by Dara Girard
Chapter 25
Sebastian knocked on Naomi’s door hoping she was still in the mood. The conversation with his mother had taken longer than he’d planned.
The door swung open. He’d hoped to find her wearing something special—a see-through nightgown, a robe and nothing else—but she wore a long sleeved shirt and jeans. Before he could ask if she’d changed her mind she said, “Are you here for a blow job or a hand job?”
He stood still for a moment then remembered when he’d first shown up at her front door. She’d been wearing the same outfit when she’d thought he’d come for sex. Sebastian let his gaze trail the length of her body. Never had jeans and a plain white shirt looked so sexy before.
He swept her into his arms, closing the door behind him with his foot. “I want it all.” He headed for the bedroom.
“I don’t do lube jobs.”
He laid her down on the bed, took off her glasses, and covered her body with his. “Then we’ll have to come up with something else,” he said also setting his glasses aside.
Naomi slowly unbuttoned her shirt, trying to display a sophistication she didn’t feel. She wanted him so bad, the strength of her feelings frightened her. “Do you have anything particular in mind?”
“I like surprises.”
“What did your mother want?”
“I didn’t come here to talk about her,” he said in a low growl.
Wrong topic, she should have known that, but she had been curious. Her mind had been racing as she waited for him to arrive, wondering if he would or if his mother would convince him to change his mind. But he was here with her, she could claim victory. She’d deal with his mother later.
Naomi removed her shirt then wiggled out of her jeans. “Your mother thinks I’m after your money. I wonder if I should tell her the truth.”
“Which is?”
She slid a sensuous path down his chest. “I’m after your body.”
“Not my mind?”
“That interests me too, but not at the moment.”
Sebastian pressed a finger over her lips. “Don’t mention her again. I’m not in the mood to talk about her.”
“I bet you don’t want to talk at all.”
“You’re starting to read my mind.” He covered her mouth with his and she could feel his erection pressing against her thigh.
It wasn’t just his mind she was starting to read. She unbuttoned his trousers and pushed them down. She sighed with relief at the sight of his black boxers. “Thank God,” she whispered.
“For what?” he asked, burying his face against her throat, his hand searing a slow, sensuous path down her body.
She closed her eyes, letting the heat build within her. “Promise me you’ll never wear striped boxers.”
“What if I like strips?” he asked his breath warm against her skin.
“I don’t care.”
“Okay, I promise,” he said before he kissed her again and his hand slipped inside her panties and with his fingers he made her forget about boxers striped or otherwise.
She rose to meet him and he entered her. She wrapped her legs around him, inviting him deeper inside then the image of Maya with the man’s brown bottom in the air flashed in her mind. She swore, unlatched her legs and started to move to the side.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Sebastian said. “What are you doing?”
“I want to be on top.”
“That’s fine, but you’ve got to let me know.” He grinned then winked at her. “We’re sorta in this together.”
“Right.”
They shifted positions. “Better?” he asked.
“Much,” she breathed, settling down on him. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
“You can make it up to me now.”
Which she did with gusto. With her mouth she made up for not fulfilling her promise to him right away. With her hands she made up for digging into his past. With her body she made up for all the time she’d held herself back from expressing how she felt. And her feelings came like a tidal wave. No part of him was safe—she was hungry for it all.
And Sebastian didn’t drown under her passionate assault. Instead he was a boy in the ocean again—wild and free. Free from ridicule, free from obligation. No longer the boy who’d once been in the wheelchair, or the man who’d disappointed his father, or the scientist who’d lost his career. Naomi swept all those memories away and his heart didn’t regret being lost to her.
Together their bodies joined in ecstasy.
“Tell me about the scars,” Naomi asked, referring to the scars on his legs, as they lay in each other’s arms.
“Lots of surgeries. I was born with extreme clubbed feet.”
“Yes, I’d wondered about your walk, you have a unique stride, but I hardly noticed it was a limp,” she said quickly when his expression changed. “You’ve come a long way.”
He looked a little rueful. “Just not one hundred percent. I’d fooled myself to think I had.”
“I don’t need a hundred percent, you’re perfect just the way you are.” She wrapped her arms tighter around him and sighed with pleasure. “This is nice.”
“Only nice?” Sebastian said with an edge of disappointment.
“More than nice. I never thought I could be this happy with someone else.”
“I didn’t want to quit because of your father.”
“What?”
“That night you found me on the kitchen floor, when I said I couldn’t take it, it was because of this.” He drew her body closer to him. “I wanted this.”
“Me too. I thought of kissing your back.”
“I thought of kissing more than that,” Sebastian said with a dirty laugh.
Naomi sighed. “It’s a shame really.”
“Why?”
“Because now I really can’t work with you anymore.”
He looked down at her alarmed. “Why?”
