ShouldveKnownBetter

by Cassandra Carr

  Sebastian had to smile. Rob could always be counted on to give it to him straight and then cut the tension with some lame joke or remark. It was no wonder he was an assistant captain and one of the guys all the others looked up to.

  They arrived at the nursery then picked out a tree, but not before Rob had inspected no less than twenty, finding fault with every one of them. Sebastian was considering drastic measures when Rob finally acquiesced. They put the tree in the bed of the truck then headed over to Sarah’s house.

  Sebastian’s patience was at an end. He wanted to see Sarah and Rob’s words had spurred him into action. It was time to go get what he wanted.

  Chapter Ten

  Sarah stopped at the store on her way home. She wanted to cook the guys something nice since they were out in the freezing cold because of her. A pork loin was good and also easy. After choosing her side dishes, she grabbed some beer, plus an assortment of cheeses and crackers. They ate so much pasta and chicken in their pre-game meals she was sure they were as sick of it as she was. She got home, fed Tasha, threw the pork in the oven, and then scurried around tidying up.

  What am I freaking out about? For one thing, he and Rob probably live in some filthy bachelor pad, and besides, what do I care what he—they—think?

  But she did care. She hated to admit it, but she did. A lot. Once again she was happy she’d invested in a gas fireplace she could light from a remote as a cheerful fire blazed to life.

  When the doorbell rang, she was struggling to move furniture to make room for the tree. Giving a final useless shove to the unyielding sofa, Sarah grumbled as she crossed the living room to answer the door. Sebastian was delicious in the tight jeans he’d worn earlier, plus work boots and a heavy coat. Rob was standing well behind him, holding up the tree.

  “Hi.” Sebastian’s Adam’s apple worked as he swallowed.

  “Hi.” Sarah bit her lip, not sure how to handle things now that he was here.

  They continued to stare at each other until Rob said, “Can we do the awkward thing later? This tree is heavy.”

  Sarah flushed and hurried to hold open the door. Sebastian grabbed the bottom of the trunk, and together he and Rob carried the tree into the house. It was huge, and once Sebastian reached the living room, he asked, “Is it okay to put it on floor?”

  “Sure, yeah. They’re old wood floors and I haven’t gotten around to refinishing them yet.”

  They dropped the tree and Rob pivoted toward the door he’d kicked shut a moment earlier. “The stand is in the truck. I’ll be back in a minute.” Even his nervousness was apparent as he practically catapulted himself out the door.

  Had Sebastian thanked Rob or reamed his friend out for pushing him into this? That was what she wanted to do. Then hug him and buy him flowers to thank him. It was messed up, but it was what it was.

  She suspected Sebastian was viewing it as a way to spend the evening with her. He appeared as nervous as she felt, and Sarah sent up a quick prayer that they could have a nice, civilized dinner without ripping each other’s clothes off. Surely Rob would run screaming. The image brought a small smile to her face.

  Sebastian shifted his weight from side to side just like he did on the ice as he checked out her living room. “This is a nice house. Do you own it? I’m sorry, I should not have asked.”

  “It’s all right. Yes, I own the house. Before I moved to Buffalo, I hired one of those relocation specialists to find a house within easy driving distance of the arena, and when she showed me this one, I was hooked.

  “I’ve always lived in new, modern-style apartments, but the character of this place appealed to me. It’s like I’m just a little part of the history of the house, you know? My furniture doesn’t match the style of it, but what can you do? And I wanted to buy a house for once instead of renting. But I do rent out the carriage house over the garage.”

  Shut up already, you idiot.

  Thankfully Sebastian didn’t react to her running at the mouth, and had moved toward a wall where she’d displayed a few family pictures.

  Where the hell is Rob? Did he go to Alaska to get that stand?

  “Are these your family?” Sebastian asked, pointing to the grouping.

  Sarah stepped toward him and nodded. She indicated one particular picture. “That’s me. I think I was about five years old. The older man is my grandfather. He got me into hockey and my dad continued the tutelage until he died too.” She wasn’t sure why she’d shared that, but at least they weren’t staring at each other like morons anymore.

