by Kailin Gow
“Bash, darling. Is that you?”
He immediately softened his tone. “Mother. I’m sorry. I was expecting a call from someone else.”
“Judging by that grunt of a greeting, I’d say you weren’t too eager to speak to them.”
“You could say that.” He hoped she wouldn’t ask too many questions. He had no intention of discussing this with her.
“Darling, I just got the strangest phone call regarding your father. Do you know anything about this… retreat of his?”
“What have you heard, Mother?”
She huffed. “Things I can’t repeat, Bash. All sorts of sordid and crude activities your father’s been involved in… it’s disgusting. And some of them involve you.”
“Me?” He couldn’t imagine on what level.
“Your marriage to Willow…”
“Mother, please don’t start up with that again.”
“I have no such intention. You know, all along, I’ve been the one pushing you to marry her, but it was under your father’s wishes. He desperately wanted you to marry that girl, and, at the time, I believed it was with the best intentions. But now I’m not so sure. Truth is, I think he only wanted to profit from your union with the Brooks. Darling, I’m so glad you held your ground and refused to become involved with her.”
“I’m glad too, Mother.”
His phone beeped.
“Mother, I have another call coming in and I must take it. Can I call you a little later?”
“Please do, dear. I feel like I’m being left out in the dark here, and I’d like to know what’s going on.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I can.” He switched to the other call. “Yeah.”
“You're rather calm and relaxed for a man who’s about to lose his father.”
“Stop talking nonsense, Price. You might be good at a lot of things, but you can’t get away with murder.”
“No, you stop fooling around, Bash. You have no idea what I’m capable of. I want Serena. And don’t tell me some half baked story about not finding her.”
“You know her as well as I do, Price. If she decides to go into hiding, there’s no way of finding her.”
“You're a resourceful man with enough money to make anyone talk. Find her and publicly tell her that you're leaving her, that she is to return to me.”
“I think you're forgetting one thing, Price. Serena is her own woman. You might not realize that yet. You might think that you still have some control over her, but Serena has grown these past months with me, and she’s learned that she can have full control over her own life. Even if I do publicly end my relationship with her, even if I tell her to go back to you, she’s going to do whatever the hell she decides to do. And there’s nothing either of us can do to change that.”
Price said nothing and Sebastian hoped his words had sunk in.
“Look,” Sebastian said in a softer tone. “I’m sure we can come to some sort of arrangement. As it stands, my mother is already aware of everything my father’s been up to. I know you hate my father and want to make him pay, but my mother has nothing to do with it. There’s no reason for you to drag her through the mud. All of this is my father’s doing. Seems he’s duped a lot of people.”
“Has he?”
“You're letting what he did to you and your family take over your life, Price. Here you are ready to commit murder in order to pay him back for something that happened years ago. Are you really willing to risk your freedom just to get even with an old man?”
“You have no idea what it’s like, Bash. You’ve had everything handed to you without even asking for it. Life has been easy for you right from the start.”
“Let my father go, Price. Let go of the past and move on. I wish I could erase what my father did to you. I wish you could only remember how my father did try to make things up to you these last years. He treated you like a son. Doesn’t that mean anything? Doesn’t that count?”
Silence.
“Price?”
Chapter 21
In a daze, Sebastian sat at his mother’s side as a nurse explained her condition to him. The events of the past days had taken their toll on her and her nerves were strained to the point of breaking.
Sebastian looked at his mother as the nurse finally left them. “You really need to rest, Mother.”
“Don’t listen to her,” she grumbled. “I’m as fit as I’ve ever been. Of course I’m tired. Of course I’ve lost my appetite. Who wouldn’t? To watch your family unravel the way ours has. I’m lucky to just be here and not at an asylum.”
Exhaustion, dehydration and an uncoordinated fall had all led to her being administered to the hospital.
She looked down at her chipped manicure. “I can’t even get my nails done. Look at this. I look awful.”
“You're more beautiful than I’ve ever seen you, Mother.” Without the artifice of overly coiffed hair, an abundance of cosmetics and a stuffy and stiff wardrobe, she was radiant despite her exhaustion.
“Oh, you're just saying that to shut me up.”
He shook his head. “I mean it mother. I think simplicity suits you.”
She grinned and patted her clean cheek. “I’m as pale as these sheets.”
Taking her hand in his, he leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Beautiful,” he whispered and stood. “I have to run, Mother, but I should be back to see you this afternoon.”
“I’ll be here,” she said with finality. “They’re in no rush to send me anywhere.”
He hurried out and headed to his office at UCI. As the days without Serena had turned into weeks, he’d buried himself in a ton of work and had even begun to compose again.
It was the only outlet that eased the pain, and his heart desperately begged for release from the pain of Serena’s disappearance.
