by Diane Saxon
»»•««
Sebastian studied the flight ticket in his hand, then glanced at the gift wrapped box on the bed beside him, and wondered why the hell he had left it so late. Too late, probably. He tapped his fingers on his lips while he thought. He’d made a few mistakes.
Having sex with Bailey had been his first mistake. He should never have gone near her in the first place. Admittedly, it had been years ago and he’d run like hell afterward. The intensity of his feelings for her had overwhelmed him, and he’d never looked at another woman the same way since. He knew Bailey was the woman for him. Unfortunately, she wasn’t aware of it yet. She’d been way too young before, and if her daddy had found out Sebastian had had sex on the back seat of his truck with his precious daughter, Sebastian would have lost his job as her father’s right hand man. Worse still, he’d never have been able to watch her growing into a beautiful woman. And each time she’d come home from college and law school, she’d watched him too. That’s how he knew she was definitely going to be his. Being four years older than her, he’d figured he had to let her grow up.
His second mistake was not following her when she went to the city. Again, he’d believed she'd needed to spread her wings, and if she didn’t, she’d never be satisfied. She had been too curious. She’d needed to find her own feet before he could sweep her off them. So he’d bided his time, thinking he was doing the right thing. Believing when she was ready, she would come back to him.
There was his third mistake. He’d left it too long. After six months, with no word from her, he’d decided he could no longer wait for her to come to him, and he needed to hunt her down and bring her home. When he’d turned up at her place in the city, she’d been with some suited asshole she’d introduced as her boyfriend. The guy was also her boss, and the way he’d looked down his nose at her made Sebastian want to punch him on the end of his weak chin.
He’d studied the woman he’d watched grow up and had barely recognized what she had done to herself.
She’d wrangled her natural good looks into a straightjacket and changed the way she walked. Come to think of it, he couldn’t complain about the walk. It was to accommodate those sexy heels she’d started to wear that gave her legs a shapely curve and her ass a nice little wiggle.
So he’d left her there in the city with the asshole, believing she would outgrow him and come back home.
When her father told him she was off to Houston to get engaged to the very same asshole, he decided it was either time to make a stand, or time to back off and take some time out. But he was afraid he’d left it too late.
He puffed out a sigh, fingered the packaging on the gift wrapped box and tried to think of the best way to get to Bailey. She’d taken the key to her room and hightailed it out of there, obviously deciding it was safer to hide there than be with him. It seemed she couldn’t wait to get away from him, but he’d watched her eyes and he’d felt her responsive quiver as she’d sat on his lap. She wasn’t immune and his controlled, steady heart beat gave an unexpected kick before it regulated itself again.
If he took the prettily wrapped box to her, she was going to see right through his strategy and he was going to end up on his ass in the hall. He picked up the piece of mistletoe the sales assistant had let him persuade her out of. He’d been damned lucky to get into the shop, just as it was closing. He was fast and he was decisive, he only hoped he was right.
Only one way to find out. Sebastian reached over, put the box on his lap and started to unwrap the pretty paper and frills.
∙•∙
Bailey knew who it was the moment she heard the soft tapping at the door. A thrill quivered through her veins, and her short, sharp breaths of anticipation made her annoyed with him all over again. How dare he make her feel this way, when she was almost engaged?
She wrapped his coat tight around her, and with a defiant toss of her head, swung open the door.
He dangled a scrap of ivory satin and lace from his forefinger, let it swing enticingly.
Raising one eyebrow, she studied the material. Nice, expensive. Unable to resist, she allowed her eyes roam further, letting them stray, taking in the cowboy’s trim waist, narrow hips, long, lean legs and—her eyes closed briefly in disgust—his god awful dirty cowboy boots.
She let her lip curl and her eyes skimmed back up his body to his handsome face.
“Where did you get them?” She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling a little stupid, as they unfolded again because of the bulk of his coat. She ignored the amused twitch of his mouth and tilted her head. “I guess you talked some little maid out of them?”
