His sinister laugh, deep and filling the hall, chased behind her. “Let’s just go. Sebastian, I meant what I said. I’m not having sex with you,” Ashley scolded as she exited.
The thick, dank air could be sliced with a knife. Ashley hadn’t realized that the humidity would loom after six o’clock in the evening. Staying cool by wearing a strapless dress made her grateful.
“What is this place?” she asked, her searching eyes poised on Sebastian’s smiling face highlighted by the hazy glow of street lights cast down from above.
“This is one of my favorite spots. Casual dining. Nice outdoor ambiance. Romantic.”
They approached the curb. Sebastian held out a hand, his silent offer to guide Ashley through the crowd of patrons.
Cautiously she accepted, placing her hand in his, flinching at the merger of their fleshy palms.
Sebastian’s eyes softened. A smile curved the edge of his lips. “I won’t bite. Unless you want me to.”
Ashley knew the minutes wouldn’t be long. And there he goes again. Scum dog!
She snatched her hand away. “Can’t you treat me as a person? I’m not one of your tramps or escorts or hookers.” Her escalation elicited stares from nearby diners seated at tables on the covered patio where they stood.
“Of course you’re not. I would pay an escort or a hooker for her services. I have no intention of paying for yours.”
His response was the straw that snapped her sanity. Ashley raised up on the tips of her toes. Her arm swung back and released like a catapult. Her palm collided with his jaw and made a loud smack. The sound echoed, and a hush fell over the patio.
She didn’t know what had happened until the red fury faded away. Ashley gripped her throbbing hand as the stinging and burning sensation subsided. Sebastian’s mouth fell open. He cupped his face with a hand.
He jerked back, face wrinkled. A puzzled frown painted his mug. “What the hell, Ashley?” Sebastian’s voice forced Ashley into retreat. With the distance between them, she snaked tense arms around her waist. The blow she gave had been instinctual, taking her by surprise.
She glanced around. “Sebastian, you might think I’m an easy target or a worthless piece of ass, but I won’t be disrespected or talked down to.”
Their audience of onlookers seemed frozen in time, their stares paused on the altercation unfolding before them.
Calm. Steady. Sebastian glared at Ashley. “How quickly you forget. You insulted me first. Remember Peachtree Street? You blessed me out good and proper for no reason when I was trying to help you.” The words rolled off his tongue with salty bitterness.
“So that gives you the right to treat me like trash?” She wadded tight fists at her side, resisting the urge to slap him once more. “Sebastian, this is a bad idea. You and I are combustible elements on the periodic table, and we shouldn’t mix. As much as I don’t mind making a scene if the moment calls for a scene, I won’t do this with you. Take me home.”
A wiry hand reached out, tapped Sebastian’s bare forearm. “Sir, you and your date are disturbing the other guests. If you don’t stop fighting, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask that you leave.” The waiter shifted from foot to foot. Ashley could see the fear in the waiter’s bulging eyes. Sebastian possessed the power to put a man’s head on a platter.
Sebastian turned slowly. A cool grimace stretched across his mouth and melted away when his gaze landed on the waiter’s face. “My apologies. I’m afraid this is my fault. I’ve insulted the lady and won’t make that mistake again. I’ll take my usual table, Blair.”
The waiter had a name. Sebastian knew Blair. Still angered, Ashley frowned at both men.
“Oh! Mr. Stone, I… I’m so sorry. I didn’t know… didn’t recognize you. You and… and…” Blair groveled and stammered.
“This is my date, Ashley,” Sebastian said, putting the waiter out of his misery. “Everything is all right, Blair.” He angled his head, wrinkled his brow. Pleading eyes stared at Ashley. “Let’s start fresh. I’ll be on my best behavior. Or if you prefer to be alone, I can arrange for a ride back to your friend’s house.”
Nerves fringed, Ashley inhaled, managed her composure. “Blair, I apologize for causing a scene.” She turned and faced Sebastian. “Thanks for the offer for dinner tonight. I’ll walk back.”
The muscles in Sebastian’s downcast face tightened. He stepped forward, placed a masculine hand on her arm. “I’m sorry, Ashley. I really do like you. I don’t know how to contain myself at times,” he whispered softly.
