But, unlike Leslie he’d already decided that this was going to be a real marriage, he knew that he was in love with her. It was more than just that power that surged between them when they were together. She was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman, tough, strong, and sexy as hell.
His family was going to love her, especially now that he’d discovered that she could ride. In fact, he was looking forward to their time in the mountains, it would give them a chance to really get to know one another. Nothing brought out a person’s true colors than being stranded in the woods with no electricity, running water, or heat.
One thing he knew for sure, when they emerged from those mountains, she would be his forever. He wasn’t letting her get away from him not matter what she thought. There would be no annulment of this marriage, too bad she didn’t know that he wouldn’t have suggested it only to keep her safe.
As they rode the elevator to the top floor of the huge building, they were both lost in their own thoughts. But when the doors opened up to Donovan’s office, Sebastian turned to Leslie and said. “Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.”
“I just feel so guilty bringing you all into this.”
“Donovan never does anything he doesn’t want to, I know that all too well.” He said, taking her hand.
There was no one at the desk out front, but Donovan must have heard the elevator because he appeared in his office door, a huge smile on his face. “Mom and dad are going to kill you for getting married without them.” He said, crossing the room to give Sebastian a big hug.
All Leslie could do was stare at the two of them in amazement, they looked a lot alike, although Donovan wasn’t as muscular as Sebastian. It was still obvious that he took good care of himself, he was trim and fit, and incredibly handsome. If she’d seen him on the street she would have definitely looked twice.
“This must be Leslie.” He said, pushing Sebastian out of the way. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m sorry it’s under such difficult circumstances, but welcome to the family. You have no idea what you’ve just gotten yourself into.”
“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you too. Didn’t Sebastian explain that this is a fake marriage? We’ll have it annulled once I’m safe.” She said, sticking her hand out to shake his.
He shot a questioning look at Sebastian who only rolled his eyes, but before she could question that look, Donovan grabbed her and gave her a big hug. “Well, welcome anyway. Let’s get down to business.”
He pressed a button under his desk and the door at the back of his office swung open and a beautiful woman stepped out. Sebastian was across the room in three strides and had scooped her up in a big hug.
“Daphne what are you doing here?” He asked setting her back down on her feet.
“You didn’t think I was going to let you get married without me. It’s just too exciting, first Garret and Sabrina and now you. All my cousins are finally finding love.” She said, giving Donovan a pointed look.
“Don’t look at me like that Daphne. I’ll find a woman when I’m ready and not a minute sooner.”
“Fine, but you’re the last one, don’t wait too long or you’ll be an old man. Now, Leslie we can’t have you getting married in that. Come with me.”
Leslie looked at Sebastian, who only shook his head and said. “I didn’t have anything to do with this, but nothing happens in this family without Daphne’s knowledge. She’d the oldest of my uncle’s three girls and the matriarch of the family. She carries more secrets than I care to think about, we can trust her.”
Feeling better, she let herself be dragged out of the room. When they walked into the office that obviously belonged to Donovan’s assistant, Leslie caught her breath. There hanging in the back of the office was the most beautiful wedding gown she had ever seen. There was also a makeshift beauty salon set up and a big bouquet of flowers.
“It may be a secret wedding, but you should still have all those things that make it special. I couldn’t get a cake this quickly, but we can have a cake when this is all over.”
“I don’t know what to say. Daphne this isn’t a real wedding, I mean when this is over it’s going to be annulled.”
“It’s still your wedding and you never know.” Daphne said, then to change the subject she added. “Let’s make you gorgeous, although you don’t need much help.”
“But....”
“No arguing, sit down over there and let me do your hair and makeup. Donovan and Sebastian have a few last minute details to work out so we have some time.” She said, pushing Leslie into the chair.
An hour later, Leslie felt like a princess. Daphne had a talent with hair and makeup, and the dress she’d chosen for Leslie was perfect in every way. “How did you know my size?”
“Sebastian sent me a picture of you guys, looked like it was taken at the stadium.” Leslie remembered when he’d taken that picture, she’d fought him on it, but he’d promised to delete it, but obviously he hadn’t.
Just then, Donovan poked his head into the room. “Are you ready?” He asked, then seeing Leslie his mouth dropped open. “You look amazing, I can understand why Sebastian is so taken with you.”
Leslie started to open her mouth to once again explain that this was only a temporary marriage, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. She would just enjoy this moment and the nice people who had worked so hard to make it happen. It would be rude to keep bringing up the annulment, after they had worked so hard to make all this happen for someone they barely knew.
“Donovan give us a couple more minutes, okay?” Daphne said, shooing him out of the room.
“The minister is here.” He called over his shoulder on his way out.
“Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Leslie said, heading for the door.
“Don’t forget your flowers.” She said, handing them to Leslie. “Before you go out there, I just need to make sure you understand something. When a Terrell makes a promise they keep it.”
“I know, that’s why he’s doing all this to protect me.” Leslie said.
“Well, that’s not exactly what I meant.”
“What did you mean?” Leslie asked.
