by Cynthia Eden
His buddy cursed, low and creatively. Winston’s stare cut around the scene. “He’s here.”
Sebastian looked at the crowd once more. So many people. So many eyes. “He’s here now, or at least, he was, a few minutes ago.” If the guy was smart, he would have left right after he dropped the phone.
But then again, if the bastard was really smart, he never, ever would have made the mistake of coming after Alyssa.
Because now I’m coming after you.
“I’ll get a check on every camera in the area,” Winston told him even as his stare assessed the people hovering nearby. “Maybe one of them caught the guy slipping the phone into your limo.”
Maybe. Maybe not. The jerk had avoided the cameras before. “I have to get back to her.”
A grim nod from Winston. He’d bagged the phone. “I’ll see if we can trace this back to the owner, and we’ll go from there.” His gaze slid back to Sebastian. “You sure you have Alyssa? Because I can give her police protection. I mean, the phone call pretty much seals the deal, doesn’t it? This was no random attack. Someone is after her.”
“I have Alyssa.” She won’t be hurt.
He turned away, but didn’t make the mistake of getting back in the limo. Winston would want to search the vehicle, Sebastian knew that. He spoke quickly with the driver, telling him to cooperate fully with the cops, then Sebastian jumped in a taxi.
He wouldn’t take the taxi straight back to Alyssa because there was a chance he was being watched. Instead, he gave orders to be deposited at his corporate headquarters. Sebastian kept an extra vehicle there.
Then he sat back and his gaze took in the thick crowd as the taxi drove away.
Was someone in that crowd targeting Alyssa? Was someone trying to hurt her?
If so, the person had made a truly fatal mistake.
Sebastian worked hard not to let the world see who he really was. Beneath the surface, he was cold, hard, and deadly. He didn’t mind getting his hands bloody. Hell, he’d done that plenty of times. He could break every rule in the book and smile while he did it.
He wasn’t some safe and easy guy. Wasn’t the fucking bad boy of tech. That was just an image he’d carefully crafted.
The real man was very, very different.
The real man would not hesitate to do anything necessary in order to protect the people he cared about from harm. And in this world, he wasn’t close to many folks. Antony. Winston.
Alyssa.
Some asshole had just made the fucking worst mistake of his life.
If you come after her, then you’d better get ready to face me.
Chapter Four
“You’re back!” Alyssa jumped from her chair. Her bare toes immediately curled against the hardwood floor as Sebastian’s gaze lasered in on her.
He stood just inside the doorway of his home. His broad shoulders looked huge. He seemed to tower as he stood there, all tall and strong and…she needed to get a grip.
She was practically vibrating as she stared at him, but, dammit, she’d been scared. That whole phone call, the bit about missing her…
What was going on?
The guards approached Sebastian, and he spoke quietly to them. She inched closer as she tried to make out a few of their words.
“…keep watch on perimeter…”
“…all security protocols in place…”
“…her safety is top priority…”
“…I’ll fucking dismember anyone who screws up and gets her hurt!”
Alyssa’s eyes widened at that last part from Sebastian. Surely, she’d heard wrong. He hadn’t just threatened to, ahem, dismember an employee?
The guards hurried out. He shut the door behind them, locked it, then stood there with his back to her and his hands pressed to the wood of the double entrance doors.
Silence stretched. A long, uncomfortable stretch.
She crept a little closer. “I need to get home.”
His shoulders stiffened. With his back to her, Sebastian shook his head.
She nodded. Then realized he couldn’t see the movement. Crap. What was wrong with her? It’s just because it’s been one hell of a night. Squaring her shoulders, Alyssa marched for him with a determined stride. When he didn’t turn at her approach, her hand reached out and touched the middle of his back. “Sebastian, it’s time for me to go home.”
A shudder worked the length of his body. Then he turned. Her hand slid over him as he turned, moving around his body so that when he faced her, her hand lingered on his chest.
Why was her hand lingering?
Alyssa snatched the lingering hand back and balled it into a fist.
He looked at her balled hand and his expression was all extra broody and dark. “It’s really late. You should just stay the night.”
Her heart seemed to stop. “You want me…to spend the night…with you?”
His green gaze lifted. She swore that she saw lust burn bright and hot in his stare before he rumbled, “Yes.”
Alyssa swallowed. “That’s not going to happen.” But I’ve sure dreamed about it a time or fifty. You couldn’t control the dreams that snuck into your mind late at night. Turned out, her unconscious self was super naughty and X-rated when it came to Sebastian.
“Relax.” His sensual lips quirked. “I didn’t mean that as an invitation to crawl into my bed.”
Her eyes turned to slits. “Of course, you didn’t.”
“Though, should you be interested…” He let the sentence trail away.
“Obviously, I’m not interested in joining the hordes.”
His brow furrowed.
“I am interested in going home, though. You’re kind of in my way. You know, literally blocking the door and all as you stand there. So if you could just move aside…” Hint. Hint.
He didn’t move. “What hordes?”
“You’re in my way.” She should probably call a taxi.
His head cocked to the right. “Who told you there were hordes? Was it Antony?”
“Still in my way.”
