He dropped his finger. ‘I still want you too. Let’s just spend a little more time together and see what happens.’
Edie’s heart-rate increased. See what happens...
Then he said, ‘I have plans for this evening...’
Edie felt a rush of disappointment so acute that she almost didn’t hear him go on.
‘You have half an hour to get ready and we’re going out.’
She looked at him, relief filling her that he’d meant for those plans to include her. ‘Out? But nothing will be open—it’s Christmas Eve.’
His mouth tipped up slightly. ‘It’s London.’
She indicated her worn jeans and shapeless top. ‘I didn’t exactly come prepared.’
‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll show you your room.’
Bemused, Edie followed him down a long corridor to where he opened a door to the bedroom. It was elegantly understated, with a huge bed and sleek modern furniture with an art deco twist. The floor-to-ceiling windows showcased another breathtaking view.
‘My room is through the adjoining door. Obviously we’ll be sharing a bed, Edie... But this is your space.’
She looked at him and longed to make some kind of smart remark, to dent that arrogance even a little. But of course she was going to share his bed. That was the only reason she was here, wasn’t it?
He opened another door, artfully hidden in the wall panel, to reveal a dressing room and an en-suite bathroom. She walked in to see clothes hanging from hangers and shelves full of folded clothes.
She picked up a pair of jeans. Her size exactly. She gasped and looked at Sebastio. ‘These are for me?’
He nodded and came forward and plucked something from behind her, holding it up. It was the stunning black lace dress. Edie’s breath stopped.
‘Wear this tonight. Please.’
Edie took it from him. She really did feel like Alice in Wonderland now. Slipping down a rabbit hole she might never find her way out of again.
‘Okay...’
He backed out of the room. ‘Half an hour, Edie.’
* * *
Half an hour later Sebastio was looking out of the same window Edie had gravitated towards when she’d first walked in, her eyes popping out of her head. He was ashamed to admit it, but it had taken witnessing her reaction to remind him that not everyone felt a piercing stab of guilt when they recognised how lucky they were. Lucky to have these views. Lucky to have this stunning apartment and many more across the world. Lucky to be walking on both his legs.
Lucky to be alive.
At that moment he wondered if he’d done the right thing in bringing Edie here. Following the dictates of his ravenous hunger for her. She saw too much. She had seen too much. He could still recall how it had felt to have her arms sliding around him in that shower. The way she’d held on to him so tightly. The emotion that he’d been unable to hold back. The need to eclipse it with something else.
Passion.
He’d taken her like a caveman, up against the wall. And she’d let him. Her body had milked his for what had felt like aeons as he’d spent himself to the point of oblivion. An oblivion he’d never experienced before.
He heard a sound and turned around from the window. Any vague regret about bringing Edie here melted in a wave of heat and lust. She stood in the doorway and she looked like a goddess.
The dre
ss moulded to her form, and for a second Sebastio thought she was naked underneath because all he could see was flesh. But then he realised it was a slip. Her shoulders were slender and straight. Her short cap of glossy hair highlighted the elegance of her long neck. She was spun from a fantasy Sebastio had never even known he’d had.
‘You look...stunning.’
She walked into the room, endearingly unsure. Once again, fleetingly, Sebastio thought that if she was acting then she should be on the stage. For the first time he hated it that he was so cynical.