I clasp his wrists, my heart racing. “For obvious reasons, I don’t talk about my past.”
Frustration reflects in his eyes, then his tone softens as he trails his knuckles over my cheek. “That’s where ‘rainbow’ came from, isn’t it?”
My face flushes, full of heat. “It’s the first word that popped into my mind. I’m glad you finally got your watch, Sebastian. At least now you know your father really did care and was proud of you. I wanted you to have it back as soon as possible, so you could start working on mending things with him. I guess three years late is better than never.”
He snorts. “I never went back to the Hamptons house. And giving something to Mina for safekeeping…let’s just say you haven’t seen her room when life is going well. I’m surprised she can find herself in there.”
“Why didn’t you do anything with the information your investigator collected on me?”
He releases me, his hands falling to his sides. “I just wanted to know you were okay. Don’t look at me like that. You didn’t meet me at the coffee house. Nor did you try to find me.”
“I knew you weren’t going to hang around.” When he frowns at me, I smile and place my hand on his chest. “But I’m glad to know I was wrong about you. You’re definitely someone I can depend on.”
Sebastian visibly stiffens. “I’m not that person, Talia. I’m a lot of things: a protector, a defender, I’m fair and bluntly honest, and yeah, I’m fucking good in bed, but I’m not always going to be there.”
I step back, his words hitting me hard. Every man in my life has abandoned me in some way or another. Sebastian isn’t like any of them. “I know different.”
He shakes his head, his jaw tightening. “No, you don’t.”
Why does he seem angry? “Yes, I do. At least you used to be someone to depend on,” I say, glancing at the end of the bed.
He frowns and points to the watch. “Are you talking about that? Slipping that watch in your pocket back then was a reckless, youthful mistake. One I can never take back.”
Mistake? He read the note I wrote. How can he not know how much his words hurt me? “You know what, I’m suddenly very tired.” I pivot and head for the door.
Just as I start to grab my purse, he turns me around, his hands on my shoulders. “Where are you going?”
“I’m all talked out for the night.”
His brows pull down. “We’re not done talking.”
I raise my chin, my heart pounding from anger, and hurt, and other emotions I don’t want to think about. “I think we’ve said enough.”
His expression hardens and his fingers tighten on my shoulders. “You’re right. Let’s do what we do best.” Before I can respond, he jerks me close and plants a searing kiss on me that sends a jolt of molten desire firing through my body.
Just when my hands uncurl by my sides, he sets me back against the door and flattens his palms against the wood on either side of me. “I’m going to give you one chance to walk out this door.” His piercing hunter’s gaze slides over my face, down my throat and then back up. “Know this, if you stay, I’m not holding back. You’d better be damn sure before you use your safe word. There’ll be no crying wolf. Not tonight.” He inhales next to my neck, a low, primal groan vibrating deep in his throat. “Punishment will be torturous.”
I’ve never seen such an intensely hungry look in his eyes before. My body wants him with a fierceness that scares me, but my mind is rebelling, telling me to leave before he fully captures the one thing I can’t protect from him, my heart.
As if he knows I’m waging an internal battle and half out the door already, Sebastian kisses me just behind my ear. “We’re fucking fantastic together.” His lips make my skin prickle while his deep voice slides hotly through my veins like a smooth top shelf whisky. “That’s one thing you can’t ignore or debate or talk yourself out of. What we have is a primal connection. Give us free rein and let it burn.”
Maybe he’s right. If I let whatever this is ignite between us tonight, maybe it’ll be like a comet, burning hard and fast, but will fizzle out. At least then, I’ll no longer feel this strong gravitational pull to his forceful nature.
Sebastian slides his hands away from the door and takes a step back, waiting.
My breathing ramps as I match his steady regard, but can I really stay with him another night? This sexy man, with his black hair, arresting blue eyes, and sinful smile, makes my heart thunder like it’s trying to break out of my chest. Will tonight change us?
He said he can’t be depended on to be there. I need someone who will.
I grab my purse and open the door, but the handle yanks out of my hand when Sebastian forcefully pushes it shut at the same time he aligns his chest with my back. “Don’t leave, Talia,” he says, pressing his lips to my hair.
