by Cynthia Eden
He could still taste her.
Still feel her against him.
Sure, he’d wondered about kissing her before. But he’d sworn he wouldn’t do it. He owed Antony far more than he could ever repay. No one knew about how their unlikely friendship had started, no one knew that Antony had changed Sebastian’s life.
And he’d promised. He’d vowed not to put his hands on her.
Unless she asked for them. Tonight, she’d asked for his kiss. He’d given it to her, and his control had gone down in flames. He’d always known that Alyssa would be lethal to him. He just hadn’t realized he’d enjoy the danger of her so very much.
She was at the top of the stairs now. He was still staring after her like some kind of obsessed idiot. The thick carpeting upstairs swallowed the sound of her footsteps as she strode for one of the guest rooms.
He had her in his house. She’d be safe.
Provided, of course, he could keep his hands off her. Because if he gave in to the dark desire he felt for Alyssa, safe was the last thing she’d be.
One kiss…and he was ready to kill for her.
One fuck…damn, who the hell knew what he’d do for her then?
Good thing they weren’t going to find out. Good thing he’d given his promise to Antony.
Unless she asks for me…
Not like Alyssa was going to ask him to fuck her.
But if she did…
“I need the freaking ice shower,” Sebastian muttered.
Chapter Five
“Damn. You are beautiful in the morning.”
She nearly spat out her orange juice when Sebastian’s deep, rumbling voice sounded from right behind her. She hadn’t heard him approach. Alyssa whipped around toward him.
“Oh, look at that.” He smiled. Dimples flashed. “Even more beautiful from this angle.”
She put her orange juice down on his gleaming, white kitchen countertop. “Did you just basically tell me that my ass was beautiful in the morning?”
His grin stretched a bit. “It was my first view.”
“You’re a bastard.”
He shrugged one bare shoulder. Bare because he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He was clad only in a pair of jogging shorts and some sneakers and sweat coated his body. She could see his rock-hard abs. So many abs. Glistening, muscled—
“Do you like your view, Alyssa?”
Please don’t let me be drooling. She sniffed. Her gaze rose. “I like my view from home, thanks so much. It’s a view that I intend to see again very soon.”
His eyes narrowed.
Oh, did he not like her answer? Too bad. She motioned toward him. “Guess you’ve been working out.” Unless you did some other activity that caused you to be half naked and sweaty, and, nope, I do not want to think about you doing that activity.
But, too late, because now she had a mental image of him, naked, arms braced on either side of her head as he stared down at her. His face would be locked into hard lines of desire as he drove in and out, in and—
“You okay? You look flushed.”
Sweet hell. She grabbed her orange juice again. Drained it. “Fine. Just need to head home.” Alyssa blew out a breath and put the glass back down. “Though it will totally look to my neighbors as if I’m pulling a walk of shame.”
Silence.
She wiggled her brows. “You know, because I’m in this dress from last night. Coming back home the next day, still wearing the same dress that I left with on my date…it looks like—”
“I know what a walk of shame is.”
“Of course, you do. You—”
“Do not say that I probably take a ton of them. I don’t. This obsession you have with inventing lovers for me has got to stop.”
Her mouth opened, but Alyssa couldn’t think of something to say.
He headed around her. Opened the fridge. Took out some water and began chugging it. Her gaze slid to the strong column of his throat. Then she noticed a dot of sweat sliding down, down his chest, down, down…
What are you doing? Stop it! “I’m sorry.”
He stopped chugging. Put the water back in the fridge. Shut the door. Then Sebastian frowned at her. “For what?”
“For getting into your business. For seeming judgey. For prying.” Her hand fluttered back and forth between them like some kind of drunk bird. “Not my business. It is not at all my business who you sleep with.”
He absorbed that. “Did you sleep with Isaac?”
“What? No, that was our first date. I don’t sleep with guys on the first date, thank you very much for asking.”
A nod. “Good to know. So, when we go out on our second date, will you sleep with me?”
Alyssa gaped at him.
“Is that a yes? Or a maybe?”
“You don’t want to sleep with me.”
He lifted an eyebrow.
“The kiss last night was a mistake. It was late. The day was crazy. Let’s forget the kiss ever happened.”
Sebastian glanced away. “Can’t promise that,” he mumbled.
She’d misunderstood. “What?”
He looked back at her. “How about I take you to your place so you can pick up a change of clothes?”
Alyssa had a better idea. “How about you just take me to my place and drop me off? Because I’ll be fine there. I have a security system, too, you know.”
“Not one as good as mine.”
“That’s because I’m not some kind of Batman-like billionaire with my own bat cave. You and I both know Isaac was not too far off with that charge.”
His lips quirked. “You can always make me smile.”
And his smile always made her stomach do a little flip.
“Look,” she ignored the flip and plowed on, “I just need to get home. Get to my stuff. I’ll stop looking like a late-night party animal—”
“You look beautiful, not like a party animal.”
“I am wearing zero make-up. My hair probably appears to have squirrels living in it—”
Again, that twitch of his lips. “No, it looks more…sexy. Tousled. Like your lover ran his fingers through it last night.”