But his mind was being pulled in every direction. In his free time he continued to search for Serena, though he no longer knew where to look. Price no longer called and with that, no word of Kaiser which left him frantic at the thought of what Price might have done. Fortunately, with his mother in the hospital and his father nowhere to be found, the board of directors had taken over Sorenson Holdings. Though it wasn’t the ideal situation, he knew his father’s companies were in good hands… but for how long?
A knock at the door brought him back to his reality. “Come in.”
“Sorenson, glad I caught you.” Max Thickens walked in with a wide grin on his large face. With many important connections with the entertainment industry, he always had new projects in mind and he’d been tossing a few at Sebastian for a while.
“What can I do for you, Max?”
“I heard some of the new material you’ve been working on lately. Not your usual kind of stuff.”
Sebastian shrugged. “I guess I’m trying something new.”
“New and highly emotional, is what I heard.”
“Could be.”
Max sat facing Sebastian and leaned over his desk. “I got a guy out in Las Vegas who would like to work with you. I showed him some of this latest material you composed and he immediately asked to meet with you.”
“Las Vegas, huh? Not really my style, Max.”
“Maybe it should be.”
“I don’t know, Max.”
“Look, kid. Just meet with him. Then you can decide if you want to work with him or not.”
Sebastian nodded.
Las Vegas… getting away from Newport might not be such a bad idea right now. He needed to work on something new, needed to really dive into some interesting work and put all his problems behind him.
“When did you want me to meet him?”
Max grinned. “How ‘bout Monday? It’ll give you time to wrap things up here. I could give him a call, set up a meeting and I’d fly out there with you, get everything started.”
“Sounds good.”
Max stood to leave. “Hey, kid. I heard you been having a rough time lately.”
Sebastian nodded.
�
��This’ll be good for you. You’ll see. Ain’t nothing like Las Vegas to make you forget the blues.”
Leaning back as the older man left, Sebastian thought about the possibilities. A Vegas show… it certainly was something new and exciting to think about.
He spent the rest of the week getting things set at the university, planning for his trip and explaining his project to his mother. By Friday, he was itching to go. The walls of his office were closing in on his and staying at the penthouse had become intolerable. He needed to get away from it all before he suffocated.
When a knock on the door to his office sounded, he assumed it was Max again, coming to confirm their trip.
“Come in.” He looked up and his heart dropped. “Jonathan?”
Jonathan Tate was his father’s lawyer, a man who didn’t mince words and didn’t pay visits to his clients or their families just for idle chatter. If he was in his office, things weren’t good.
“Sorry to barge over unannounced. I didn’t really want to discuss this over the phone so…”
“Sure. Come in. Sit down.” Sebastian sat facing the small, but influential man. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”
Jonathan pressed his lips tight and nodded. “I guess there’s no need to tell you, I bring bad news.”
“I assumed as much.”
“We found your father at his office this morning.”
Sebastian frowned. That should be good news. Why was it bad?
“He’d been away on some sort of retreat or other, and apparently he headed straight to the office late last night instead of going home.”
“Please, Jonathan. What happened?”
“I’m sorry, Sebastian, but your father passed away.”
“What?” he muttered.
“He was dead when they found him this morning. Apparent heart attack. They don’t know if it’s the retreat that killed him, or the sudden return to the pressures of running Sorenson Holdings, though there seemed to be plenty of proof of some rather heavy partying on his part. I won’t get into the sordid details, but the examiner said he must have had fun as he took in his last breath.”
“Have you told my mother?”
He shook his head. “Her condition is still a little too delicate. I thought it best that you told her yourself.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. Even coming from me, I don’t know how she’ll take it.” He let out a long tired breath. “Who knows? Maybe she’ll be relieved.”
It was inconceivable. His father… gone. It was too much of a coincidence for it to be purely ‘excitement’ that got to him. His father lived for excitement and his heart could take a beating. No. Someone was behind this.
Price? The Brooks? Maybe even his mother.
“Well, either way, I thought I should tell you, the board is going to expect some sort of announcement from you. They’ve been patient as your father went on this retreat, but now that he’s gone for good, we’re going to have to look at who will step in to fill his shoes.”
“From here, it pretty much looks like you're pointing at me, Jonathan.”
“You up for it?”
“This is a lot to take in.”
“Sure. I’ll give you some time to let this all sink in.” He stood to leave.
“Jonathan.”
“Yes.”
“Were there any signs of foul play? Any?”
“Your father was a rich and powerful man, Sebastian, and he made a few enemies along the way. I personally know of a few people who didn’t particularly like Kaiser.” He shrugged. “But there were no evident signs of foul play. Everything points to his heart failing him.”
Sebastian nodded, though he was far from convinced. “I’ll be at the board meeting Monday morning.”
“Good. I’m sure they’ll all be relieved to see you step in.”
Sebastian stared at him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make the transition as smooth as possible. Everything will be all right.”
“I’m glad to have you on my side, Jonathan.” He rounded the desk to walk the lawyer to the door.
Jonathan patted his shoulder. “You're a good son, Sebastian. I know you’ll do a good job. You're father raised you right… strong and capable, that’s what he always said about you.”