But before Daphne could answer, Donovan poked his head in again. “It’s now or never, we can’t wait any longer.”
“Not very romantic, cousin.” Daphne said.
“Sorry, but we really do need to get his done. The longer they are here the more danger for all of us.”
When Leslie stepped through the door, she was momentarily speechless at the sight of Sebastian in a black tuxedo. There was a subtle, but detectable electricity in the room, which even Daphne and Donovan noticed. They looked at each other and smiled, but Sebastian and Leslie didn’t even notice, they only had eyes for each other.
Sebastian’s eyes were glued to Leslie as she stepped out of the room, she looked incredible, the ivory color of her dress setting off her dark skin and brown eyes. Daphne had put her hair up in a complicated style that he couldn’t wait to take down. She’d also picked out the perfect dress, showing off all of Leslie’s luscious curves.
Sebastian held out his hand to Leslie and said. “You look beautiful. The minister is ready for us.”
She took his hand and together they stepped in front a man dressed all in black, who she hadn’t seen before. For a brief second she considered running from the room, but a gentle squeeze of her hand from Sebastian brought her back to her senses. This wasn’t a real marriage, they would have it annulled as soon as possible, she kept telling herself.
But when the minister started to speak, she realized just how much she wanted to be married to Sebastian. He was everything she’d ever wanted in a man, kind, honorable, and above all else dedicated. His parents should be proud, she thought, they had raised a very good man and he was hers if only for a little while.
When the minister got to the part about the rings, Leslie was surprised to find that Sebastian had
a beautiful gold band in his hand. He slipped it on her finger, then said. “This was my grandmother’s, she would have wanted you to wear it.”
Leslie was speechless, she hadn’t expected a ring at all, but one that was a family heirloom certainly hadn’t been on her mind. But, if they were going to pull this off, then it had to look real and a ring was part of that look.
All too soon, the ceremony was over and Sebastian had pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. Donovan and Daphne were cheering, then they both surrounded them with their arms. “I hope you two are happy.” Daphne said, tears running down her face.
“I’m sure we will be.” Sebastian said, looking deeply in Leslie’s eyes. “We just have to make it through the next month.”
No matter how much she wanted to protest that this marriage would be over in a month, she couldn’t get the words out. The look in Sebastian’s eyes was enough to make her bite back her words. Maybe they really would be together after this, but she didn’t want to hope for too much. It was probably just the romance of the whole thing, confusing him.
“As much as I would love to have a big celebration right now, you two had better get going. You have a lot of things to get done before morning.”
“I’m sorry too, but we have a couple of business men we need to see tonight.” Sebastian said, pulling Leslie to him. “Not much of a wedding, but we’ll do it better next time.”
“Next time?” Leslie said, but Daphne was already pulling her back to the little office.
“I’ve got some other clothes here for you, you’ll need to look the part if you’re going to be believed. Put these on and then I’ll fix your hair in a different style, we don’t want them knowing that you just got married today.” Daphne said, handing her a dress that was nice enough to wear to just about any club.
“Thank you for all you’ve done. You don’t even know me and you’ve put yourself in danger.” Leslie said, hugging Daphne.
“Honey that’s what family does.” She said, giving Leslie a push toward the bathroom to change.
Chapter 9
She was sad to have to take the beautiful dress off so soon, but she couldn’t wear it outside, the dress Daphne had handed her was a much better choice. She put it on feeling a little ridiculous, never in her life had she dressed like this. She was afraid to look in the mirror, but when she did, she was surprised to find that she looked good. Daphne should pick all her clothes from now on she thought.
Slipping into the four inch heels Daphne had given her, she stumbled out of the bathroom and just about fell flat on her face. “I absolutely love this dress, but I might break my leg if I wear these heels. I don’t really dress like this normally.”
“I wasn’t sure, and it’s probably not a good idea for you to be unsteady on your feet. Here try these.” Daphne said, handing her a pair of much shorter heels.
“Do you wear heels like these?” Leslie said, handing them to Daphne.
“Not that often, but sometimes. There’s a trick to walking in them, I’ll show you someday.”
Leslie put on the other shoes, relieved to find that she could actually walk in this pair. “Okay, that’s better. I think I can manage these.”
“Let’s get your hair done, then you two can be on your way.” Daphne said, sitting her down on the chair again.
Just as she was about to pull the pins out of Leslie’s hair, Sebastian walked into the room. He had already changed into a nice suit, and was carrying a bag over one shoulder. “Daphne, leave her hair up, I like it that way. It fits her outfit.”
“Okay, whatever you want, but I think it’s a bit overdone for the dress.”
“Don’t forget who we’re meeting with tonight. The flashier she’s dressed the better, it will work. You look great, by the way.” He said, crossing the room and offering her his hand.
When she stood up, he looked her up and down, making a blush rise to her cheeks. No one could miss the look in his eyes, desire mixed with affection. Daphne laughed and left the room. “You only have a few minutes, and don’t mess up her hair.”