She looked up at the ceiling because it felt too awkward to stare in his eyes when he was telling her things like that. “I’ll call Detective Lewis—Winston. Find out what he knows about the shooting. If he offered police protection last night, then maybe I can get some patrols to sweep past my home over the next few days.” She’d given this matter a whole lot of thought while she’d tossed and turned during the night. “I’ll be fine.”
“No.”
Her gaze lowered. Met his.
He glared. “No.”
“Why are you telling me no? This is my life, and my decision.”
“I—” He stopped. “I want you safe.”
“Trust me, I want to be safe. So I’ll be careful.” Something was nagging at her, though. “Last night, you told me that you got a tip that something might happen to me. That was the reason you came to get me at the theater.” But she still didn’t know exactly how he’d figured out that she was at the theater.
He nodded.
“Was it a call, like the one I received?”
His face hardened. “I got a text.”
“Are the cops trying to trace it?”
Sebastian straightened. “Let me get showered and dressed, and I’ll take you to pick up your clothes.”
Unnecessary. “I can call a taxi.”
His brows lowered. “Five minutes, that’s all I need, and I’ll take you to pick up your clothes,” he said again.
It would take longer than five minutes for the taxi to arrive. Heck, she’d be lucky if a taxi arrived in the next thirty minutes. “Fine. I’ll just eat my way through your supply of chocolate chip muffins.” She grabbed a muffin as he passed her. “They’re my favorite, so it won’t be my fault when I eat them all.”
He paused for a moment. “Of course, they’re your favorite. Why do you think I had them brought in this morning?
Eat every fucking one. They’re all for you.”
He…
He was gone.
And she was gripping a warm, soft, chocolate chip muffin. A muffin that—now that she actually looked at it and its fluffy goodness—that muffin must have come from her favorite bakery in town. There was no mistaking it.
But how had Sebastian known that she loved that particular bakery?
How had he known that chocolate chip muffins were her favorite?
She took a bite, moaned and wondered…what else does he know about me?
***
“The first thing you need to do is stop hiding the key under your damn rock,” Sebastian ordered as he bent and reached into the little flower garden near Alyssa’s front door. A pudgy gnome winked at him as Sebastian picked up the rock and slid its false bottom to the side. “That is like begging for thieves to walk right in your home.” He tossed the rock back into place and looked up to find Alyssa frowning at him. “What?”
“How did you know my spare key was hidden there?”
“Seriously? It’s an obvious spot.” He would be keeping the key. No sense leaving it for bad guys to find.
“What else do you know?”
She was being all suspicious. This was probably not the time to tell her…A whole damn lot.
“Sebastian?”
He freaking loved it when she said his name. He’d love it even more if she screamed it or moaned it. He exhaled slowly. “I know that your alarm code is your favorite holiday.”
Her eyes widened.
He leaned in close. “Fourth of July.” God, he wanted her mouth again. “Because you like the fireworks so much, and you also enjoy sweet apple pie.”
“How—” Alyssa swallowed. “You seem to know a lot about me.”
You have no idea.
From the corner of his eye, he spied her neighbor craning to get a look at them. Since he knew Alyssa hadn’t been keen to the idea of people seeing her in the dress—walk of shame, my ass, she never needs to be ashamed of anything—Sebastian casually moved his body to block the lady’s view.
Sebastian unlocked the door. Muttering, Alyssa hurried inside and typed in her security code—yep, Fourth of July—and then she kicked off her shoes.
He followed her in and, as usual when he was at Alyssa’s place, some of the tension slid from his body. Her home was so damn warm. Cozy. Happy?
Her furniture was comfortable. Vivid, framed and giant photos of the area lined her walls. Photos of all the amazing waterfalls that he knew she loved. Most weekends, she slipped away to hike those falls. Her home was full of color and character. Bookshelves overflowed and a bright red throw was tossed over her couch.
“I’ll be right back,” Alyssa promised as she disappeared down the hallway.
He headed for the nearest bookshelf. Not like Alyssa invited him to her place often, so he liked to check for new things when he did get the chance to slip inside her home. Usually, he tagged over when Antony gave him an off-hand invite, like for an occasional game night or—
“Sebastian!”
He whipped around and ran toward the sound of Alyssa’s shout. He reached her bedroom and threw open the door. He—
She spun toward him. All of the color had drained from her face, and he had never, ever seen Alyssa look so pale.
“I…I think he knew my security code, too,” she whispered. “And I guess he knew where I kept that extra key.”
Sebastian glanced over her shoulder. Saw the red spray paint on her wall. Saw the message.
I will kill you.
“The fuck you will,” he snarled. He grabbed Alyssa’s hand and pulled her close. “You’re coming with me.”
“But—”
“He could be watching.” He could be fucking here. “Come with me.” He stared into her terrified eyes. Hated her fear. Wanted to destroy the person who’d made her afraid. “Trust me. I will keep you safe.”
She swallowed. “Okay.”
Okay? His body shuddered as her fingers curled around his. Alyssa had just given him her trust. Her faith.
He knew precisely how precious the gift was. He would not let her down.
