by M E Whiter
“Yes, I have a chess board in the library, would you like to play?”
“Yes, but I must warn you, I can be very competitive," I dare him brazenly. I just hope, my chess playing skill isn’t as rusty as remembering how to ride a bike.
"We will play in the media room. I do not want you climbing the stairs," he says, walking towards the door. "I will go get the chess set, and meet you in there."
Walking into the media room, I head for the small table, that sits across one corner of the room, next to yet another open fireplace. There's a single chair on either side of the table, so I pick the one facing into the room. The atmosphere in here, feels intimate and cosy in the evening, with the subdued lighting reflecting the warmth, from the light-coloured timber panelling, covering the walls.
Sebastian comes in, carrying a large wooden box. He puts on the table, in front of me, and then takes his seat. The box has a lid on top and when I open it up, there's a mirrored chess board inside, divided into clear and frosted squares. Pulling the drawers open next, I find a set of beautiful amber and white crystal chess pieces.
Sebastian lifts it out and places it in the centre of the table. “Sebastian, are you sure we should be playing with these, they look so delicate?” I ask him, carefully lifting one piece out at a time, while Sebastian arranges them into position on the board.
“Yes, why not? Have you lost your nerve?” he smirks wickedly, goading me on.
“Of course not. It’s just that I’m worried I might break one, that’s all.”
“They are only chess pieces, Rachel. If you break one, it can be replaced. Do not worry about it, let's just play, shall we?” he asks, moving the box out of the way.
“Yes, I'm game,” I reply with a scheming grin, my mind already planning a strategy.
“How do you want to decide, who goes first? " I ask, looking at the board.
“I will place one in each hand, and you choose which hand you want, okay?” I agree, picking the hand holding the white piece, which means I get to start the game. “Lucky pick Rachel. It does not mean you will win though.”
“Would you care to make a wager, on that Mr Knight?” I ask, giving him a cocky grin.
“Depends, what do you have to offer . . . Miss Day?”
“Probably, nothing you’d be interested in?” I reply, half joking. Not really sure why I said that. Except, perhaps my snarky subconscious is reminding me, that I don't have anything to offer a man like Sebastian, who has almost everything or could afford almost anything he wanted or needed.
“I think you underestimate yourself, Rachel," he says, shattering my introspection. You most definitely do have something that I want, very much,” he murmurs, flashing me a suggestive grin that hints at the secret promise, hidden within his hot blue gaze.
I have no defence against his tenacity to overwhelm me with his persistent sexual advances. I just wish he'd either stop flirting with me or do something about them. To get away from this topic, I decide to cancel the wager, for a much safer option.
“Instead of a wager, why don’t we play something like twenty questions? Each time someone takes their opponent's piece off the board, they get to ask a personal question."
“You want to pay it safe? How disappointing. But, we will play it your way, for now."
He throws me a salacious look, causing me to squirm on my chair, the sudden blush on my cheeks, sending heat to my nether regions. I refocus my thoughts on the game ahead. I stare at the chess board, contemplating my first move. When I'm ready, I move my right centre pawn two spaces forward. Looking up at Sebastian, I raise my eyebrows, giving him the most challenging grin, I can muster.
“I can tell, this is going to be an interesting game, Rachel,” he grins, casting his eyes down, to study the chess board. Resting his elbows on the arms of his chair, he clasps his hands together, pressing his index fingers to his lips, as he plots his opening move.
I sit silently, in nervous anticipation, pondering over what his first move will be. After watching him stare at the board for several minutes without moving, my patience starts wearing thin.
He takes so long, I begin to think he’s gone to sleep. Then when he finally makes his move - he moves his centre left black pawn, two spaces forward, and places it directly in front of my pawn.
“Are you still with us, Rachel?” he asks, giving me a sly grin.
“Yes, I’m still here." I reply, with a sigh. This could turn out to be a slow game.
I move my right knight, placing his pawn in the firing line.
Sebastian’s second move is much faster, sending his right knight forward to cover his pawn.
I then move my right bishop diagonally right four spaces, poised to take his knight which is currently protected by his resting pawn. Sebastian moves his second knight forward, threatening to take my pawn in return. I move my right castle left. Sebastian then takes my pawn off the board with his knight.
“I believe I get to ask you a personal question, Rachel. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I sigh, resigned to my fate, wondering what the hell he’s going to ask me.
“Did your mother remarry after your father left?” His keen eyes stay focused on me, as he waits for my answer.