He stretched the material between the fingers of both hands and gave a wide, cheeky grin.
“Not so little. Have you seen the size of the ass on this?”
Her mouth dropped open, her eyebrows slammed down, and she sucked in a sharp breath, ready to blast him.
His little finger dropped a price tag and let it swing from the ivory panties.
“Brand new. I caught an underwear shop just about to close.”
“Fantastic.”
She snatched the panties from his fingers and slammed the door in his surprised face.
She leaned back against the door, pulse thrumming in the base of her throat as she tried to tell herself, it was the excitement of knowing she’d foiled the cowboy’s attempt to get into her room that had caused the surge in adrenaline.
At least she had clean, undamaged panties for the morning. They didn’t match her emerald green bra, but let’s face it, in a snow blizzard, with power outages, cancelled flights, and no luggage, who the hell was going to complain if she didn’t have matching underwear? Possibly Phillip. He might think it uncouth. His mother would think it vulgar.
Bailey held the panties up. Pretty. Checked the label. Right size. Phillip never knew her size. He just gave her money and told her to get her own things for her birthday.
Warmed through, with the swift rush of adrenaline still buzzing through her body, she slipped the coat from her shoulders and laid it on the bottom of her bed. Strange how her “brief” encounter had moved her blood around sufficiently to heat her up.
She picked up the panties and started for the bathroom, but before she got there, she heard a tap on the door again. She put her eye against the peephole and there he was, all six feet two of him. Yum. She took a moment to study him. His long legs, his lean hips, his wide, wide chest and shoulders. He had such a beautiful face: strong, determined, with a good square jaw. His firm mouth always seemed to tilt up at the edges as though he were about to crack a joke. His deep blue eyes…peered straight back at her as though he could see her watching him through the solid wooden door, even though he couldn’t possibly know she had her eye up against the peephole at that precise moment.
His smile was pure evil as he held on to the back strap of an ivory satin bra, which matched her panties to perfection, and raised it slowly in front of the peephole, like he knew she was there. He gave it a tempting little shimmy.
Not giving herself time to think, she flung open the door and grabbed the bra, yanking it toward her at the same time he hauled back. Overbalancing, she stumbled out of the doorway and with a high pitched shriek she flung her arms around him to stop her onward flight. Her cheek hit his solid, muscular chest and his arms automatically came around her.
Winded, she breathed in deep. Her head spun with the overwhelmingly familiar scent of him. She closed her eyes and moved her head slowly, so her cheek grazed against the soft material of his shirt. She felt the steel of his muscles as they rippled underneath. Her arms stole around his waist and her hands rested on his strong back muscles. Her fingers traced the long line of his spine.
The strong, fast beat of Sebastian’s heart pounded against her ear. His arms were wrapped around her back, holding her close, but as soon as she withdrew, he relaxed his grip on her, smoothed his hands over her shoulders, and rested them there. She gazed up at his face, sure there was something she shou
ld say, but her mind was filled with him; his scent, his body, his beautiful blue eyes, with their thick dark eyelashes. He seemed to stare into the very depths of her soul.
“Well…”
“Looks like you fell for me.” His firm lips kicked up in a wry smile as he raised his hand and stroked her wild hair back from her face.
Flustered, she leaned back, but didn’t have the strength to let him go completely. Her hands rested lightly on his hips, her eyes never left his face. She sucked in her bottom lip, swallowed and knew he hadn’t missed the movement as his eyes darted to her mouth. A secret thrill raced through her, tingled up her spine to warm the base of her neck. Deliberately, she swiped her tongue over her top lip, pausing briefly when it reached the corner of her mouth, delighting in his intense, hawk-like stare.
He smoothed his hands from her shoulders to her elbows, let go and slipped them around her waist. His arms tightened around her, edged her in closer as his mouth hovered over hers, his warm breath flirted across her skin. Her eyelashes fluttered closed as his firm lips touched hers. Focused on the pleasure of his persuasive mouth, the sweep of his tongue against hers, Bailey forgot. She forgot he wasn’t hers, she forgot she belonged to someone else, and for a brief absent-minded moment she tipped her head back and let him help himself.