***
“The neighbors didn’t see anything,” Winston announced as the detective paced in Sebastian’s den. “I’m betting the perp came by under the cover of night. Got in, got out, and no one was the wiser.”
“What if she’d been there?” The thought made Sebastian want to drive his fist into a wall.
Winston stopped pacing. “She wasn’t.”
“She wanted to go home last night. I was basically a dick, and I insisted she stay here. She wanted to leave—”
“Then she owes you. Consider this a solid point for Operation—”
“Stop,” he snapped.
Winston frowned at him. “She’s all right, man. Take a breath. The woman is upstairs right now. She’s changing into some of the clothes I brought over. She is safe.” He edged closer to Sebastian. “I’ve never seen you like this. Usually you’re rock steady.”
Sebastian yanked a hand through his hair. “Yeah, well, usually, Alyssa is safe.” I will kill you. “He was in her house. In her bedroom. If she’d been alone—”
“Stop it,” Winston ordered as his voice roughened. “There is never any good that comes from playing the ‘What if’ game. You will only drive yourself crazy as you imagine every bad situation that could go down.”
He’d already imagined plenty. His body burned with rage. In her home. In her bedroom.
“Alyssa is safe,” Winston repeated. “You have her.”
Sebastian’s head moved in a jerky nod. “Damn right I do.”
“And I’m guessing you’re keeping her?”
“Ahem.”
He’d heard Alyssa’s approach. The soft tread of her steps. But Sebastian had kept his head averted because he didn’t want her to see the blazing fury on his face. But when she cleared her throat and made her very deliberate ahem—
His head swiveled toward her.
She’d dressed in white tennis shoes, jeans that hugged her hips, and a sexy white top that exposed part of her midriff and made him want to drop to his knees, put his mouth on that sweet skin and—
“I’m not his to keep.”
Oh, the fuck you aren’t—
Her gaze locked with Sebastian’s. “I’m not yours.”
But I’ve always wanted you to be.
He couldn’t quite manage speech. He mostly wanted to growl and snarl and carry her back upstairs so that he could lock her in the guest room and keep her safe from whoever the hell wanted to hurt her. Maybe he could get locked in that room with her and explore every inch of her tempting body.
“So…” Winston cleared his throat. “How are you doing, Alyssa?”
“I’ve been better. A lot better.”
On the days when someone wasn’t terrorizing her.
Sebastian tried mentally counting. Maybe that would calm his ass down. He got to ten and realized, nope, not helping.
“Why is someone doing this to me?” Alyssa asked. Her voice was strained.
Winston headed toward her and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. “I’m not sure, but I will find out.”
Sebastian didn’t move, even though he wanted to be the one comforting Alyssa. He wanted to pull her into his arms and never let go.
Probably not the best plan at the moment.
“Do you have any enemies?” Winston asked her. “Anyone you can think of who might want you hurt?”
“No. I mean, I’m not a saint or anything, but I can’t think of anyone I’ve pissed off so much that the person wants to kill me!”
“No exes who couldn’t let go? No one who gave you trouble and made you feel nervous?”
Sebastian lurched forward.
“No.” Alyssa shook her head. “I haven’t dated anyone seriously for a while.”
Winston pulled out a small notebook from his pocket. The guy liked to be old school with his little
notebooks. “What about Isaac Swain? You were with him at the theater, weren’t you?”
“Yes, but that was our first date.”
“First and last,” Sebastian clarified.
Winston frowned at him.
“What?” Sebastian demanded defensively. “She didn’t like him. Guy got on her nerves. She was glad when I showed up. I could see the relief on Alyssa’s face.”
Winston’s attention shifted back to Alyssa.
She rolled one shoulder. “Yes, I might have been glad. But then Sebastian told me that he’d gotten some text saying I was being targeted.” She hurried toward Sebastian. “Why contact you first? That keeps bugging me. Why go to you and say that I’m in danger? I don’t mean anything to you.”
“You’re wrong.” You mean everything.
She wrapped her arms around her stomach as she stood less than a foot away from him. “I tried to call my brother last night. I couldn’t get hold of him.”
Yeah, about that…
Winston lifted a brow and stared knowingly at Sebastian.
Shit. This is gonna be a hard conversation.
“I’m worried about him,” Alyssa added. “What if he’s targeted, too?”
Quite possible.
“And my parents?” Her voice rose. “They could be in danger!”
He had to touch her. His hands curled around her shoulders. “They’re okay.”
“How do you know? I couldn’t reach them either—”
“That’s because they are in freaking Antarctica, and you know how hard phone communication is down there. Half the time, the satellite phones are on the fritz.”
She swallowed.
“I made sure they were okay.” Her parents were some of the most brilliant scientists that he’d ever encountered, and they were currently completing a six-week stay in a research lab at what he’d heard Alyssa accurately describe as “the ends of the earth” a few times. “I checked in via email earlier. They are good. They’ll take extra precautions, but, seriously, sweet—um, Alyssa…”
Her gaze sharpened.
“No one can get to them. It’s not like you can just take a train to where they are.”
“Did you tell them about the shooting?”
Now he hedged a bit. “I told them that there was some trouble here and that I was looking after you.”