She squirmed, writhing on his thick shaft as he emptied himself inside her. The movements drew winded gasps from him, and the passionate hold on her hair grew to one of warning. Her eyes locked with his as Sebastian gave a slow shake of his head.
“Don’t move,” he panted in a breathless whisper.
After a few seconds, he gently eased her down. Taylor’s cheeks burned with embarrassment as his laughter followed her awkward scramble to the bathroom. The end of his tee shirt snapped playfully across the back of her thighs and she paused, peering over her shoulder at him in question.
“You’re making a mess,” he explained, the corners of his eyes crinkling with his smile.
The press of cool travertine stone beneath his feet soothed his overheated body. Making his way back into the kitchen, Sebastian grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. He downed half of it and caught his breath before polishing off the rest. His temperature ebbed as both mind and body gradually came back down from their euphoric high. A brief smile flickered across his face with the thought. He never did drugs—never even experimented with them as a kid. His instincts warned he’d hate the lack of control, no matter how fleeting. But Taylor, she was a different story. She offered the most incredible thrill. He couldn’t get enough. Even now, with his body still tingling, his mind wandered to their next encounter. He wondered where it would be, what they would do…
Sighing, he pitched the empty bottle into the trash. The woman had him in knots.
He needed to stay busy. With that in mind, he moved to clear the table in the morning room. As delicious as breakfast had been, his appetite was lacking. Seeing those surveillance pictures of Taylor and his sister had hit him like a gut shot. It wasn’t what could have been that haunted him, though Todd had suffered long and hard for those notions as well. It was what could still be. The bastard’s brother was still out there. Still on the loose, and still doing God knew what. Steven Laychee was not a stupid man—reckless, perhaps, but not dumb. Not even average. He was a former member of the Special Forces, with solid ties to several paramilitary groups. The guy was a loose cannon, and the weapons they’d been stashing in the warehouse indicated he was about to blow…but where?
Raking a hand through his hair, Sebastian shifted his attention outside. His eyes narrowed as he tracked the security team patrolling the grounds. The muscles in his jaw tightened with rigid fury. The infiltrating son-of-a-bitch had been tied to Laychee. It had been his idea, his call. Todd swore no one else had seen any of the pictures. He and his brother were supposed to do an exchange this afternoon. Another brutal round of torture and a heavy dose of sodium pentothal had assured them he spoke the truth, but the dark shadows of doubt remained. Steven might have requested some of his own, just as an extra precaution. He would have. When staking out a target, one could never be too thorough.
Sebastian sloughed a hand over his face and squeezed his mouth in thought. Pictures or not, Laychee knew his vulnerable points—as few as they were. Taylor, Monique, Mia…
He shook his head, trying to dispel the rise of panic. Josh would protect his sister, and it wasn’t just loyalty motivating his partner. Loyalties could break at any time. Love was different, and though Josh had never come out and said it to his face, Sebastian had no doubt that man loved Monique with everything he had. That love was why he asked Josh to look after her in the first place.
Focus.
He tried, but he couldn’t. His thoughts were a jumbled mess. Sebastian grunted. At the moment, his life was a mess. There was a crazed lunatic out there with a hunger for blood. If having his brother’s face carved up like a jack-o-lantern was enough to spark a fire under Laychee’s ass, finding out he was dead was going to light the fuse. Things were going to get bad, and to make matters worse, he now had the added stress of not being able to trust the security team he’d put in place.
He slammed his fist on the table with a heated curse. The plates on the serving tray rattled with the force.
“Seb?”
He whirled at the sound of Taylor’s voice. The soft, sultry sound jerked him from his maddened haze. Worry lined her beautiful face, and those amazing grey eyes darkened with a hint of fear. His chest ached. Forcing a smile to his lips, he opened his arms to her.
“Everything’s okay, baby,” he murmured, burying his face in her hair when she stepped into his embrace.
The comforting scent of warm vanilla and cashmere washed over him. He sighed with pleasure as the aroma engulfed him and Taylor rubbed her hands up and down his lower back. The tense hammer of his heart slowed. He needed her—needed this. Drawing strength and serenity from the moment, he pushed thoughts of work aside. His attention refocused on Taylor. Backing up to one of the stools, he sat down and pulled her into his lap. He twined his fingers through hers and kissed each one before lifting his eyes to hers.