For the first time since meeting Sebastian, Ashley heard a sincerity in his words. She stared silently at him for a minute, remembering that Kerrigan described how well she and Axel had been regarded when they honeymooned in the Keys. The locals knew the impressive beach-side estate and its enterprising owner, Axel Christensen. Ashley smiled and then turned to Blair. “Blair, can you point me in the direction of the Christensen house?”
Blair pointed to the left, toward a row of tiki torches lined against Croton shrubs.
A firm grip on Ashley’s shoulder jolted her. “Ashley, again, I apologize. Maybe we can do this some other time when we’re both ready.” His tone begged her forgiveness.
She nodded her head. Instant regret gnawed at her conscience. “Sure Sebastian, I forgive you. This,” Ashley waived an anxious hand between them, “wasn’t meant to be. Sorry to crush your theory about fate.”
The night breeze tousled her hair wildly, and her dress danced around legs at flight. Ashley whipped her head around, caught a glimpse of Sebastian’s sullen stare, and darted off toward the beach. She would make the most of the spoiled evening. A walk along the shore would lighten her dampened mood.
As past experiences had illustrated, Ashley knew that entertaining Sebastian would be disastrous. Escaping his allure, even with all his fineness, had been easy, but damn her lusty hormones. Ashley wanted a taste of Sebastian Stone, and that fact she couldn’t deny.
Wet sand settled between her toes and clung to Ashley’s feet. She anchored herself to the beach where she sat peering at the glow of moonlit waves swelling and thrashing. The Atlantic Ocean crested on the shore at her feet. Ashley always found solace in the quiet stillness of reflection and meditation. Before long, the minutes became an hour. Her thoughts floated between her very recent encounter with the vilest man whom she had ever met, her past with Chris, and her present-day reality. When Chris died, she couldn’t imagine what would become of her, but the past few years spent hopping from one man to the next wasn’t how she had pictured her life.
Never one to wallow in defeat or self-pity for too long, Ashley stood, rising from the pit of despair, and dusted the sand from the folds of her dress.
“Care to share what’s got you in such a melancholy state?” The thick voice jolted Ashley. She spun around to face the handsome grin planted across Sebastian’s unwelcomed mug.
Ashley’s hand jerked up and landed against her chest. “Where did you come from?” she bellowed with a screech. “Did you followed me?”
He took a step closer, his bare feet planted firmly in the sand. “Yes. I followed you. It’s not safe for a woman to walk alone on the beach at night. I had to see that you arrived home safely.”
Her eyes roved his frame gingerly. “I arrived more than an hour ago. Why are you still here? Pretty stalkerish, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t.”
She frowned. “You didn’t, what?”
“I didn’t ask you. I recall what happened the last time that I asked if you needed my help. This time, I decided to take matters into my own hands.” His cool, easy tone made Ashley’s hand twitch. She had the urge to slap the stubble off his dimpled chin.
She shuffled past him, not offering a response.
Sebastian’s long fingers wrapped around Ashley’s wrist, halting her steps. She yanked away from his grip with no success. His clammy palm pressed against her pulsating vein, blood coursing faster and faster until her anger rose. “Ouch!” she yelp
ed. “Let go of me, Sebastian.”
Her demand forced creases to form at the edges of his mouth. A crooked smile. “You’re the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. If you’re not careful, you’re going to make me put you over my shoulder and haul you back to my place. You need a lesson in submission.”
Ashley inhaled a deep breath and pulled back hard. Freed from his clutches, she whipped around. Their eyes met. “You kinky bastard. I told you there would be no sex, and just as sure as hell is hotter than summer in Georgia, I certainly won’t role-play with you in the bedroom.”
Sebastian tossed his head back and laughed. The thunder of his deep voice vibrated through Ashley’s core. “That’s not exactly what I meant,” he defended. Entertaining her interpretation of his words, his laugh faded into a sinister grin. “Although, I do like the way you think.”
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. She quickened her pace, taking long, measured steps away from Sebastian and toward the beach house. “Go home, Sebastian,” Ashley yelled over her shoulder.
A sudden burning sensation on Ashley’s ankles and calves arrested her steps. Sebastian’s wide gait had closed the distance between them. His less-than-graceful stride stirred up grains of sand, stinging her legs.
