by Ashley Blake
Sebastian’s eyes were brimming with rage. “How did he take it?”
“Well, he’s in prison right now for ten more years, because he climbed into my bedroom window one night and attacked me. I was I the hospital for a couple of days.”
“Oh, Elena, I am so sorry that happened to you. Has he contacted you at all?”
“Unfortunately yes, he somehow finds me wherever I move and sends a letter every six months.”
Sebastian set his jaw and I could see that he was clenching his teeth. “Have you received a letter recently?”
“Yes, I just got a letter from him right before I came here. I was in therapy for a while after the incident and it really helped me to not fear him, now I just get angry when I get a letter.”
Sebastian’s face was super serious. “Elena, I want you to promise me something and this is very important.”
My eyes searched his and I could see the concern there.
“Okay.”
“I want you to tell me when he contacts you again.”
“I really don’t want to get anyone else involved, Sebastian. This is my problem that I have been dealing with for years and I don’t want to burden anyone else.”
He reached over and grabbed my hand in his, gently rubbing the back of my hand, his eyes gentle and kind. “I want you to be safe so please just let me know when he contacts you again.”
“Okay.”
There was a knock on the door and our food finally arrived and it was a welcome distraction from talking about Brian. I didn’t want to talk about him anymore so I changed the subject. We talked more about our day in São Paulo while we ate dinner and we relaxed on the couch with a glass of wine when we were done eating.
“I’ve been talking about me too much, tell me something about you. I already know about your family’s business background, so tell me personal stuff. Where do you live?”
He smiled at me. “Okay, I live on Star Island in a home that is way too big but I like it. Let’s see, you already know I am the oldest of three brothers, Spencer is two years younger than me and Shane is five years younger than me.”
“What about your mom? Do you see her often?”
His face totally lit up when I asked him that.
“My mother is a jewel and I see mom almost every week. She lives in the house next to mine, even though saying ‘next to’ is kind of funny because you have to drive to get there. After my parents got divorced my mother nearly fell apart because she was so devastated. I’m sure you’ve read about my dad’s cheating which led to the divorce.”
I looked at him, my eyes sympathetic.
“Yes.”
“Well, like I said she was devastated and it took a bit of time for her to be okay, but she stayed strong for us. I have so much more respect for my mom with the way she handled the publicity of the divorce. She showed so much grace and dignity through it all. My father was a complete jerk and the way he disrespected my mother made me so angry. My father and I have what I would call a strained relationship, we speak about business but I tend to cut him off when he tries to get personal. With the way he humiliated my mother, I don’t know that our relationship will ever be repaired.”
“I’m sorry, Sebastian. That must be difficult for you to have to work with your father when you have such a strained relationship. Have you thought about going to counseling with him?”
“It’s funny you ask that because he has been trying to get me to go for years but with the way he treated his second wife, by doing the same thing he did to my mom, and the way he jets all around looking like a man desperate to recapture his youth, I just don’t believe him that wants to make things better. He is a very selfish man who only thinks about himself.”
I could see that his relationship with his dad really bothered him and I wished there was something that I could say to make him feel better.
“I’m sorry Elena, I never should have mentioned him. Let’s change the subject, what else can I tell you?”
“Tell me about Sophia. I can’t really figure her out. When we are working everything is in perfect harmony, but the second the work day ends she becomes an ice queen.”
His mouth turned up in a half smile. “That’s a pretty good description for her. Sophia is having a difficult time accepting that there will never be anything between us again romantically and I think she suspects that I have feelings for you so there is probably a bit of jealousy there.”
“She doesn’t seem like a very nice person in general Sebastian, how did you guys even start dating?”
“There’s a good heart in there, she’s had a difficult life so what may come off as nasty is usually just a scared little girl trying to protect herself. Her father was abusive to her mother and she witnessed things that a child should never see in their lifetime on almost a daily basis, so she has deep trust issues.”
“Oh, well that explains it I guess. Hopefully she’ll warm up to me eventually. So how long did you date her?”
“We dated for almost a year.”
“And what happened?”
He hesitated before answering me, his eyes glossing over with anger. “She was unfaithful.”
Something clicked and I put two and two together. “Is Sophia the woman you were engaged to? The one your brother slept with?”
He clenched his jaw and I could see that it still upset him.
“Yes.”
“Wow. Well, you speak kindly about someone who betrayed you, that’s admirable.”
“I have to.”
I looked at him not understanding what he meant by saying that and he averted his eyes and tried to change the subject. Clearly he did not mean to let those words slip out. What is he not telling me?