“You’ve been cooped up inside this house for days. I have a little bit of time off. What do you say to us slipping away for a bit and enjoying the afternoon?”
A gorgeous grin lit her face. “Really?”
Sebastian brushed the warm silk of her neck with his lips. She always smelled like heaven. “You’re such a cheeky little minx,” he whispered in her ear. He couldn’t help but love the way she squirmed. “I never say anything I don’t mean.”
Chapter 2 ~
The quaint little store held the rich smell of old parchment and used books. It was the kind of place she could lose herself in for hours. Every shelf held the promise of hidden treasures, and she trailed her fingers lovingly over the spines. They’d stumbled upon it by chance while roaming the downtown streets. At first, Sebastian had been skeptical, and suggested a larger retail chain where the selection was bigger and the books weren’t used, but he’d caved under her pleading and the excited clutch of her hands. It was hard to say if his interest was genuine or not, but he quietly perused the shelf beside her. If nothing else, the small shop offered a welcome reprieve from the biting wind and cold.
Taylor frowned as she glanced outside. The snow had started to pick up by the time she’d loaded the dishwasher and gotten dressed, but now it was coming down in driving sheets. Ever watchful, Sebastian tracked her stare and followed it out the front windows. Turning his attention back to her, he lifted one end of her fluffy knit scarf. His sage eyes sparkled as he gave the plush fabric a twirl and batted her chin with the soft material.
“Stop worrying about the weather and pick out some books,” he said, leaning over to rest his forehead against hers. “I’m not you, darling. I can drive in the snow.”
She colored at his playful wink. “I can drive in it,” she stated defensively. “Just not well.”
His soft chuckle carried through the small space, drawing the attention of a nearby browser and the shopkeeper alike. “That is a bit of an understatement, sweetheart,” he murmured, kissing the tip of her nose.
She grinned as he gave the back of her neck an affectionate squeeze before letting go.
“I hear we’re supposed to get another five inches before the night is through.”
Taylor turned to regard the middle-aged man who’d edged up beside them. His dark hair was swept over in a side part, and his face was rough and reddened with windburn and sun. Pale circles ringed his eyes. Taking note of his colorful parka, she pegged him as a skier. She offered up a polite smile, hoping it made up for the way Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as he studied the man.
“Is that so?” he asked.
“Yep, I heard it on the news this morning. I guess it’s one of the benefits of living in Flagstaff. Or a drawback depending on which way you want to look at it.”
Sebastian gave a curt nod. “Yes, I suppose so.”
Wrapping his fingers around hers, he led her further down the aisle. The man followed behind.
“So where are you two from? You just vacationing or are you here to stay?”
Taylor winced as the grip on her fingers tightened. Peering over her shoulder, she wondered if t
he man was dense or just didn’t care that someone had tried to put a polite end to the discussion. She listened as a quiet sigh of resignation parted the silence.
“What difference does that make?” Sebastian asked softly. He turned to confront the man with a curious tilt of his head.
Uncertainty flickered across the stranger’s weathered features. “It doesn’t make any difference, I suppose. I was just trying to make conversation.”
“Conversation, right,” he stated in a quiet drawl. Sebastian gestured to their surroundings with a sweep of his gloved hand. “Do you always follow strangers around and ask where they live? Or has something about us just piqued your interest to the point where you can’t resist?”
Paling, the man stepped back. He muttered a brief apology and hurried for the door. Taylor sighed as the overhead bell chimed, swinging back and forth with his departure, and the shopkeeper cast a questioning glance in their direction.
“You didn’t have to be so mean,” she whispered.
Sebastian’s forehead knitted, and he blinked with confusion. “I wasn’t mean, darling.”
“You just scared the hell out of that poor guy!”
“All I did was ask a question, Taylor,” he said, brushing away a lock of hair beneath her hat.
She shook her head at his purported innocence. “You have no idea just how intense and intimidating you can be?”