His warm hand glided up her ribs, skimmed the underside of her breast. She drew in a shallow breath and released it on a low moan as his hand cupped her flesh; his thumb stroked her nipple through the material of her bra.
Barely aware of movement as he walked her backward, she smoothed her hands up his firm powerful back, sculpted his muscles with her fingers and drew him nearer. In the back of her mind she was vaguely aware of the click of the bedroom door as he closed it behind them. Her hands moved down to mold his very pert butt through his skin-hugging jeans. Pressing him close, so they were hip to hip, she could feel the hard outline of his penis rubbing against her belly, her body pinned his against the closed door.
Breath choppy, heart slamming against her ribs, she held her breath as his lips skimmed over her jawline and kissed a trail to the pounding pulse at the base of her throat. She was aware of his hand scrunching up the material of her skirt, felt the warmth of his skin as it came into contact with her flesh while he pushed the skirt higher over her hips, almost to her waist. The heat of his palm caressing her naked backside melted her, weakened her knees, and flooded her center with molten liquid. Breathless, dizzy she arched against him, felt his firm fingers slide between her legs; touch her warm, naked, wet center.
“Good of you to drop your panties for me.” His amused, gravelly voice rasped at her throat.
If a sluice of icy water had been thrown in her face it couldn’t have sobered her quicker.
Bailey jerked back, heard his yelp as she tore away from him. Taken by surprise, Sebastian had the gall to take a step forward to follow her. Rage and insult gave her the strength she needed to shove him hard back against the door. With his hand trapped under the material of her skirt, Sebastian tried to twist it from underneath as she wrenched back harder in her desperate attempt to escape him. She heard a loud rending sound as the seam gave way under the pressure of their tussle. Livid, Bailey stamped on those darned cowboy boots as hard as she could, rejoiced in his yowl of pain, fisted his hair and then wrenched his head to one side. Taking advantage of his surprise, she flung him out of the way, hauled open the door, dashed through and slammed it behind her.
Panting with fury, she yanked her skirt back into place, shocked to see the twisted seam ripped all the way up to her naked crotch. She bent her knees and tried to yank the skirt down further, at the same time crab walking toward her room door on the opposite side of the hall. Eyes widening in dismay, she stopped.
“Shit.”
In horror, she stared at the door number in front of her, shot a quick glance over her shoulder, then back again almost giving herself whiplash. Unbelievable. It was the cowboy’s room in front of her, and she’d just locked herself out of her own room—with the cowboy inside.
There was a quiet snick as the door behind her opened and she knew instinctively he would be leaning against the doorframe with a supercilious grin on his face.
Too proud, she refused to turn—let him wait. She smoothed her skirt, stretched her spine upright, straightened her shoulders, and prepared to face him.
Another click sounded further down the hall and filled her heart with dread. She made a slow turn of her head to the left and eyeballed a frail old lady, standing in the open doorway of a room. She was dressed in tweeds, a fox fur, and pearls. The woman’s eyes were enormous in her tiny face. Her mouth formed a perfect, wrinkled moue.
“Oh, dear Lord.”
The woman’s eyes bulged as she tracked them down Bailey’s body, and stopped at the top of the ripped skirt, getting an intimate view of Bailey’s naked privates. Her wrinkled lips moved, but no sound emerged.
Deep masculine laugher came from directly behind Bailey as she cringed and wished a hole would open up and swallow her—right at that instant.
She held her hand out to appeal to the woman, and opened her mouth, desperately trying to think of the right thing to say.
Just as a sound managed to crawl its way up her throat, they were all plunged into darkness and the noise that emerged was more a horrified squeal than a murmured consolation.
