"Confidentiality and safety ratings."
Sebastian nodded. "That's very practical of you."
"What's wrong with being practical?" she snapped. She had another roll in her hand, but she wasn’t eating it.
"Nothing at all," he assured her. Sebastian settled back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'm not just going to let any man stick his…" she paused and looked around. When she spoke again her voice was lower. "Stick his dick in my ass."
"No, I should hope not," he agreed. "It's far too nice of an arse for that."
Mariss blinked at him, her eyes wide. When she looked past him, her eyes let him know that someone was coming. A bowl of broth was set on the table in front of her and she smiled kindly to the host. Sebastian had to admit that he was doing a very good job.
"I brought you some broth to help settle your stomach," the host said before he turned to Sebastian. "Are you ready to order?"
"I am. Do you want anything else?" he asked Mariss.
"I'll have a salad," she said, "with a light dressing."
"And I'll have the chicken marsala. Viognier if you have it, please." The host nodded and left. "So, at least tell me you enjoyed yourself that night." Mariss watched him lift a glass of water to his lips, and it was all he could do not to smile.
"You couldn't tell?" Her cheeks flushed the softest pink.
"Absolutely. I just wanted to hear your say it." He grinned self-assuredly and she rolled her eyes.
"Of course, I enjoyed myself, or you would have gotten an earful of a different kind. Not just the lovely sounds I make."
Her cheeks deepened to red. She dipped her head and lifted the spoon, sipping politely at the broth.
"What made you and your husband decide to go out that night?"
"It was something we'd been discussing." She took another spoonful of broth. "He wanted to surprise me. It was my birthday."
The grin Sebastian had been so desperately trying to suppress finally broke through. "I was your birthday present."
Mariss sighed. She let her eyes shut in acceptance of him, and he waited for her next words.
"If that's the way you choose to look at it."
Sebastian nodded slowly. Finally, the sun broke through and she smiled. Her whole demeanor changed and some color came back into her face, not just from blushing.
They were both brought salads. Mariss dug in.
"Slow down," he chuckled. "We have plenty of time." She pretended not to hear him and he found that appealing. "Do you normally just not eat?"
Mariss shook her head. "It was a busy morning," she said. "I had to set up by myself and it took a lot longer than I expected. I had just finished when you demanded I bring you water. I hope you enjoyed it, by the way."
"It was quite refreshing. Thank you."
She shrugged like she didn't care. "I just forgot to eat this morning. That's all. Nothing to be alarmed about."
"You're much thinner than I remember."
She flushed again and he realized how much he enjoyed watching her cheeks turn red.
"It's been a rough month with losing the baby and everything."
Sebastian frowned. "I didn't know."
"Oh. I thought everyone knew. I did an interview a few weeks ago." Mariss made lifting her shoulders in dismissal look so elegant.
"I don't watch much television and I've been on non-stop shoots the last few weeks." With all of his research, how did he not know that? "What else don't I know about you, Mrs. Red?"
She looked up at him like she was going to correct him on the use of her last name, but thought better of it.
"I'm German."
"No, you're not." That was something he would have known.
But Mariss nodded. "I was born in Germany. I speak the language fluently. I love bossche bollen."
Bossche bollen was a whipped cream filled-profiterole coated in dark chocolate that Hellena was also quite fond of.
Sebastian smiled. "Yes, I like a good bossche bollen."
"My husband makes them for me." Her voice became tender. "They're almost as good as my mother's."
"Are you feeling better?" Sebastian liked that she was getting more comfortable with him. She relaxed into the booth and the lines around her eyes and mouth smoothed.
Mariss nodded. "Thank you."
"There's no need to thank me. You need to be more vigilant about making sure you eat in the mornings."
Her eyebrow went up, or what he assumed to be her eyebrow going up. The right one arched a bit, but it wasn't very dramatic.
"Were you expecting a 'yes, sir'?"