Sebastian raised a brow… strong and capable? He’d never heard his father say any such thing about him.
“Yes, your father admired you far more than he let on. He knew how smart and hard working you were. Of course, he never did accept the fact that you refused to follow in his footsteps and went into music instead, but he recognized your talent and secretly envied you, Sebastian.”
“Then I’ll do my best not to let him down. See you Monday.”
He closed the door behind him and knew that it would be a long day. He had to announce the news to his mother and see what funeral arrangements she wanted. Considering the circumstances, Sebastian thought something quiet and discreet would be best. Hopefully his mother would agree.
*****
Wearing only a pair of drawstring pants, Sebastian padded barefoot around his lush penthouse. Somehow it seemed so unbearably empty. He’d found such pleasure in his home when he’d first bought it. It was prestigious and had every luxury a man could want.
But without Serena, it meant nothing.
With a stiff shot of scotch in a tumbler, he walked out onto the terrace and looked out at the setting sun. The past weeks had been long and arduous, but this day had been excruciating. While his mother had taken the news of his father’s death relatively well, she’d insisted on a large and very public funeral. Despite the unusual circumstances of his death, she wanted to send him out with a bang.
The doorbell rang and he didn’t know if he had the energy to sit through another conversation with Jonathan Tate.
“Monday, Jonathan,” he muttered as he headed to the switch that would open the doors to the private elevator. “We said we’d see each other Monday.”
As he waited, he pulled out the address and time for his father’s funeral. Surely everyone on the board would want to be there. He’d have to have copies made.
The elevator doors slid open and he turned to greet the lawyer. Time stood still for an eternal moment as he stared at the occupant. He lost his grip on the sheet of paper in his hand and it fluttered lazily to the floor.
“Serena,” he whispered.
“Mr. Sorenson,” she said in a soft and shy voice. “I believe we have an appointment.”
He smiled. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail and she wore the same enticing yet demure outfit she’d worn the first day they’d met. His blood pounded to his crotch and it took every ounce of restraint not to jump on her right where she stood.
“I’m sorry I’m so late, Mr. Sorenson. I had a few things to tidy up, but now I am free to dive into my music like never before. I hope you still have time for me.”
“Time for you? Serena, I have a lifetime for you.”
“Good, because I have all the time in the world for you.”
He pulled her into his arms. There were so many questions. Where had she been all these days? What had she been doing? But, in the end, none of it mattered. What mattered was that she was back.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” he muttered as he ran his fingers through her hair, tangling the clean and smooth ponytail she’d meticulously pulled back. “I thought I’d never get to touch you again. I didn’t even want to admit to myself just how heartbroken I was. I dove into my work, trying to convince myself that it didn’t matter, I had my music.” He chuckled. “When you hear what I’ve been working on, you’ll see just how devastated I was. I think every tear, every pain filled night hangs on every note I wrote.”
“Well, I’m here now.”
“Yes. Here you are, and more beautiful than ever.”
“And freer than ever. There are no more secrets, no more games. I’m all yours Sebastian, if you’ll have me.”
“I’ll have you,” h
e grunted as he nuzzled in her neck and trailed blazing kisses up to her ear. “I’ll have you now, and I’ll have you tonight, and I’ll have you every night.”
His lips found hers and the depth of his love and passion for her played out as his tongue met hers, tasting her as if he’d never kissed a woman before. Grinning, he pulled back and stared at her.
“I can’t believe you're really here. I almost expect to wake up and realize it was only a dream. But you're here, aren’t you, really here.”
“Completely and wholly here, and more committed to you. My demons are a thing of the past, Sebastian. You’ve been so incredibly patient, so unbelievably understanding.”
His eyes trailed down over her prim blouse and narrow skirt.
She snorted. “I know how you always liked this look. I wanted to please you, but I also wanted it to be a sign of our starting over, fresh and new; a clean slate. No pasts, no baggage. Just me.”
“Just you sounds perfect, if you’ll have just me.”
Smiling, she ran her hand down his cheek. “All I’ve ever really wanted was just you.”
Chapter 22
Price
My ultimate fantasy… I’ve always admired Price and how he has total control, but as much as I envied his position, it’s Serena’s I’ve always coveted. To be put at someone’s feet, to be forced to do their bidding.
To be their submissive.
Sweet Serena, I want to be chained to the floor while you stomp on me with your sexy, red stilettos. I want you to press that spike heel into my skin… over my scrotum and grind.
I want an erection that will hurt from staying hard so long, an erection that is never fulfilled… at least not for hours and hours. Press your breasts into my face, smother me with your ass, soak me in your juices… anything and everything that will keep me hard and ready.
Suck me, bite me, kick me.
And yes… whip me. Not with a playful little wimp of a whip, but with a full on leather bull whip.
I’ll spend the day, the night as your servant, your slave. Beat me as you see fit should I misbehave. Cuff me.