  “You were cute.” She smirked as he must’ve realized he’d used the past tense and heat suffused his face. At least she wasn’t the only pathetic one. “Not that you’re not cute now, you’re…” Rob came in with the stand and Sebastian audibly exhaled, hurrying back to the tree.

  As they cut the ropes off with the rather scary hunting knife Rob had pulled out of his pocket, she said, “You guys keep working while I go check on dinner.”

  “You didn’t have to go cook for us,” Sebastian protested, but looked pleased nonetheless.

  “It’s no problem. I love to cook. You know that.” Crap. I can’t believe I just said that. Way to remind him about that “date” during training camp.

  With that, she swept into the kitchen, but not before hearing Rob demand in a mock-offended voice, “When did you find out she likes to cook? Have you been keeping stuff from me? Or more importantly, food from me? I’m hurt!”

  Sarah couldn’t hear Sebastian’s reply as she opened the fridge. She’d already cut up the cheese. After adding the crackers and some grapes to the platter, she brought it into the living room.

  Rob was underneath the tree, fighting it into the stand. Sebastian stood beside it, supporting the weight of the tree with both hands while Rob shoved it around. Based on her mathematical background and good old common sense, the surface area of the stand was much too small for the humungous tree trunk, but if the guys could wrestle the thing in there, more power to them.

  “Do you want something to drink?” she asked.

  Rob came out from under the tree, his face red from the exertion of battling the massive trunk into place. “Try it now,” he said.

  Sebastian let the tree go. It tilted and he rushed to grab it again before it fell over.

  Shaking his head, Rob said, “Well, that needs some work. Stupid tree. You’d think it would be more cooperative since I’m such a good guy and rescued it from a sure death by mulching.” He grinned as he scooted back under the tree. “Beer would be great for me if you’ve got it.”

  “Yeah, beer is good,” Sebastian echoed.

  Sarah retreated to the kitchen and popped the tops off a couple of beers. After opening a bottle of white wine, Sarah poured herself a healthy glass and carried everything into the living room, where the boys stood eyeing the tree, now upright of its own volition.

  It was holding for the moment, but Rob insisted the best side of it needed to face the room, so the two of them moved it this way and that, searching for the best viewing angle and arguing with each other all the while, ever the competitors.

  Sarah chuckled and sat on the couch to watch the show. They both backed away from the tree, still eyeing it, and Sarah said, “It’s fine. Come sit down.” When they obeyed, she continued. “Thank you so much for doing this. It was above and beyond the call of duty. I would appreciate it though, if you’d keep it to yourself you were here. I don’t want people to get the wrong impression.”

  Rob nodded. “We considered that and didn’t say anything to anyone.” He glanced at Sebastian, who was staring at the floor. Pivoting back toward Sarah, amusement playing over his features, Rob said, “So, do you have any decorations for this thing now that you’ve got it?”

  “Yeah, I keep them upstairs in the attic. My mom gave me a bunch of my grandma’s stuff, and I brought a few boxes of my favorite things from Ithaca.”

  Rob waited, and then with an exasperated-sounding grunt, he glanced at Sebastian, who
had shifted from staring at the floor to staring into his beer.

  What is Sebastian thinking? Had he been forced into this? Was he just waiting for the chance to leave?

  Poking Sebastian in the ribs, Rob asked, “Do you want us to get them down for you?”

  “Oh, no!” Sarah exclaimed. “No, you’ve done too much already.”

  Sebastian appeared to break out of the spell he’d been under. “It’s no big deal, and then you can decorate the tree.” He sprang from the couch like he’d been goosed, which sounded like an excellent idea right about then as she stared at his well-muscled backside. “Where did you say they were?”

  By the time Sarah rose to follow, Sebastian had already started up the stairs. She directed them to her bedroom, where the trap door for the attic was located. She hadn’t cleaned upstairs, but with any luck, there were no embarrassing items lying around. Wearing silky, pretty things under her track suits was her only nod to femininity at this point, and she tended to leave them out when she was in a hurry.