The deep, rolling laughter increased, and in the pitch black, she seriously contemplated that if she could murder him silently and instantly, with no witnesses, she quite cheerfully would.
“So you managed to kill the electrics, huh? Lights out in New York, and for your next trick, destroy the world.”
She could barely understand the words he pushed out through a throat consumed with laughter and spluttering.
Using her serious courtroom voice, Bailey attempted a poised and aloof façade.
“Do you think you could shine a light over here?”
Sebastian’s laughter stopped.
His approach was silent in the empty corridor, but before she knew it his husky voice murmured low in her ear.
“Now, what makes you think I would have a light on me?”
His breath feathered warm across her temple, raising delicious goose bumps over her flesh.
The lights flickered on, giving her another glimpse of the old lady whose frail body was still immobile in the doorway to her room. Her eyes were wide and round, her mouth gaped, while one gnarled hand clasped the neck of the fox and the other gripped it’s long thick tail as though it were a lifeline.
Sebastian’s cheek grazed hers as he turned his head in the old lady’s direction and froze. Evidently, it was his first sight of her.
“Christ.”
Pitch black descended upon them once more.
“Are you okay, ma’am?”
Sebastian’s muscular arm snaked around Bailey’s waist and his large warm hand engulfed her breast.
“Get your hand off my breast, you lecher.”
“Sorry, I was trying to help. I couldn’t see where I was putting it.”
A loud click sounded from further down the hall.
“Ma’am?”
Silence.
“I think you scared her away, Bailey.” His husky voice whispered in her ear.
He pulled her close against him, so her back rested naturally against his wide, firm chest, and she could only hope he didn’t feel the hungry shiver coursing through her body.
“Do you think she’ll be all right?” she made her voice as sharp as she could.
“Sure.” His lips grazed the top of her ear.
“But what if she’s on her own?” Her voice weakened, slurred.
“She has the fox to look after her.”
She snorted out a laugh and let him lead her backward through the pitch blackness into her room. She knew she should make a stand, send him on his way to his own room, but it was dark, she would be lonely, and he made her feel so safe.
Bailey heard the quiet
snap of the door as he shut it behind them, and she allowed Sebastian to place his hands on her shoulders, turn her body so it was facing his. How the hell was she supposed to marry another man when her heart was quite firmly lodged with the cowboy?
He pulled her close, and she sighed as her breasts flattened against his chest, his warmth soaking into her skin.
A pale gray light reflected from the snow outside and filtered through the wide hotel window, but all she could see was the silhouette of Sebastian’s face, punctuated with the glitter of his light blue eyes.
“Don’t leave me, Bailey.” His smooth deep voice sounded more like a plea than a command.
Her heart softened with his seductive words, the gentle graze of his fingers against her temple. She raised her hand and caught his, brought it to her mouth, and placed a tender kiss to his palm. Tempted beyond belief, yet with the knowledge that he was never really hers to take.
“I’m not leaving you. You never wanted me.” A regretful breath shuddered through her as she yearned for something she could never have.
“I always wanted you. I was just waiting for you to grow up.”
“I left the ranch almost a year ago. I think I grew up then.”
He smoothed a thumb over her lower lip.
“You were young. You needed your freedom to spread your wings, to find out about the world. It would have been like tethering a wild mustang if I had tried to make you stay.”
“But, Sebastian, you never tried. You never said a word and now it’s too late. I’ve already agreed to marry Phillip. We’re getting engaged tomorrow.”
“Well, why are you wearing his ring today?”
“So I don’t lose it.”
“Did you choose it?
“No. His mother did.”
“Damn, but it’s ugly.”
A short burst of disrespectful laughter erupted from her before she could control it, and then, flushed with embarrassment, she stood silent in the circle of his arms for a moment.
Sebastian raised his hand and caressed her cheek with his rough palm, smoothed his fingers over her ear, and slid them into her hair to cup the back of her head. The soft glide of his lips across her cheek sent a ripple of desire fanning through her body. Desire she had only ever felt around him.