Damn, not back to this subject! I sigh inwardly. I can deal with this. Just remember, keep the answers simple.
“Yes, she remarried, when I was ten years old.” Not that it stopped her from blaming me for my father leaving us, and going back to his family in Montreal.
“What does your step-father do for a living?”
“He works as a consultant for a civil engineering company.” He's also a bastard, who made my life hell, until my mother sent me to live with my aunt and uncle.
“Do you get along with them?”
“You only get to ask one question at a time, and you’ve just asked two,” I remind him, determined to put an end to this line of questioning.
“Okay, fair enough Rachel. I will just wait until I take your next piece,” he says, making it sound like a promise.
A couple of turns later, when I take one of his pawns, I almost jump out of the chair, barely able to contain my small victory. “My turn to ask a question Sebastian, and seeing as you’re so interested in my family, I think it's only fair that you tell me something about yours?”
"What do you want to know?" He asks, quirking his eyebrows at me.
"Where are your parents?"
I ask nonchalantly, looking at him and for a second, I can see his eyes glaze over. Crap! It's the same tortured look he had, when he told me about Crystal.
He diverts his gaze, hiding what he's thinking. “If you must know . . .” he starts, turning to look at me again. All trace of the pain I saw before, is now erased from his eyes. The expression on his face is now passive and unreadable. "My parents died in a car crash when I was fourteen." My sister Adrianne, was away in law school at the time."
"Sebastian, I"m sorry. I seem to keep asking you the wrong questions," I tell him, my heart swelling with compassion, for the boy inside him, who had to deal with the tragedy, from that kind of loss. "It must have been difficult for you, to lose them so young? Who took care of you?"
He answers without thinking, "I went to live with my mother’s sister.”
"Do you have any siblings," I ask, wanting to know much more about him.
A hint of mischief enters his shiny blue eyes, and I know straight away, he's up to something. He raises his hand up in front of him, in a sign of defence. "No, no, no! Rachel. That's three questions."
"What?"
“I’m just abiding by your rules Rachel,” he replies, tilting his head to the side, giving me a feigned look of mock indignation. "I don’t want you to think I'm cheating."
“Fine, if that's how you want to play.”
When we resumed the game, I end up losing another two pawns, followed by one of my knights. As a result, Sebastian finds out I have an older brother Ryan who I adore, and two younger sisters, Chloe and
Elice, I'm not close to.
When Sebastian asks why I didn’t live with them, I told him the excuse my mother had given me at the time; that she had enough trouble raising two young daughters, without having to deal with a rebellious teenager, as well.
We continue playing the game with Sebastian losing more of his pieces in the next few rounds. But the only other information I manage to glean about his family, is that he has a sister, Adrianne, who is four years older and works as a lawyer in Montreal.
The game continues on until near the end, when I’m left with my king, one castle and one pawn. Sebastian has his king, his knight and a pawn. But then, he gains back his queen, while I wasn't paying attention, sacrificing his pawn. He then has my king check-mated in three moves, winning the game.
“Well played Rachel. It was a close game."
"Yes congratulations, on winning. Though, I have to say, you certainly had me fooled at the beginning. You took so long to make a move, I wasn't sure if you could remember how to play."
“And, you could have had me in checkmate six moves ago, if you had moved your knight instead of your bishop.” Sebastian starts packing the chess pieces away, adding, "I think it is time we turned in.”
We pack away the chess pieces, and then Sebastian tucks the box under his arm and waits for me to lead the way out of the room. With walking cane in hand, I leave the room and walk across the hall to my bedroom, stopping when I reach the door. When I turn around, Sebastian is standing there, in front of me.
“Thank you for the game Rachel. I can’t remember the last time, I had such a pleasant evening at home.”
“Yes, me too. It was fun," I reply, expecting him to go. But he doesn’t, he just stands there, gazing down at me, with a hunger in his dark brooding eyes.
My pulse quickens, thinking he wants to continue, where we left off, before Detective Beckett arrived earlier this evening. “I will see you in the morning then?” I don't know what else to say, as I'm not sure what he's expecting to happen here. I only know, that I've never felt such a strong attraction to a man before. But, I also know, that it can never amount to anything more, than a fleeting fantasy.
"Yes," Sebastian sighs, cutting through the budding sexual tension. "Goodnight Rachel. I will wake you in the morning." He spins on his heals and heads for the staircase, to return the chess box to the upstairs library.
