so that it doesn't enter her mouth. 

       "Try moving your legs parallelly, but in a steady rhythm." She heard him say, and she obeyed obediently without hesitation. She wasn't comfortable in the position she was in, but her only choice of leaving that position is by following his instructions and making a progress in what she was learning. She moved her legs slowly at first, but then she started moving faster so she could go forward. Without being told, she started moving both her hands to support her legs, and when she started moving forward, she smiled inwardly. Swimming wasn't as hard as she imagined in her head. She had imagined it would take more effort than what she was putting in. 

       Ethan's hand was still in the position it was when she started, and he moved when she went further still standing on his feet inside the water. She is smart, and a fast learner, he noted impressed, and he didn't even tell her what to do but again, he felt like he was giving her too much credit because she wasn't a child and she had watched many people swim so he didn't need to necessarily explain in details what this whole thing was about. Even a child had an idea on how to swim, talk more of a full grown a** lady. 

       Slowly, he removed his hands from under her, and she struggled to maintain her steady position. It was when Ethan slowly removed his hand that El knew how difficult swimming actually was. For a moment, she had been living a lie, a lie that she only knew now he wasn't supporting her anymore. Why did she even have that thought about it not being difficult? It wasn't as if she hasn't experienced it. She had in a very terrible way that almost cost her her life. Her body had failed her then, just like it was failing her now. When she couldn't move them anymore, Ethan held her once more, putting her back in the position she once was. Even as he held her in place, she could still feel pains in her hands and legs, and she decided to stop for a while.

        "Ethan," she called out his name and he quickly understood the reason for saying his name. Without having the opportunity to say anything to him, he turned her and she stood close to him. His hands were now on her waist, while hers was on his shoulders as she held it for support. Slowly, he let her feet touch the floor of the pool, while still standing very close to him with their eyes on each other. She wanted to look away from him, but his eyes held hers. She couldn't bring herself to stop staring at them.

       His lips curved into a smirk on seeing the effect he had on her and his hand on her waist went down her body to on top of her buttocks as he pulled her even closer to him, making sure there was no space between them. Slowly, he brought his head closer to her face, with his eyes still on hers. "Are you tired already, Eleanor?" He whispered as he brought his face close to her ears, sending shivers up her spine. She could feel his warm, yet steady breaths on her neck and his sexy deep voice ringed in her head. He was seducing her, she knew because he knew his presence affected her.

       He lifted his head from her neck, and continue staring at her eyes as he removed the wet strands of her hair that was on her face. She quickly removed her eyes from his face to the water, trying to distract herself from how she started feeling which she didn't seem to like. "Look at me, Eleanor," he ordered as he shifted her chin to his face with his left hand, without allowing her to respond to his orders. As she felt his hand brush against her skin, her body tingled at his touch and she hated it. She hated it when she reacted with his touch as he wanted. It only proved that what he said about owning her body was true and no one but her owned it. The thought annoyed her, and she shoved his hand away from her face.

      "I just need to rest a little, Ethan, it's no big deal," she said, hoping he couldn't feel how her heart hammered against her chest because of how close she stood close to his bare body without wearing anything other than a bra. F**k! She screamed in her head. She could feel his body as he stood close to her, his firm hard chest. For a second, she was tempted to touch them. She imagined how it would feel to run her hand down his eight packs to his lower abdomen. Would he also feel the same way she felt about his touch? She quickly waved the thought, annoyed. Why was she fantasizing about his body? 

      Her hands went to his hand on top of her buttocks, and she slowly removed it from her body but as she tried to remove it, his grip tightened on it the more. He shot her a questioning look, and she knew the meaning of what it meant but she cared less. She just wanted to get as far away as possible from this man in front of her.

      He watched her try to free herself from him surprised as she moved her body uncomfortably inside the water. Did she think for a second that she could free herself from him? The thought surprised and at the same time intrigued him. He wanted to watch how she Intended to free herself from him but he suddenly heard her stomach growl, and he released her. 

       As her stomach growled, she bit her lips embarrassed by the sound that came from it, but smiled inwardly when she saw that Ethan released her. At least, that worked in her favor. He held her wrist and led her out of the pool carefully and when they got out, he walked to the lounge chair and picked up a towel that he used to dry himself. She also walked to one of the chairs and picked up a towel and she also dried herself. Without looking at her behind him, he walked out of the place with the towel still on his hair into the mansion.

         El looked at him walk away without saying a word to her. She was relieved but she felt strange. Disappointed? No! She couldn't be. She walked out of the place with the towel tied to her waist. She needed to change her clothes so she could have dinner. She just remembered that the only thing she had had today was a bowl of soup because of her hangover. She walked silently behind him and when they got to the elevator, it opened, and Sophie came out of it.

     When she saw Ethan, her expression changed to a stunned one as she looked at the handsome tall figure in front of her. Her gaze shifted to his body and then back to his face before she looked at El who stood behind him. She opened her mouth to say hi but when she saw he didn't even look at her and acted as if she didn't exist, she swallowed her words. She had heard El's story of this man and how he could be at times, so it was best to avoid him.

         Ignoring Sophie who came out of the elevator, Ethan walked into the elevator. Until the door closed, she and El's eyes were on him but he cared less. They knew from the cold expression on his face. When the door closed they stared at themselves and Sophie's eyes shifted to El's wet bikini. She was shocked because she knew of El's sudden phobia of water.

       "I didn't know you were with Ethan and you guys seemed to have just had a lot of fun, I've actually been looking everywhere for you." 

       "Well, it was more like a lecture and it was the exact opposite of your definition of fun. I thought I was going to die today. I can't believe Ethan actually made me swim," El said rolling her eyes when she remembered what Ethan made her do and Sophie smiled inwardly at her reaction.

      "I'll catch up with you later cause right now, I need to go change this outfit," she pointed to her bikini "so I can have lunch. I'm starving." Sophie nodded and she walked into the elevator after pressing the button for it to open.