His wrecked voice shatters my resolve. Sebastian is the type of man who never has to beg. That’s probably as close as he’ll ever get. The fact that he’s breaking his own rules is enough to lock me in place.
When he wraps a strong arm around my waist, his hand pressing me back against his hard body, I release my purse and let it fall to the floor. Digging my fingers into his hair, I tug him closer as his lips slide along my throat.
“You drive me crazy, you know that,” he says, sounding annoyed and aroused at the same time.
“Right back at you,” I say, then gasp when he pulls my tank top off and makes quick work of my bra.
As both pieces of clothes fall to the floor, Sebastian removes his shirt. I hold my breath when his hot chest meets my back and his palms slide down my chest. “Remember when I made you come while standing?” he says, his voice velvet smooth as his fingers pluck at my nipples.
I don’t trust my voice not to come out like a squeak, so I nod.
His low chuckle sounds in my ear. “Do you want to be standing this time around too?”
I quickly slide my hands down his hips and across the front of his jeans, gripping his hard erection through the thick material. “Do you?”
Grunting in my ear, he turns me around and lifts me in his arms to carry me to the bed in two swift strides.
“Are you in a hurry, Mister Black?” I tease as he lays me down on the bed.
Reaching for the button on my shorts, he undoes it and the zipper in record time. “On the contrary, I’m just laying the table. Fine dining needs to be served with just the right accouterments.” He tugs my shorts off in one swift movement, then pauses when his gaze lands on the raised red welts on my hip and thigh that have started to turn black and blue.
The anticipation thrumming through me dims at the look of fury on Sebastian’s face. I capture his fisted hand and uncurl his fingers, placing them on the edge of my underwear riding my hip. “It looks worse than it feels. I’m fine, Sebastian.”
“I want to shoot that crazy bastard all over again,” he snarls as he tenderly runs his fingers over my welts. His pained gaze shifts to me. “I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”
I shake my head. “Just help me celebrate being alive. The rest will heal.”
A wicked smile tilts his lips. “That, I can do, Little Red.” Instead of ripping my underwear this time, he gently slides it down, periodically stopping to kiss erogenous areas on my leg along the way.
When he prowls back up my body, then kisses my bellybutton before standing, I watch him slide out of his jeans and underwear, my eyes straying to his perfectly muscled ass as he pulls a couple things from his nightstand.
I sit up on my knees as he steps toward the bed. Tracing my finger down the goody trail of hair low on his waist, I slide my hand around his cock and pull him toward me, smiling.
He’s frowning slightly, which makes me laugh. “What? Don’t you want me to taste you?” I ask right before I dip my head and wrap my lips around the very tip of his erection.
A rush of harsh breath gusts out before he grips my hair in a gentle hold. “I’d love that, but—” His words cut off on a deep groan when I tr
ace my tongue around his sensitive tip.
As soon as he pulls out of my hold, he hauls me up and against his chest, his mouth and tongue plundering mine with dominant thrusts. Pulling back, he puts his forehead to mine. “Fucking hell. You never cease to blow me away…and I do mean that in the best way possible.”
Giggling at his pun, I glance down at the black bits of cloth in his hand. “What’s that for?”
A dark, salacious look fills his gaze. “I bought this just for you. Lay back and hold onto the headboard spindles.”
When I start to say something, he jerks his head back and forth twice. “Don’t argue, Talia. This is for you as much as it is for me. Understand?”
Nodding, I lie back. As I grab hold of the wrought iron spindles and watch him tie the black cloth around my first wrist, I say, “Go a little easy, okay? I’m still a bit sore from last night.”
When a Cheshire grin spreads across Sebastian’s face, I jerk on the second binding he just finished tying. Crossing my legs, I hook them at the ankles. “Hmm, I think I’m closed for business tonight, since you seem a little too amused at my expense.”
“Closed for business, huh?” Sebastian clasps my chin and kisses me hard. Biting my bottom lip, he chuckles as he pulls back. “God, I love your sassy mouth.”