Just as I was about to ask him, Sebastian changed the subject.
“I know we have one more day here, but are you ready to go back to the States?”
We were leaving that Tuesday and, to be honest, I was really enjoying my time in São Paulo and I knew that being with Sebastian had a lot to do with that.
“Not really, even though we are working really hard I am having a wonderful time here and I’m not ready for it to end.”
He smiled at me. "I felt the exact same way the very first time I came to São Paulo, it is a beautiful city but this time around I am lucky.” He held my gaze as he lightly stroked my hand. “This time I am here with a beautiful woman.”
I gave him a wry smile. “I am sure that you have been here with many beautiful women Sebastian.”
The look on his face was serious as his eyes searched mine. "I have only been to São Paulo for business and I assure you, I have never been here with another woman.”
He held my hand in his and looked down, gently stroking my wrist with his thumb, causing my breath to escape me, and then raised his eyes to mine. “I’m really happy you’re here.”
I don’t know if it was the wine or being so close to Sebastian or what, but butterflies were going crazy in my belly and all I wanted in that moment was for him to kiss me. He must have read my mind because the next thing I knew he was leaning in toward me. His fingers slid into my hair as he pulled me toward him and his soft lips touched mine. Our tongues explored, teased and tasted each other and all I wanted was to be even closer to him. He held my face with both hands as he kissed me deeper and I wrapped my arms around his neck, shifting my body closer to his on the couch. His lips trailed along my neck and I threw my head back, raking my fingers through his thick hair pressing my body close to his.
“Elena, you drive me crazy.” He growled the words softly in my ear.
My core throbbed as he continued to caress me and then he pulled me to my feet and slowly ran his hands down my arms, never taking his eyes from mine. His eyes perused my face, down to my breasts which were gently heaving under his intense gaze, down to my hips, my legs and then back up to my eyes.
“So beautiful.”
He leaned in and kissed me, running his hands over my ass and giving it a gentle sque
eze. I wrapped my arms around his neck and a soft moan escaped my lips as I pressed my breasts against his chest. He slipped the thin straps of my dress off my shoulders, leaned down and gently kissed my shoulder, his hands lightly stroking my breasts giving them a squeeze. My nipples were taut and strained against my bra under my dress. Sebastian’s thumbs caressed each nipple through my dress, gently circling and pinching them and they were begging to be freed. My core was throbbing uncontrollably and I wanted to feel his mouth on me, to feel him inside of me. I had never been so willing to sleep with a man so quickly but there was something different about Sebastian. I felt safe with him, I trusted him and I wanted him more than I had ever wanted any man before.
He reached around and unzipped my dress and it fell to the floor in a silk puddle. Sebastian let out a groan as his eyes surveyed my lingerie clad body.
“You are so perfect, Elena.”
I stood there in my red lace strapless bra and matching panty, my strappy sandals elongating my calves. I was happy that he approved and I wanted him to ravage me, but he stood there just looking at me. After what seemed like forever he pulled me to him in a full embrace, his fingers entwined in my hair and gave me a long, deep kiss and then looked at me, his eyes filled with lust.
“I want you so badly right now, you have no idea how much I want you.” He pressed his hips against mine and I could feel his arousal as he planted another deep kiss on me and then looked at me.
“We are going to have to wait to be together Elena, I want you, but not here, not like this.”
What? My body was ready for him and disappointment settled over me as I realized I was being rejected and I was sure it showed clearly on my face.
“Don’t look like that sweetie, I want to take you right now, you have no idea how badly, but this is not the right setting for us. I want everything to be perfect when we are together for the first time. You deserve that. I don’t want our first time together to be the day of our first date. Hell, this isn’t even really a date, we ordered room service and you deserve so much more.”
“I thought you said you couldn’t be seen with me.”
“We will have to be discreet, but not for long, I promise you. You’re going to have to trust me on that, Elena. I want to take you out and treat you the way you deserve to be treated. I want to have you on my arm so that everyone will know we are together, we just have to wait a little bit longer.”
I was conflicted because on one hand it was really sweet that he wanted everything to be perfect, but on the other hand my body was crying out for his touch and I didn’t care about perfection. But I could tell by his body language that nothing further was going to happen between us. He handed me my dress and he averted his eyes from my near naked body.
“It’s best if you put that back on because I won’t be able to control myself if you don’t.”
I slipped on my dress and sat down on the couch and took a few slow, deep breaths trying to get my body and senses to calm down. I looked up at him and gave him a small smile.
“Thank you for today.”
He sat next to me and brushed my hair out of my face and gently kissed the tip of my nose.