  Luckily, the room was neat. She went into the walk-in closet, pointing up. The guys appeared to realize they were standing in Sarah’s bedroom, their eyes darting around the room, presumably searching for a safe place to look. She had to tamp down a laugh. Men were such strange creatures.

  Together Sebastian and Rob moved toward the trap door. Sebastian reached up and pulled the string. Both rushed to grab the stairs, which descended heavily.

  Rob raised an eyebrow, and his voice dripping with sarcasm, said, “Oh, yeah, you could’ve done this yourself.”

  “I would’ve. I might have killed myself, but I would’ve done it. I can’t ask some guy to run over here every time I need something. Single women like me have to be self-sufficient.”

  The guys climbed the stairs first, and Sebastian reached down with one long, corded arm to steady her as she followed. Their touch was electric, and Sarah attempted to break the spell, joking, “I can just see it now. You guys fall down the stairs, and then I have to explain to Jon and Keith why you were in my attic. Hmm, that might be a good time to lie. I can tell them I asked you to help me put up lights outside my house so I could win a contest with the neighbors.” She stopped and pointed to several boxes. “I think these are the decorations.”

  Chuckling, Rob and Sebastian both grabbed a box, and Sarah attempted to lift a third. Sebastian stopped her with a jerk of his head. “Put it down. We will do it. Those stairs are pretty dangerous, and I have watched you skate, and you have run into me more than once. Your coordination is not very good.” He smiled, and desire once again washed over her.

  Why couldn’t she keep her cool around him?

  She stayed in the attic until the boxes were down, and then Sebastian again helped her keep her footing on the stairs.

  The guys had left the boxes in her bedroom, and they began the process of carting them from the bedroom to the living room. Sarah skipped ahead and threw the corn into the microwave before setting out the salad, the wine, and the rolls. The pork smelled heavenly as she reached into the oven to pull the potatoes out, and Sarah took a deep breath, letting the scents of rosemary and oregano calm her.

  The sensitive skin on the side of her hand brushed the pan of pork. Sarah hissed in pain, letting fly a string of swear words. Worse yet, she nearly dropped the pan of potatoes in the process.

  Both Rob and Sebastian came running in.

  Setting the heavy pan on top of the stove, she said, “Burned myself. You were right, my coordination isn’t good.” She turned on the sink and ran cold water over the burned hand, which was already puffing up, the skin angry and mottled. Blinking away tears, she sighed. She couldn’t believe how much it hurt.

  Rob closed the oven and Sebastian came over. He took her hand in his, examining the reddening skin. Without releasing her, he crooned in French. She didn’t understand most of the words, but they soothed nonetheless.

  “Do you have any aloe vera?” Rob asked, sauntering over for his own inspection. Apparently Sarah’s face betrayed her surprise, since he smirked and replied, “I was in Scouts when I was a kid, all right? No comments from you.” He glared at Sebastian, who was trying without success to keep his expression neutral.

  “Hey, I didn’t say anything.”

  Sarah nodded. “I sunburn, so I always have aloe vera.” She pulled her hand out of Sebastian’s warm grasp and dried it off.

  “You should keep it under the cold water longer.”

  “I’m fine, Sebastian. I just want to get dinner on the table.”

  “I can do that.” He pushed her hand back under the tap.

  “Does the meat need to come out of the oven?” Rob asked.

  “No, it’s fine. The aloe is in the master bathroom, right side cabinet under the sink, toward the back on the left.”

  “Wow. A specific description if I ever heard one. I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less from a genius such as yourself. Okay, be right back.” Rob scampered off, which Sarah had no doubt he’d go to Timbuk-freaking-tu to locate in order to give her and Sebastian time alone—time they did not need and that Sarah didn’t want.

  “What can I do?” Sebastian asked. “Please let me do something. I can’t just stand here staring at your hand.”