“Conflict of interest and all that.”
“I’m a volunteer.”
“It’s still wrong. I can’t have you as my lover and my assistant.”
“How about as your husband?”
Naomi stared up at him startled. “You’re serious?”
He nodded.
She bit her lip.
“It doesn’t have to be now,” Sebastian said, sensing her hesitation.
“I can’t marry you until—”
“I don’t expect you to change your name. I know my reputation will be an issue.”
She sat up and looked down at him amazed. “You really are clueless.”
“About what?”
She affectionately patted his face. “You’re like a frog who still thinks he’s a tadpole.”
“A frog?”
She nodded.
He frowned. “What does that have to do with whether you’ll marry me or not? There’s something about me—”
“That’s my point. If I marry you, I’d have a stellar lab, a beautiful home, a wonderful man, and work I adore… and you think I’m hesitating because of what happened at BioCorps?”
“I’m Dr. Disgrace, remember? You want to know the truth. You want to know the kind of man I really am.”
“I told you, I only did it to help you. I will stop looking, I promise.”
His frown increased. “If it’s not that, then what is it?”
She let her gaze fall. “I have to deal with something else first.”
“What?”
“I can’t tell you yet.”
“Why not?”
“If…if I can’t handle it on my own, I’ll let you know.”
“I don’t like you keeping things from me.”
“I know, but what if I say ‘yes’ and then you change your mind?”
“I won’t change my mind.”
Naomi sighed. “Give me a week and then we’ll see.”
His face spread into a wide grin. “So you will marry me?”
“Sebastian, I just said--”
“You’re worried
I’ll change my mind.” He shook his head. “I won’t,” he said before he kissed her, giving her no chance to argue.
Chapter 26
Vera pinned Naomi with a dark look. “Married?”
They sat in the same café that they had been in weeks before, this time Vera wore a light coat to shield her against the autumn weather settling in, chilling the air and touching the leaves with color.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“We haven’t discussed it.”
“Who?”
“He’s also a scientist.”
“Didn’t I warn you about that? Did the breakup of my marriage teach you nothing? A woman in your position must choose a man from a different field. There’s bound to be jealousy when one’s career grows faster than another’s. What does he do exactly?”
“Right now he’s not in the field. But I do see him returning to it.”
“Who is he?”
“Sebastian Scott.”
“No.”
“What?”
“Not only is he not a scientist, he’s the lowest sort of man you can attach yourself to.”
“I don’t think so, although I wasn’t able to prove that there might have been a mistake at BioCorps I believe—”
“Are you even listening to yourself? You’re already putting your career behind a man who couldn’t even handle his own. You made a narrow mistake with Barry. Two kids in three years.”
“She’s happy.”
“Does she have a choice?”
“Of course she does. She wanted a family.”
“A man will saddle you down, even the best of them. If it’s not children, it’s the weight of their career or the delicacy of their ego.”
“Not all men.”
“A man like Sebastian Scott will drag you down. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the pretty glass cage he’s slowly been putting you in. The house, the lab.”
Naomi shook her head. “I didn’t—”
“Gifts like that always come with a price. You can only trust your own hard work and effort.”
“I do work hard.”
“Then why is Pete O’Connell able to get the brightest researchers?”
“Because, through Sebastian, I’ve learned that our field isn’t only about being the brightest and having the most stellar reputation. It’s also about being liked and respected. I’ve had to learn to treat my team better. Give them compliments once in a while.” She hadn’t done this before Sebastian, she’d taken her researchers for granted and the people who funded her work. She’d been blind to the needs of others, not realizing what a kind gesture or word could do.
“Do you hand out lollipops too?”
Naomi sighed. “I didn’t come here to ask for your blessing, I wanted advice.”
“And I’m giving it to you. Don’t go after a man like a starry eyed teenager. You’re a scientist letting your heart rule your head.”
“I wanted to know more about Josephine Scott.”
“Who?”
“His mother.”
“Are you still looking into BioCorps?”
“No, I just wanted to know if—”
“Why would I know anything about her? I’ve told you this and I’ll say it again. Sebastian Scott is poison and that includes those around him. Stay away.”
“Why? One man’s meat—”
“Is another man’s poison,” Vera finished in a grave tone. “I don’t believe in taking gambles.” She stood. “And neither should you.”
Naomi finished her coffee disappointed as she watched her friend leave the shop. She’d hoped to be able to get help from Vera, but she would have to face the problem she faced alone.
Naomi found Josephine in her favorite position in the solarium reading.
“I want to marry your son, but I need to understand something first.”
“What is that?”
“Why did you try to kill me?”
Chapter 27
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I felt the edge of your cane that night. And I heard the sound of your footsteps. I know it wasn’t Andre’s and Sebastian’s walk is very distinctive. I know it was you.”