I frown, determined to keep my legs locked in place. “I’m serious.”
He traces a finger down my nose and along my chin, then under my jaw, trailing past the hollow in my throat. “We’ll just see if we can’t get you to open up, maybe even have a fire sale, hmm?”
He’s such an arrogant smartass. “Ha, good luck!”
Sebastian gives a deep, pleased laugh. “Oh, I intend to be the most persuasive patron and best customer ever. Shall we get started?”
I narrow my eyes slightly, not trusting his jovial attitude. “Enjoy trying.”
“Oh, I will, sweetheart,” he says just before he reaches over and ties another black cloth around my eyes. “There,” he says, tugging the cloth down so it covers my eyes completely, but doesn’t impede my nose or breathing at all.
It’s tight enough that it doesn’t move, but I can see clearly through the intricate black lace. “If your goal was to blindfold me, I think you got shafted on the material. Seems to be a lot of that happening to you lately. Maybe you need a keeper.”
“You can see me, right?” When I sigh that he seems unaffected by my jabs and nod, he leans close and whispers in my ear, “You’re about to find out why I’m the master of your rainbow, Talia.”
As the meaning of his words hit me, Sebastian quickly straddles my hips, but doesn’t sit his full weight on them. Instead, he slides his hands slowly up my arms, starting at my wrists, then traces his fingers down along the softer underside of my arms.
I try not to react to his touch, even though it feels so intimate and personal. When he reaches my face, he leans forward and nips at my earlobe before gliding his hands along my jaw, his lips following at a leisurely pace.
Pausing at my throat, he touches my necklace. “That night you had two hearts on this chain, didn’t you? Why is it so important to you?”
I swallow at the sudden sadness his question evokes. “I did have two, but the other heart went to a better place, representing a promise I made in Amelia’s name.”
His gaze snaps to mine, sympathy in the blue depths. “I’m truly sorry you lost your sister.”
“And I’m sorry you lost your mom in such a horrible way.”
Brief pain reflects in his eyes before he nods.
Bending, he kisses each collarbone tenderly, then he moves down my chest. “Do you remember what I said to you when you wouldn’t tell me your name that night?” he asks in a husky voice right before he drops a kiss on the curve of my breast.
“You said you’d just call me yours,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Hmmm, you are mine,” he grates out in a possessive tone at the same time he lifts my breasts together. He dips his nose between the cleavage he’s created, murmuring, “This is my second favorite place on you.”
“Second favorite?” I ask, trying not to let his words get to me.
He lifts his head, eyebrows raised as he slides his thumbs across my nipples in an erotic drag. “My favorite place is currently closed for business, but—” Pinching my nipples, he smirks as I arch into the pleasure and pain he’s inflicting. “I’m thinking I see movement inside. Some lights turning on, maybe.”
He rolls my nipples between his fingers with just enough pressure to make me gasp as hard throbbing slams between my thighs. Just when I start to squirm, Sebastian commands, “Spread your legs.”
“No way!” I shake my head back and forth. “That’ll make it too easy for you. I’m not giving in.”
He tugs on my nipples, then rubs his thumbs on their undersides. I gasp, enjoying this new erotic sensation I’ve never felt before. “Now, Talia. It’s not a request,” he says curtly. “I promise not to touch you until you’re begging me to.”
“Fine!” I huff and spread my legs, already missing the bit of friction my thighs provided.
I also kind of miss seeing Sebastian’s gorgeous eyes and body with my vision unimpeded, but this noir-ish view is also pretty damn sexy too. I definitely feel everything more intensely this way, since my shrouded viewpoint seems to make me focus on what’s right in front of me instead of letting me be distracted by everything else around me. I’m sure that was Sebastian’s intent in making me wear the mask. He wants to be the center of my attention.
Bending forward, Sebastian takes a nipple deep into his mouth and sucks hard, pressing it against the roof of his mouth. I groan and nearly come off the bed, I’m so aroused and wet.
He lifts his head, giving me a knowing smile. “Are you ready to turn that lock and throw open the doors yet?”