“There aren’t hordes. I’m very particular about my personal life.”
This was one of the worst conversations ever. “I have no interest in hearing about the women you take into your bed.”
“Really? I’ve always been curious as hell about the lucky men who get into yours.”
He had not just said that to her.
“Curious. Jealous. Pretty much in the mood to beat the shit out of them.” A shrug of one shoulder. “You know how it is.”
She shook her head. Alyssa had no idea how it was. She could only gape at him. Her eyes weren’t slits any longer. She was sure they’d doubled in size.
“Oh.” A nod from Sebastian. “Am I oversharing?”
You are, yes.
He scraped a hand over the stubble on his jaw. “Been a fucking long day with lots of unexpected developments. Ignore me. I’m talking bullshit.”
“I…” She cleared her throat. “I figured you were just messing with me.”
His hand fell. His stare slid slowly over her face. Ever so slowly. Carefully. Tenderly?
She swallowed.
“It’s late,” Sebastian told her.
It was. He kept mentioning that fact.
“I know it’s been a rough night for you,” he added in that deep, low voice of his. He eased a little closer to her.
Maybe she should have stepped back, but retreating from Sebastian had never been an option for her. Alyssa held her ground. “It was my first time to have someone shoot at me.” She considered the situation. “Hopefully, my first and last time.”
“The bastard called you.”
Yes, about that… “How did you get his phone?” Her teeth bit into her lower lip as she waited for—
“Don’t hurt yourself. It would be a fucking sin to hurt lips as sexy as yours.”
She let go of her lower lip. His eyes were on her mouth. She was definitely seeing lust in his gaze. Lust—directed at her?
Winston. Detective Lewis. Her shoulders relaxed a bit. She liked him. As a detective, he was top notch. As a man, he was one of the real good guys out there.
“Winston said you could get police protection.” His eyes were still on her mouth.
“Do I need police protection?” This was way out of her league. Things like this didn’t happen to her. She lived a quiet, easy life. She designed custom jewelry pieces, and she sold them on her website. She volunteered at the local animal shelter, she went out on occasional dates, and she hung out with her friends. Drama had never been her drug of choice.
Quiet and easy. Quiet and—
“I told him you didn’t need police protection because you have me.”
But I don’t have you.
“This place has the best security system in the world. Got my buddy Eric Wilde to wire the home for me after it was built. And I have guards outside. If you stay here with me tonight, you’ll be safe.”
“Is it…” Her stomach had just dropped. “Is it really that serious?” What was she even saying? Bullets were fired. God, she was in some sort of frightened denial. Time to face facts. “It wasn’t random.” It couldn’t have been random if the shooter had called her. “I wanted it to be a mistake.” She had to blink because her vision had just gotten a little blurry.
Sebastian’s eyes weren’t on her mouth. They’d snapped up to meet her own gaze. He swore and then he—he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against his body.
“What are you doing?” Alyssa’s voice was muffled against him.
“Comforting you.” His hold tightened.
“Why?” Again, muffled. But, damn, he smelled good. And he felt good. All warm and strong and solid. Her arms lifted. Snaked up and curled around his waist.
His body hardened even more. “Because I don’t like it when tears are in your eyes.”
“I didn’t cry.” She hadn’t. She’d blinked away the tears. It was just—she squeezed her eyes shut a moment and held him. “Why would someone want to hurt me?”
“I’ll stop him. Don’t worry.”
She was worried. She was also holding fiercely to Sebastian. “It doesn’t make sense. What could I have done?”
“Nothing. You haven’t done anything.”
Her eyes opened. She pulled away and stared up at him. There had been something about his voice… “Sebastian?”
He looked down at her.
Wow. They hadn’t been this close to each other since…
Well, the limo. When he’d been sprawled on top of her. And when he’d made that whole joke—had to be a joke—about her kissing him as a thank you. But this was different. This was…
“Stay the night.” His words were a sexy rumble that sent a shiver over her. “I’ll keep you safe. Tomorrow, we can figure everything else out.”
Now she was the one staring at his mouth. She’d often wondered about how he kissed. How it would feel to have his mouth on hers. She’d wondered that, you know, when she wasn’t busy hating him.
Such a liar. You’ve never hated him. Even when she probably should have hated Sebastian.
So, no, she hadn’t been lying earlier when she’d told Sebastian that she didn’t hate him.
When it came to Sebastian, her emotions were far more complex than that. Hate would be easy. It was the other stuff that was hard.
“Just stay, Alyssa. You can have any guest room you want. I won’t bother you at all.”
What if I want you to bother me? Because damn if her traitorous toes hadn’t just pressed into the hardwood in an effort to lift up her body and get her closer to his mouth. “It would be a mistake.”
His eyes flared. “No, Alyssa, it’s not safe for—”
“Kissing you would be an absolute mistake, so why am I even thinking about it?” Alyssa continued. She had an unfortunate habit of often saying what she thought. When she was stressed, the truth tended to pop out.
She felt seriously stressed.
“You’re thinking about it?” If possible, his voice deepened even more. “You’re thinking about what it would be like to have my mouth on yours, my tongue tasting you?”