"It would be nice, but I don't have any expectations." Or delusions. He didn't suspect Mariss was the kind of woman to concede too often.
"You've worked with Bernard before?"
Sebastian liked how seamlessly she changed the subject. He nodded. "Yes. He took my first photos before I got started. I owe him as much as I owe myself for what I have, I suppose."
"That's shockingly humble of you."
"Ah. So you believe the hype."
"Hype?" Mariss chewed her salad. "Is that what you call it? I'm not one for gossip and I know women exaggerate, but some things are hard to deny. You're not known for your generosity."
"No, I suppose not. You're not known to be so bristly, either." The moment he said it, he realized he shouldn't have, but there was no taking it back.
"It's been a long month," she reminded him.
Sebastian nodded. "I'm not a humble person," he confessed. "I won't pretend to be. But I do recognize when I owe something to someone. Bernard is a good man and he tries to keep me in my place as best he can."
Mariss chuckled. "In your place? I wager that's a task in and of itself."
"Oh, you've no idea." He gave her a mischievous smile and watched her swoon. Out of pure villainy, Sebastian pulled his lip between his teeth and let it go slowly. Mariss' lips parted and her eyes dilated. Point, set, and match.
He smirked and turned his eyes down to his salad. Sebastian fluffed it with his fork before he put a bite in his mouth and chewed slowly.
"I'm going to go."
He looked up, assessing, watching as she fumbled with her phone. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for lunch. Don't forget to feed your hungry ladies. Send me a receipt and I'll have you paid back for this."
Sebastian didn't bother to argue with her. What a stupid request. Pay him back for a salad and some rolls. He actually rolled his eyes. It wasn't often that someone, anyone, could make him forget himself so quickly that he rolled his eyes. Never a woman, though the ones he ended up with could be trying.
"I'll see you back at the set then."
Mariss shook her head. "I'm going to go back to my room. I'm not feeling well."
He'd scared her off. The lip bite got them every time, but they didn't usually run from him. Sebastian watched somewhat helplessly as she walked away. He frowned for a moment, then shrugged. He had many more tricks up his sleeve.
***
Sebastian laid his coat over the back of the chair and undid his cufflinks. Elise settled on the edge of the bed and started to remove her shoes.
"Leave them on."
She looked up at him surprised, and left her shoes on.
"Don't look at me with those surprised brown eyes. This is what you wanted, isn't it?"
Elise blinked. Not all of his women were able to handle his forwardness. Sebastian unbuttoned his shirt and let it slip off his shoulders, revealing the white tank top underneath. He laid the shirt on top of his jacket and advanced toward her with purpose. Climbing onto the bed next to her, Sebastian used his proximity to lay Elise back until she had nowhere else to go.
"Dinner wasn't what you really wanted, was it?" he asked, his lips hovering over her ear.
"I don't know what you mean, Bastian."
He chuckled seductively. "Don't play coy, sweetheart. You know I can read you like a book." His tongue licked across
her skin. There was no taste of salt. He'd have to do something to change that. "What was it you really wanted from me?"
"You promised me dinner." Her voice was low, her breath soft in his ear.
"Is that all?"
"Mm hm."
More irritated by her refusal to answer than aroused, Sebastian pushed himself away from her. He slid his shoes off and padded to the bathroom in his socks to relieve himself.
"Did you want something to drink?" he called back to the bedroom.
"No," she answered cautiously.
"I think I do." He zipped his pants back up and washed his hands.
"Would you like for me to go out and get you something?" Elise smiled.
"No, I think I'll get it myself. Would you join me?"
Elise slipped off the bed and joined him at the door. Sebastian took her hand in his and led her to the kitchen. He poured himself a drink, sans the ice, and sipped. The Bourbon helped to revive him some. He always found it disappointing when he couldn't end the night the way he'd planned.
"Thank you for a lovely evening. Dinner was delicious."
Elise smiled and pressed herself against him, her hands wrapping around to caress his smooth back. Sebastian leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss.