Chapter Nineteen
SATURDAY, 23rd August
Rachel
IT'S JUST BEFORE eight, when James arrives, to drive us to the airport. The Saturday morning traffic through the city is slow and monotonous. And I’m grateful, when James avoids taking the route through the intersection, where the accident happened. It’s been over two weeks now, but still, it certainly isn't something I want to be reminded of, any time soon.
Arriving at the airport, James heads straight for a large grey building, dropping us out the front while he drops off our luggage and parks the car. After booking in at the reception desk inside, we are escorted outside to where James is waiting for us, at the bottom of the stairs, leading up to a sleek-looking four-seater jet.
“Your luggage has been stowed away and I left your briefcase on the table in the cabin.”
“Thank you James. Have a good weekend. I will see you in a few days,” Sebastian nods to him, as he escorts me up the stairs. The pilot and flight attendant greet us as soon as we pass through the doorway.
“Good morning Mr Knight. It’s nice to see you again,” the pilot says, shaking Sebastian’s hand and then turns to me. “Miss Day welcome aboard. This is Judy, she will be your cabin attendant today.”
Judy, a brunette, wearing a navy blue and white uniform, leads us down the narrow but spacious cabin, with three deep padded leather seats on each side. The first two rows, the seats face towards each other, with a glossy timber table in between them. I take the first seat on the left facing the door, while Sebastian chooses the seat on the opposite side of the table to me. Judy then takes our order of coffee for Sebastian and tea for me, before she walks back up to the front to where there is a small kitchenette.
Sitting forward, I look at Sebastian, “Wow, this must cost a fortune to hire. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to fly commercially?” I love the idea of flying in a luxurious private jet, but this does seem a little extravagant.
“Actually not at all. When my company was expanding nationally, a few years back, I decided it made good business sense to buy into a small aviation company, that hires out their small fleet of jets.”
“So, how does that work for you?"
“I don’t lose money, but actually make an income, having the private jet hired out to other business people, when I’m not using it. My partnership, guarantees that there will always be a jet ready at my disposal, whenever myself or one of my employees needs to fly.”
“I see, it sounds like a win, win situation then.”
“Yes, exactly.”
When Judy brings us our drinks, she has the same pleasant smile on her face as before. Except this time, I also notice there’s an extra sparkle in her eyes, when she sets Sebastian’s glass down in front of him. She takes us through the pre-flight safety procedures, and then walks back and takes her seat, as the plane starts to taxi down the tarmac, to get into position for take off.
Sebastian fills in the one hour flight time, reading over work-related stuff I think, while I read the book I started, a couple of days ago. True to Sebastian’s report, he flight does go smoothly and before I realise it, we are almost there, where ever there may be. Sebastian still refused to tell me, when I asked him this morning.
Just before the hour is up, Jodie comes back to ask us to fasten our seat belts, in preparation for landing. She also gives us today’s weather report for Kelowna, saying it’s a clear day, and the temperature is due to reach a maximum of 29 degrees celsius. At least now, I know where we are, even if I don't know where it is, on a map.
Looking out the window, I catch my first glimpse of a huge lake and of the city, spread out along the shoreline. Once the jet lands and comes to a stop near a hangar, we unbuckle our seat belts and follow Jodie towards the exit, where the pilot is waiting to see us off.
"Thank you for a smooth flight, Mike. We will see you again, in a few days," Sebastian says, shaking the pilot's hand, again.
As we exit the plane, I almost drool, when my eyes land one of the most beautiful cars I've ever seen, parked near the bottom of the stairs. It's a two door charcoal Bentley Continental GT convertible, with cream leather and woodgrain interior.
“Sebastian is this car for us?” I ask, watching the guy who delivered the hire car, take our luggage from the plane, and stow it in the boot of the car.
“Yes. Do you like it?” Sebastian asks, moving around, to open the front passenger's door for me.
“It’s gorgeous.” I reply, folding my walking cane away, as I climb in. Sebastian closes my door and after having a few words with the delivery guy, he comes around and gets in behind the wheel.
With the top down, it's a beautiful warm morning, having the sun shining directly down on top of us. I lean back in the soft leather seat, resting my head against the headrest, as Sebastian drives away from the airport. I feel like I'm in heaven, looking up at the large puffy-white clouds, drifting lazily across the vivid blue sky.
I still don't know where we will be staying while we are here, but at the moment I don't care. I'm just thrilled to be spending a weekend away, with Sebastian all to myself. Sebastian presses a button, turning the radio on, so we can listen to some music as we head into town.