Yes. So much yes.
“Welcome to my world, baby.”
His world? He wanted her, too? “Then kiss me.” The dare slipped out too fast for her to stop.
His mouth took hers.
Maybe she should have jerked away. Shoved him away. She didn’t because the truth was that Alyssa had been wondering how Sebastian would taste for a very long time. So when his lips pressed over hers, she didn’t back away. She shot even higher onto her toes and pushed against him.
Her mouth opened. His tongue slid past her lips.
And, God…
Better than dreams.
He kissed her with a hot, possessive desire that had a moan building in her throat. He tasted her like she was the best wine he’d ever had. He used his tongue and his lips, and he had her arching toward him because she wanted more. So much more. The kind of more that would make her rip off his shirt and forget who she was and why they were so wrong together. The kind that would make her forget everything but how they could feel together.
That had always been her fear.
That his kiss would be so good…she wouldn’t care about anything else.
Her breasts were aching, the nipples tight and all eager. She could even feel her panties getting wet. Just from a kiss.
If she responded this way to his mouth on hers, what would happen if their clothes were gone, if he was naked and she was naked and—
“No!” Now she shoved against him. “We are not getting naked.”
His breath sawed in and out. His pupils were huge, turning his eyes dark, and the handsome lines of his face seemed savage.
“We are not getting naked,” Alyssa repeated as she panted.
“Didn’t realize that option was on the table.” His voice…like rough sex.
She locked her knees. “I was just…” Alyssa licked her lips and tasted him. Oh, God. I tasted him. “I was letting it be known that wasn’t going to happen.”
“Pity. Getting you naked is pretty much item one on my top ten dream list.”
“What?” Shock ripped through her. He fantasized about her? Was that what he was saying?
“Fuck.” His eyes squeezed shut. “Ignore me. I’m a horny bastard, and you need to go to bed with me.”
“What?”
His eyes flew back open. “I mean, you need to go to bed alone. I said alone the first time, you just misheard me.”
Her heart was about to burst out of her chest. “It’s the adrenaline.”
He swallowed. She saw his hands clench and release. Clench and release. “There is a whole lot of adrenaline going on,” he muttered.
Adrenaline. Lust. Fear. She spun on her heel. “Fine. I will stay the night.” She was practically running for the stairs. “Just because things are crazy. Because someone shot at me, and I think it’s only smart to stay in a secure environment until we find out more.” Her words were flying out now. She grabbed for the bannister.
“Alyssa.”
The way the man said her name…She had to lock her knees again. She’d never had to deal with an adrenaline rush like this before. Normally, the wildest thing she did was ride a roller coaster every now and then. But even when she did that, she would scream her way through the ride.
Tonight…this was a thousand times more intense than a roller coaster. Her whole body was quivering. Her heart racing. Her breath heaving…
Her sex quivering.
Her breasts aching…
Wait…those last two didn’t come from adrenaline rushes. They came from…
Alyssa cast a horrified glance over her shoulder.
They came because I want him.
“Why did you kiss me?” Se
bastian asked her.
“Why did you kiss me?” Alyssa threw right back. Oh, no. She shouldn’t have said that. Take control of the situation. “Adrenaline,” she announced, hoping her voice was crisp and not sultry. Even to her own ears, though, it sounded sultry. Huge difference between crisp and sultry. “I was riding an adrenaline high, and I acted impulsively. Didn’t mean anything.”
A nod. “Right. Didn’t mean anything. Of course, not.” His voice was crisp. No, it was flat. Unemotional.
Her hand slid over the bannister. “Besides, I thought you wanted a thank you kiss.”
His head tilted as he studied her.
“Back in the limo, didn’t you ask for one?”
“I want a hell of a lot.” Now his voice was rougher than she’d ever heard it before. “If I ask for everything I want, will you give it to me?”
A shiver slid over her. She should get up the stairs. Go in the guest room that she’d hid in earlier. Lock the door. Sleep this shit off. Instead… “You didn’t tell me why you kissed me.”
He lifted one eyebrow.
“I answered the question. You didn’t.”
“But you lied, Alyssa. Does a lie count as an answer?”
“I most certainly did not—”
“I kissed you because I’ve wanted that sexy as hell mouth of yours beneath mine for a long time, and I doubted the opportunity would present itself again. Like I told you in the limo, I wanted to see how you’d taste.”
He—
“By the way, you are one fucking fantastic kisser. That thing you did with your tongue…and then the way you sucked my lower lip…damn.”
Her cheeks burned. “You’re teasing me.” Making her into a joke.
He walked toward her. Slow. Steady steps. “I’m dead serious. Your kiss was so hot that I need an ice shower.”
Her breath sawed out again. I need one, too.
“So how about we make a deal? You feel any other adrenaline spikes, and you want to work them from your system, then you come right to me. Only me. Because I will be more than happy to help you out.”
He wasn’t serious. Obviously. Shaking her head, she climbed the stairs.
She didn’t look back.
***
He couldn’t look away.
Sebastian’s gaze was glued to Alyssa as she headed up the stairs. Her feet were bare, her legs were sinful perfection, and the black dress slid over her skin like silk.