Sebastian laughed as Daphne left the room. “She must have been reading my mind, because I was thinking about taking those pins out of your hair one by one and watching it cascade down your shoulders.”
Leslie could hardly catch her breath, the wave of desire was so strong when her eyes met his. She went willingly into his arms when he opened them to her. “This could be a difficult night, the people we are going to meet are some pretty rough customers. Stay with me at all times, and don’t say anything unless you’re asked a direct question.”
“I still don’t understand why we have to do this. If we just disappear into the mountains, then what good will these people be able to do.”
“Well, for one thing, between these two men, anything that goes on under the radar they know about. Secondly, don’t forget that Donovan and the rest of my family are in danger, these people will make sure that we know if anyone out there wants to harm them.”
“Okay, I trust you. I’m just scared and I’m tired of being scared.”
“I know, not that much longer and we’ll be safely in the mountains.”
“Then we’ll only have to fight the weather and the predators.” She said, looking into his eyes, a little smile on her face.
“Right, no big deal.”
On the way out, they both gave Donovan and Daphne a big hug, it would be awhile before they would see them again. They would have no contact until they were safely in the mountains, then Donovan would make some phone calls to arrange Leslie’s return to New York to testify.
“Don’t worry I’ll set everything up, but under no circumstance are you going to be under their protection. We will be using Terrell staff to protect you. I have men I know I can trust, but only I will know the plans until then.”
“I trust you brother.” Sebastian said, giving Donovan a silent look that held a great deal of meaning. Then taking her hand, they got on the elevator together, and holding hands set off on the next step of Sebastian’s plan.
Their first stop surprised Leslie. They’d only driven a little while when Sebastian pulled into a parking garage attached to a large office building. They stopped at the security gate, and waited while the guard called to confirm that they could be let into the building.
“I’m sorry you weren’t on the list and we have a very strict policy about unwanted visitors.” The guard said.
“That’s okay, I was counting on that.” Sebastian said, receiving a strange look from the guard.
They parked and once again had to pass through a security screening, this time having to undergo a brief frisking by one of the guards. “Careful with those hands buddy. That’s my wife.”
“I could get a woman down here to do this. We have to sometimes.” He said, looking carefully at Sebastian.
“No, that’s okay. Just make it quick.” Leslie said, just wanting this over. It was pretty clear that there wasn’t any place to hide a weapon on her person, so it was a quick search.
Finally cleared to get into the building, they found the elevator and rode it to the top floor. “Who are we going to see? It’s almost nine o’clock, strange business hours.”
“Sweet heart, these are the kind of people who are just getting started this time of night. I met Ramone when we were just kids. I was doing volunteer hours and his mother was forcing him to come to a reading group I was hosting. We hit it off right away and spent the summer hanging out together. He was a scrawny kid with a big mouth and I saved him several times that summer.”
Leslie had opened her mouth to ask more questions, nervous about the meeting that was coming, but the elevators opened and she saw a sight she wasn’t expecting. Instead of an office, the room was designed like a club. There was a huge dance floor, a sound system that would surely make the building shake, as well as a dozen large tables spaced around the room.
As soon as they stepped off the elevator,
a small Hispanic man came charging across the room and grabbed Sebastian up in a big hug. He then turned to Leslie and with a wiggle of his eyebrows introduced himself.
“Hi, I’m Ramone Batista. It’s nice to meet you.” He said, then shot Sebastian a questioning look.
“Ramone, this is my wife, Leslie.”
Ramone’s eyes widened, then he looked at Leslie once again. “Brother, you got married and didn’t invite me. That’s not cool.”
“I’m sorry about that, but it was a very small family wedding. We just couldn’t wait to be together.” Sebastian said, taking Leslie’s hand in his and giving her a sappy look.
Leslie though he might be pouring it on a little thick, but Ramone seemed to buy it. He gestured for them to be seated. “I’m happy for you, my friend. Now, I know you’re not here to announce your nuptials. What can I do for you?”
“I’ve come to you for help. I’m afraid we’ve found ourselves in a tricky situation. It seems that Leslie witnessed a crime committed by the Russian mafia and now they are after her.” Sebastian began to explain.
“I think I understand, but let’s let the lady tell me her story.” Ramone said, getting up from behind his desk. “Come, let’s get some refreshments and retire to the comfort of my inner office.
Sebastian let out the breath he’d been holding. If Ramone was willing to listen, then he would be willing to help. The invitation to his inner office was a promising sign as well. They followed him through a door which led to a room full of comfortable furniture and a large bar.
“What can I get you to drink? I have just about anything you could want.” Ramone said, going behind the bar.
“I would love a cup of coffee, we’ve been up since early this morning.” Sebastian said.
“That would be wonderful.” Leslie added.
“I imagine it must be difficult to be on the run, I’ve experienced the need to hide but never from the mafia. Coffee it is, I have a wonderful coffee press that I don’t get to use much.” Ramone said, turning to a beautiful coffee press.
Be Mine Forever (Brothers From Money #2) Page 9