"Have you seen my last cover?" he asked. Elise shook her head. He took her by the wrist and led her into the living room. Proofs lay on his coffee table from earlier that morning.
"These are great, Bastian," she said. "Are they the ones you did for Ell Em Ent?"
He nodded.
"Oh, I've wanted to see these." She flipped through the photos making comments about each one. When she was finished, she stood and joined him next to one of the many bookcases in his flat.
"Thank you for a nice evening," he said to her softly. He gave her another small kiss before he walked her to the door.
"Good night, Sebastian," she smiled.
"Good night, sweetheart."
She didn't even know she'd been dismissed until it was too late.
CHAPTER FOUR
Katie
"Mr. Boa!" A young girl shrieked his name and ran into him with such force that it knocked Sebastian back a step. She wrapped her arms around his hips and hugged him tight.
"Hello, Felicity," Sebastian chuckled. He smoothed her dark hair and hugged the ten-year-old back. "How are you, sweetheart?"
"I'm fine." She turned smiling green eyes up to him. "You've been gone a long time this time."
"I've been busy with work." He patted her hair. "Where's Miss Rachel?"
The Home was a children's home Sebastian had founded and funded as a safe place for abused, underage models and children of models. He'd been running it for a year and a half now and currently had eight children whose lives he was essentially responsible for.
"She's in the office. We might have a new girl."
"Is that so?" Sebastian gently detached Felicity from his waist and knelt down so he was at eye level with her. "I need to speak with her about some business. When I'm done, I'll take everyone to get ice cream. How does that sound?"
Felicity grinned. "Really? Can I tell everyone?"
"Yes, ma'am. Go let everyone know."
Felicity ran off to find the other children, and Sebastian went to the office. It was situated at the end of the hall and off to the side. The building was old and boasted odd angles and a few secret passages the children hadn't found yet. Sebastian leaned against the doorjamb and knocked gently. Rachel Finnergan sat behind her desk, her fiery red hair piled on top of her head in an attractive twist. She flushed when she saw him. Sebastian smirked and pushed himself into the room. He took a seat across from her, his arms loose on the arms of the chair.
"How are you, Rachel?" he asked the Irish woman. Her lashes fluttered over green eyes.
"Oh, I'm fine, Mr. Boa. A wee bit busy, but well. How are you?"
"I'm well. Felicity tells me there's going to be a new girl?"
Rachel nodded. "Her name is Katie." She heaved a heavy sigh. "She's in hospital right now. Sebastian, the poor girl."
He frowned. "What happened?"
"Katie is a four year old pageant star. She was in a car accident a few months ago that cut and scarred her face. Her parents decided she wasn't worth the trouble to keep around since she isn't 'pretty' anymore. She's been beaten and malnourished. Sebastian…"
He nodded.
Someone shouting obscenities in the hall brought Sebastian out of his chair.
"Who the hell is swearing like that in front of the children?" He didn't have to feign shock when he walked into the hall and was greeted by an obese woman in a flowered dress that hung to the floor.
"I don't know who the fuck you think you are," the woman shouted. Her pudgy face was red with her put-on fury and her eyes darted about to see who was watching. What she wanted was an audience, but all she got was a handful of curious, frightened children and some pissed off adults.
"Excuse me." Sebastian kept his voice low and even. "I don't know who you think you are to come in here and speak like that in front of these children."
The woman stopped a few feet from him and cocked her head like she was offended by what he said. Sebastian folded his arms over his chest. He narrowed his eyes and struck her with a smoldering, furious gaze that melted the scowl from her lips.
"I'm just trying to figure out why you think you can take my daughter away from me, Mr. Boa."
From this distance, Sebastian smelled her sour breath and body odor. It was a struggle for him to keep from gagging.
"Perhaps we could come up with a solution to our problem," she continued and stepped closer to him. Her mouth turned up into a flirtatious grin, flashing teeth that reminded him of the rotting boards of a wooden fence. She reached out to stroke his arm.