“What do you want?” Exasperation leaked from her lips, wilting Sebastian’s grin into a frown.
“I just want to talk.” He glanced around, peering at the sea swell, and then fixed his gaze on her. “A do-over. A second chance.” Surrendered hands fell at his sides.
His earnest words, like a cool breeze coming from the ocean, sent a shiver up Ashley’s spine. She shuddered and looped her arms across her chest to stave off the chill, and him. As if instinct had commanded, Sebastian stepped forward and placed his arms around her. The urge to resist the warmth of his embrace fled. Her head pressed against his chest. Her arms spanned his torso. Ashley surrendered to him, enjoying the feel of Sebastian’s warm body against hers.
Sebastian’s head angled down, he whispered, “Ashley, I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you. If you give me another chance, I’ll make up for my behavior.”
The desperation in his voice cut through her muddled thoughts. She peered up at him, her eyes wide, her vulnerability exposed. She swallowed hard. “Sebastian, this isn’t the right time. I… I can’t… The timing is…”
He leaned down. Gray eyes impassioned with tenderness locked on hers. “The timing is perfect,” he whispered.
Slowly Sebastian’s soft lips covered Ashley’s, silencing her stammer. Her knees buckled. With limbs as unruly as hers, Sebastian collapsed to the earth, brought them both to their knees and clinging one to the other in a tender embrace. Her hands clawed at his chest to push him away, to pull him closer. Conflicting movements matched her feelings. Feelings that swelled and receded like ocean waves. His hardness pushed against her stomach. Ashley whimpered and moaned. Sebastian’s tongue moved with expert precision, swirling inside her mouth, mixing her tattered emotions and thoughts into pure heat. He cupped her behind, molded her cheeks with skillful hands.
Passion, raw and tender, erupted. Sebastian laid back into the bed of sand and pulled Ashley onto him. The intensity of his commanding tongue and touch grew. Greedy fingers crawled up the back of her thigh and under her pink dress. Ashley reached back, covered his wandering hand with hers. His journey paused, Sebastian’s fleshy palm pressed firmly against her naked flesh.
“Sebastian,” she moaned, a hesitant, wanting whisper.
His desire unleashed, he rolled Ashley onto her back and forced her to the ground underneath the weight of his body. Sebastian devoured her lips, chest heaving, wild eyes locked on her. He reached down slowly, lowered her strapless dress, and exposed her breasts. Her golden-brown skin shimmered in the moonlight.
“Beautiful,” he rasped.
Sebastian lowered his head. His wet tongue circled a hard nipple, forced an ache between Ashley’s thighs. She wanted him. There. Tonight.
Long red fingernails tangled his thick hair as she held him to her bosom.
“Oh, yes, yes.” Desire in her voice leaped into the night chill.
Sebastian pulled away. “I guess you didn’t want me to do that either,” he teased, his voice soft, tender.
“Mmm,” she murmured back, peering up at him with hungry eyes. “Are you going to finish this?” She reached down, placed needy fingers on Sebastian’s groin, pleading without shame.
“Yes.” His sinewy hand raised the fabric over her bosom, and he sat up.
Sebastian’s body away from hers extinguished the burning flames he ignited inside her. A frigid chill rolled through her in waves. “Sebastian, what are you doing?” she asked.
“Finishing this.” A cool smile eclipsed the sensual glare that had been her captor. “I told you I wanted to make sure you arrived safely. My being here with you, like this, isn’t safe. I accomplished my mission, and now I should leave.”
“You can’t be serious!” Ashley belted out.
“I meant what I said. I want a second chance with you.”
He pushed himself to his feet. A large hand extended down to help Ashley up. She glared at him. She couldn’t believe that she had allowed Sebastian Stone to bring her to the brink of desire. This game was supposed to be hers to win. Remembering her plan, and upset with how easily she had caved at his kiss, at his touch, anger welled up inside her.
Ashley jerked away from Sebastian’s outstretched hand. “Fine.” Shuffling to her feet, she dusted sand from her dress for the second time that evening and shook the granules out of her tousled mane. “Just go.”
A smug grin greeted her. “Good night, Ashley.” Sebastian lowered his head.