Josephine sniffed. “You can’t prove a thing.”
“So you did do it.”
Her lips thinned.
“You hate me that much?” When Josephine remained mute, Naomi sighed and said, “If you won’t give me any answers, I’ll tell Sebastian my suspicions.”
“You can’t tell him,” she demanded. “I wouldn’t have let you die. I had no other choice. It was him or you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why must you ask so many questions? Why couldn’t you have left things alone?”
“I don’t know who you’re trying to protect.”
“Him. I’ve always done everything for him. He was happy as things were before you came into our lives.”
“No, he wasn’t. He wouldn’t have sought me out otherwise.”
“He had a moment of weakness, nothing more.”
“You’re not answering my question. Do you hate me that much?”
“Yes, because you’re a threat. I need Sebastian here as the head of his father’s business. BioCorps nearly destroyed him, I won’t see that happen again.”
“Mrs. Scott—”
“I’ll make you a bargain. I won’t interfere with you two as long as you never tell him what happened.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because if you want him to stay with you, you’ll keep this a secret.”
A secret. I don’t like you not telling me things, he’d said. But would he believe her if she did?
She could imagine his reaction. He’d deny it at first. Tell her she was mistaken. Force her to provide proof. All she had was her memory. That wouldn’t be enough and he’d get angry at her for accusing his mother of something awful. She remembered the rage in his eyes at the hospital when he thought of the person who’d put her there. Would he turn that rage on her? He’d never look at her the same way again.
But if she didn’t tell him, he’d never know the depth of his mother’s manipulation. How much she hated his love of science. At times, Naomi wondered if Josephine had something to do with the fall of Sebastian’s career. But it was all speculation and she had no proof. Vera had warned her that Sebastian was poison and all those around him. Did she know what Josephine was capable of?
But a secret would slowly erode their relationship. Is that what his mother really wanted?
She shook her head. “No, I—”
“Stop pretending,” Josephine snapped.
“What?”
“Stop pretending you don’t know what happened. Did they put you up to this? Wasn’t ruining his career enough for them?”
“Enough for whom? I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“You really want me to believe that all this time they haven’t mentioned anything? Were they using you to make sure that he didn’t say anything?”
“Who are they? I don’t understand.”
“You keep acting as if you know what he needs when all this time you’ve been close to the very person who ended Sebastian’s career.”
“I haven’t been close to anyone who could hurt him.”
Josephine’s lip curled. “Except Vera Conklin.”
Chapter 28
Bad news. He always knew when someone was going to give him bad news and Andre didn’t disappoint.
“The jeweler mixed up the order. It won’t be ready.”
Sebastian hit the steering wheel of his car as he made his way back home after dropping Naomi off at work. She’d been quiet that morning and he’d hoped his gift—a ruby necklace—would have cheered her up when he gave it to her that evening.
“What do you want me to do?”
“They’d better give me a discount, bonus or something impressive if they want to keep my business.”
“I’ll let them know.”
“I have to run some errands for your mother, but the security company that you wanted to install cameras around the pool said they’d be coming in an hour.”
“I’m almost home, I’ll handle it myself.”
Moments later, he stormed into the house.
“What are you doing home so early?” his mother asked surprised. “You look upset.”
“Because Naomi’s—”
“Whatever she told you about me is a lie.”
He paused. “Excuse me?”
“Naomi.” Josephine nervously licked her lips. “What did she say?”
Naomi hadn’t said anything, but from the guilty look on his mother’s face, she should have. He folded his arms. “Let me hear it from you.”
“I knew she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. You know I only did it for you.”
He nodded. “Yes, you always try to protect me.”
“And she was being dramatic. I was trying to scare her, not kill her.”
Sebastian felt his body grow cold. “The pool?”
“Yes, I pushed her, but that hardly qualifies for homicidal intent.”
“You’re the one who attacked her?”
“Yes,” Josephine said suddenly hesitant. “Isn’t that what she told you?”
“No,” Sebastian said, drawing out the word and narrowing his eyes. “She didn’t, but I knew something was wrong.” He rested his hands on his hips. “I can’t believe what I just heard. You tried to kill her?”
“I didn’t try to kill anybody! They said I had to do something.”
“Who?”
“You know who. I had to do something so when Andre told me you’d had a fight with Naomi, I took a gamble. I didn’t really think it would work to be honest. I spoofed your phone and sent a text to her. I kept waiting for something to go wrong, but it didn’t. So when she showed up, I took my chance.”
“You left her floating in the pool.”
“I wouldn’t have let her die, I swear. I was scared of what they would do to you.”
“If Vera and Niklaas threatened you, why didn’t you come to me?”
“Because you’re under her spell, I didn’t think you’d listen to me.”