Sebastian took a step out of her reach. "I assure you, despite what people may say about me, my tastes are far too discriminatory for anything of that sort. Please step into the office." He frowned at the woman's silent partner. He looked none too swift and that wide necktie did not work to hide his beer belly. Instead, it made him look like a clown with all of those polka dots.
"Rachel, take them into the office and leave the door open. I need to take care of something." He raised his eyebrows and hoped she'd understand that he wasn't leaving her alone. "I'll be back in a few moments."
"Right," Rachel nodded determinedly. "I'll see if I can't get a handle on the situation before you get back."
Sebastian smiled and touched her cheek tenderly. Rachel blushed.
"When we get this smoothed over, perhaps you'd like to come over for dinner?"
Rachel, refused to meet his gaze. "I'll have to make sure the children are down for the evening first."
"Of course." Movement in the office caught his eye. "Oi!" he shouted. The woman jumped and dropped something heavy onto the desk.
"I was just looking at it," she insisted, but the unattractive flush of her face said otherwise.
"Get in there and make sure they don't steal anything. You'd think adults would know better." Sebastian shook his head as he walked away.
There was a phone in the first room by the front door. Rebecca, one of the home's employees, was there with some of the children.
"Mr. Boa, what on earth is going on?" she asked, her voice a bit too high to be calm.
"Those are Katie's parents," a young boy by the name of Tony said. "They're not happy that she was taken away from them."
Sebastian looked from Rebecca to Tony, then addressed the child. "How badly did they hurt her?"
Tony shrugged. "They didn't let her eat with them. She had to eat scraps from a bowl with the dogs, but she's small, so the dogs ate most of it."
Sebastian's heart thumped hard against his ribs as anger swelled within his chest. He cleared his throat to loosen the tightness that settled there. "They did what?" He couldn't believe he was hearing this.
"They made her drink from the same bowl as the dogs. She's really sick. Miss Rachel let
me go see her yesterday."
"How do you know all of this?" Sebastian questioned.
"She used to do pageants with my little sister. Her parents are the ones who killed my family in the car accident."
Tony's chin quivered, but the tears that made his voice soft never fell. The young boy steeled his backbone against the pain of losing his family. Emotion washed over Tony's features, but it was soon gone. He was a strong kid.
"I'll take care of Katie," Sebastian promised. "I'll expect you to look after her when I'm away."
Tony nodded, his eyes filling with determination and pride. Sebastian ruffled the kid's hair and turned back to Rebecca.
"Please phone the police," he told her. "Tell them it's an emergency and Sebastian Boa needs them here immediately."
"Yes, sir." Rebecca picked up the phone and dialed.
Sebastian marched back to the office where the unattractive woman spilled out of a leather wingback chair.
"What do you mean, I can't have my baby back?" the woman shouted as Sebastian entered. She came up out of the seat like she was going to do something, but the moment she saw his face she stopped. "Oh, hello."
Sebastian was disgusted. "You will not be getting your daughter back," he informed her. "She has already been signed into the care of the home. You signed over your rights to her without a second thought. I'd like to know why, all of a sudden, you want her so badly after treating her like an animal. Is it, perhaps, because I have taken an interest in her?"
The woman had nothing to say. At least, not right away. She stared at him, dumbfounded, before she found her voice again.
"How dare you accuse me of treating my child like an animal! I love my little girl! What proof do you have?"
"I have a witness," Sebastian said evenly, "but that is no concern of yours."
"No concern of mine?" She was out of her seat and in Sebastian's face a moment later.
"Sit down and shut up before I have you arrested for assault," he snapped. There was an edge to his voice that caught the woman off guard.
The woman huffed and took her seat. Sebastian rounded the desk and stood behind Rachel as the officers came in.
"We were a few blocks away," one of them answered Sebastian's unasked question. "What's the problem here?"
The Man Without Rules Page 3