Ashley balled her fists at her sides, tightening each wad until her nails pressed into her fleshy palm and sent a shock of pain through frazzled nerve endings. She whirled around. Not waiting for his next move or words, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her toward the house.
Sebastian, one. Ashley, zero. She would fire the next round in their dangerous duel of desire and show that chauvinist pig exactly how unfilled desire felt.
Chapter Five
Sebastian clicked on the next tab. Scrolled to the left. His beloved Ellie stared back at him. Sebastian always loved that photo. He snapped the secret shot of her exactly two weeks to the day. Her radiance still affected him even five years after she had left him. Since his last drink and vow of sobriety three years ago, Sebastian found a new vice—his ritualistic morning cup of steaming hot java. Sometimes two cups. Sometimes more. Anxious fingers wrapped around a warm mug, lifted the rim to his lips. The sweet scent of mocha and cream teased his nostrils, and he sipped. One hard gulp and his eyes closed. He always found Ellie in his memories, and he always had memories whenever he closed his eyes, explaining countless sleepless nights, red eyes, and his general lack of focus.
A blaring ringtone startled Sebastian back to the present day. He closed the laptop, took another sip of coffee, and reached for his cell phone.
The number displayed on the screen made him cringe. He sucked in a deep breath. “Hello,” he bellowed into the phone while massaging his throbbing temple.
“Stone, we have a serious problem. I need your head in the game. Do you understand how much is at stake?” The man’s boisterous voice broadcast through the phone’s speaker filled the tiny makeshift office in his suite.
“Stephen, I’ve told you one hundred times I’m working on a solution. I need a little more time.” Sebastian slammed the mug down on the desk. Hot coffee splashed onto his hand, scalding him. “Shit,” he mouthed silently.
“Your time is nearly up. If you can’t present a plan to the board in three months, you’re out and the Carlisle on Peachtree will go on the auction block.”
“Damn it, Stephen! I told you I was working on a solution. Can’t you buy more time? I need more than three months.” Sebastian stood and ran his fingers through his hair. He paced back and forth between the fireplace mantel and the small desk.
“I’ve done all I can do. Hell, you’ve had time. More than enough time. You’ve had two years to pull your shit together. Everyone has been sympathetic to your situation. But business is business. You either get your head back in the game, or you’re done. You have three months. Got it, Stone?”
Hard, labored breaths forced air through Sebastian’s flaring nostrils. “Yeah, I got it.”
The call ended. He slammed the cell phone down on the desk. Rage stewing inside him, Sebastian pulled his left arm back and catapulted the half-filled cup of coffee through the air. Soaring like a baseball aimed at an outfielder, the mug slammed into the wall, sending jagged shards of ceramic airborne. Black coffee streaked the wall and stained pristine bed linens.
“Fuck!” Sebastian yelled, startled by his action. He stepped back from the scene of the crime. He lowered his head, eyes shut. This time, Ellie didn’t greet him behind closed eyelids. A minute later, like embers rising from flames, his head lifted and he erupted into side-splitting laughter. Garrett Wooster and Stephen Holman III would be in for one hell of a fight if they thought Sebastian would be forced out of the empire he had helped to build without a knock-down, drag-out brawl to the mother-fucking death.
“So what.” Kerrigan turned her back to Ashley. Snickering under her breath, she pulled a carton of eggs from the refrigerator. “You and Sebastian got a little frisky. You’re both adults. Have a little fun. Try something new. I recall very similar advice coming from your lips when Axel and I were dating.”
Ashley tugged at her bathrobe’s tie, nervous fingers seeking distraction. “Kerri, this is different. My brain knows that this guy is bad for me, but my body wants him.”
Kerrigan cracked an egg along the edge of the mixing bowl set on the butcher block counter. “Ash, I don’t get you. You’ve had more one-night stands than I care to discuss or know about. How is Sebastian any different?”
Ashley leaned forward, her elbows resting on the breakfast table. “I don’t know, but he’s different somehow. I don’t have the upper hand when I’m around him, and that feels strange. I should hate him, especially after the way he’s treated me, but I don’t. I haven’t been with anyone like that since…”
Take Me Down (Suits in Pursuit) Page 5