  She jerked her head toward the stove. “Stir the potatoes with the spatula sitting next to the stove.”

  He followed her instruction, saying, “This is stupid, Sarah. It’s crazy.” He put the spatula down and moved closer before taking her face in his hands.

  Between the pain and the lust coursing through her veins, she was overwhelmed, like she had burned her entire body rather than just her hand.

  I’m afraid to even look at him. Good Lord, I’m in trouble.

  “Ma belle,” he mumbled.

  Her breathing quickened in anticipation of his kiss, recalling the tidal wave of sensation his soft, full lips had unleashed in the past. Sebastian did kiss her then, merely a soft brush from that incredible mouth. Even that set her nerves alight.

  Leaning into the kiss, Sarah surrendered to his intoxicating touch as his arms settled around her. It was exhausting to fight against this all-consuming storm of emotions. It was like someone had asked her not to breathe. She couldn’t do it.

  As if he sensed her capitulation, Sebastian deepened the kiss, running the tip of his wicked tongue along her top lip. He took her open mouth, his tongue slipping inside in a slow, languid penetration, nearly bringing her to her knees as a river of fire flowed through her. With endless long strokes that reminded Sarah of another kind of treatment she’d welcome, Sebastian continued his erotic torture of her mouth, and all worry about her burn was long forgotten as his lower body rocked into hers and the bulge of his erection pushed into her belly.

  Sarah melted into him, caressing the inexplicably soft skin on his neck before sliding her hands into the thick locks of his hair, pulling him closer as tide after tide of sexual urgency stole through her. When he growled into her mouth and then reached between her legs, she finally found the presence of mind to pull away, darting to the stove with her back to him as she panted.

  She stiffened when she heard him move toward her again. Thankfully, Rob re-joined them, and Sebastian’s steps stopped. Then, breathing hard, he retreated to a chair near the table. She groaned inwardly, suspecting Rob had been waiting in the living room until they stopped kissing.

  Snatching the aloe vera when Rob offered it, she applied the soothing liquid herself, not daring even a glance at either of the guys.

  Rob pulled the pork out of the oven and carried it to the table. As he was setting the pan down, his cell phone rang. He left the room to answer it, but soon returned. “That was Rick. That car he’s restoring broke down and I’ve got to go get him.”

  The idea of being left alone with Sebastian sent Sarah into a full-blown panic. Rob must have mistook her strangled expression because he said, “I didn’t tell him where I was.”

  After Rob made his apologies to her at the door,
she said, “Leaving us here alone isn’t a good idea. Can’t Rick get someone else to help him?”

  “He already called two other guys.”

  “Do you need me to go with you?”

  “Wouldn’t it be a little awkward if we showed up together? How would we explain that? No, I think you should stay here and figure out what the hell is going on between you two.” Rob glanced back toward the kitchen, frowning. “Good luck.” With that parting shot he turned away and jogged to his truck.

  Sarah closed the door and dropped her forehead against it, grateful for the cold wood on her blazing hot face.

  ****

  Sebastian strode into the foyer after he heard Rob’s truck start up. Sarah was facing away from him, clutching the door. She jumped when he spoke. “I did not ask him to set this call up, just so you know. It was all his idea.”

  Sarah turned and leaned against the door as if it was the only thing holding her up. For about the millionth time, he wished she would just let him in so they could stop this foolish dance. He wanted to be the one holding her up. She might not admit it, but she knew how this would end.

  “I know it wasn’t your idea, but you took advantage of the situation.”

  “Can you blame me?” He tried like hell to keep the bitterness out of his voice as he flattened one hand on the door beside her head. When he caressed her cheek with the palm of his other hand, she shuddered, and with a perverse glee he realized she was as off-kilter as him.

  “You and I both know damn well we have wanted each other for so long, too long. It’s making Rob crazy. It’s hurting my play. It’s affecting your work. It’s time to stop agonizing about whether it’s right and just do it. Te donner a moi. Right here, right now.”