I shake my head, even though I’m trembling. Sebastian’s nostrils flair. “I smell your arousal, Talia. Its sweet aroma is waving at me like a red flag. Are you sure?” he prods, twirling my nipples with wicked, merciless mastery.
I put my feet on the bed and arch my back, so on edge that I nearly buck Sebastian off. Even though he’s having fun at my expense, I’m determined to outlast him.
When he suddenly gets up and walks into the bathroom, I call after him, smugness in my tone. “Are you giving up so soon?”
He comes back into the room, washcloth in hand, his hard erection bouncing against his muscular stomach with his confident stride.
“What are you doing?” I start to shut my legs, but he shakes his head.
“Keep your legs where they are and trust that I’m a man of my word.”
His expression is so serious, I ease my legs back open and shriek at the cold cloth he presses against me. “That’s freezing!” I grit out, even as I allow him to hold it on me.
He nods. “As it should be. You’re sore because you’re swollen. The cold will help take the swelling down.” After he tortures me with two more rounds of freezing compresses, Sebastian approaches the bed, dark eyebrow raised. “Feel better?”
“I don’t know. I can’t feel anything down there right now, since I’m numb. Guess this store’s not opening due to icy conditions.”
“You just need a good thawing.” Chuckling, Sebastian puts one knee on the bed and leans forward to breathe warm breath against my body.
“That’s cheating!”
When I try to squirm away, he holds me in place, his grip firm. “Stay put. I promised I wouldn’t touch you and I won’t.” His blue eyes lock with mine. “But feel free to let me know when you’re sufficiently warmed up.”
He moves close to me again, sharing his warmth and driving me crazy all at once. A couple minutes later, I’m squirming and trying to accidently bump against his mouth in the hopes he won’t be able to resist staying right where he lands. Not that I would ever admit that to him.
“I wanted you to tell me your name willingly, Talia. That’s what I said to you when you refused to tell me your
name.” I’m surprised he’s going back to our earlier discussion, but I wait to hear what else he has to say. “That’s why I never let my investigator look into your past before the time that I met you. I wanted you to tell me. For you to want to fill in the blanks.”
“Sharing goes both ways, Sebastian,” I pant out when his mouth accidently brushes against me. “That alarm on your watch has something to do with your mother’s death, doesn’t it?”
He hooks his hand under my thigh and sets his chin in the bend of my leg.
“It’s not in that report, but the police tried to accuse my mother of dealing drugs or some other illegal activity because I said she had a cell phone in her nightstand that I didn’t know about.” His hand on my thigh tightens. “I had to listen to those assholes say that’s probably why she got shot.”
He didn’t answer my question about the alarm he sets, but he shared something. Afraid to push too hard, I ask, “Do you know where the phone came from?”
He nods, running his cheek along my thigh. “My dad. He told me later that once Mom found out no more could be done to save her life, she went to him and told him about me. She wanted to know that when she died, I wouldn’t be alone. That’s when he gave her the phone.”
I push my thigh against his jaw, touching his face the only way I can. “He didn’t know about you?”
He slowly shakes his head. “My guess is she was afraid he’d try to take me away from her. She’d been so wrong…”
The bitterness in his tone makes my heart ache. “He told you how he felt about you on that watch, Sebastian.”
Sebastian’s only answer is to kiss my belly, his grip tightening on my thighs before his mouth moves lower, his deep voice rumbling so close to my sex I can almost feel his mouth. “You are so beautiful.” He releases a low groan, his focus locked on my wet sex. “I’m a starving man, cruelly teased by this gorgeous spread of Talia laid out like a five-course meal.”
“There’s so much about you I don’t know,” I say, trying to get him to open up more.
“All I can do is stare and imagine your tasty flavor and how good it feels to thrust my tongue deep inside, making you wetter. And how much I enjoy it when your juices are sliding down my throat, all sweet and musky, ripe with want. For me,” he finishes on a desperate growl. When his eyes lock with mine, the look of unadulterated hunger in them is my undoing.
Scarlett Red: A Billionaire SEAL Story, Part 2 (In the Shadows) Page 17