“You’re welcome. When we get back to Miami we’re going to have a long talk and I will tell you why we have to be discreet for just a little while longer.”
“You can’t tell me now?”
“It’s late Elena, and it’s complicated. We’ll talk when we get back, I promise.”
“Okay. Well, we have one last big day tomorrow before we go back to Miami so I should probably go to bed so that we can get some sleep.”
“You can stay here with me. I promise I’ll be a good boy.”
I looked at him and held his gaze. “I can’t promise I’ll be a good girl.”
He leaned in and gave me a long kiss and then whispered in my ear. “I promise we’ll pick up where we left off.”
I could barely stand but I knew that I had to get out of there because I wanted to literally jump him on the couch. He walked me to the adjoining door and gave me a quick peck on the lips.
“Sleep well, I’ll see you in the morning.”
I floated to my bed on cloud nine.
The next morning it was business as usual. Sophia barely said two words to me while we worked together, and at first I was a little put off by Sebastian’s indifference toward me, but during the lunch break he gave me a quick wink when no one was looking and that small gesture put to rest any insecurities I had. I noticed that there was some tension between Sebastian and Sophia and I was trying to figure out which one of them it was coming from. I glanced at them throughout the afternoon and they both seemed to be pissed about something. I hated being in the dark about whatever it was he had to tell me and I couldn’t wait to get back to Miami to talk to him.
We all had a quick dinner together that last night and afterwards I went back to my room to finish packing and I saw Sebastian walking away with Sophia. Feelings of jealousy consumed me and I had never experienced anything like it. Didn’t she get the hint? He didn’t want her anymore and I wished that she would just disappear. Was I being the fool here? Was he trying to have both of us, telling her the same thing he was telling me?
I was packing and trying really hard to push the sight of those two leaving together out of my head when I heard a knock at our shared door. I hesitated for a minute before I answered because if Sebastian was playing games, if he thought I was the young, naïve girl who would fall for anything, he was sadly mistaken.
As soon as I opened the door he rushed in and gave me a huge hug and kiss, lifting me off the ground. I couldn’t help but feel giddy because he was so happy to see me.
“I’ve been waiting all day to do this.” He gently put me down and his hands held my face as his eyes searched mine. “You did a wonderful job while you were here Elena, I’m really impressed with your work and I know that you will continue to shine at the company.”
Why is he talking about work right now? I could see something more behind his eyes; he seemed worried about something.
“Sebastian, is everything okay? You seem upset.”
He reached down and grabbed my hands, his eyes searching mine. “Everything is fine, but there has been a slight change of plans for tomorrow. I have to fly to Paris so I will not be going back to Miami with you. I have arranged for you to fly back first class and I upgraded Carol and Mark’s tickets also so that they would not be suspicious.”
I pulled away from him slightly. “So, you are flying back on the jet with Sophia.”
He reached for me but I pulled back again. “Elena, it is not what you think, you have to believe me.”
"Why do I have to believe you Sebastian? It seems pretty clear, you want to go back to Paris to spend time alone with Sophia, I get it. That’s fine, you don’t owe me anything.” I started to walk away from him but he grabbed my hand and stood in front of me, blocking me from going anywhere.
“I love you Elena. It’s that simple, and I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you.”
Did I just hear what I thought I heard? I must have looked shocked because he gently lifted my chin so that our eyes met and the butterflies were going crazy.
“I know it seems fast, but I have never felt like this in my life. You make me happier than I have ever been. I meant what I said, I love you.”
I loved him too. I had felt it from the time I realized I couldn’t get him out of my head and I didn’t want to fight it anymore. I looked at him and smiled. “I love you too.”
He smiled at me and gently kissed me. “You just made me the happiest man alive. Please don’t shut me out. I have to go to Paris for personal reasons that I can’t explain to you right now. But I promise I will tell you everything when I get back. I have to take care of something and I should be back by Friday. Can I see you Saturday? Please?”
“I don’t know, Sebastian.” I could feel myself starting to give in.
He gently placed a finger under my
chin again and tipped my face up to his. “Please.” His dark, brooding eyes were sincere.
I hesitated for a few seconds, trying to feel if I thought he was lying to me and in my gut I felt he was telling the truth. Butterflies went crazy in my belly as I looked into his gorgeous dark eyes. This guy has some sort of power over me. Whatever it was that was going on, I had less than a week to wait to find out. I could do that…for him.
“Okay.” My words were soft and his face completely lit up.
“Thank you for trusting me. I will make plans for Saturday and I will definitely call you this week.”