Taming the Beast

by Alicia Montgomery

“I look forward to it, cher,” he replied with a wink.

  Jade walked back to the cafeteria with a spring in her step.

  “Well?” Meredith asked. “Are you going on a date with him?”

  “Yes.”

  The Lycan gave an unladylike squeal, prompting the people next to them to stare.

  “Good for you, Jade,” Lara said. “Just get back in the saddle.”

  Jade smiled at her friends. “You’re right. I’m glad you made me do that. I have a good feeling about this.” She would go out and have a good time with Gabriel. And Sebastian Creed could go jump off a cliff.

  ***

  Sebastian liked to think he was a reasonable and level-headed man. Some even described him as cold, like the women he often sent on their way after they’d had their fun. But ever since he met Jade Cross, years of building that cool exterior and reputation were headed down the shitter.

  What the fuck was he thinking last night? Jade had every right to date and go out and sleep with whomever she wanted. The thought of that, though, had The Beast clawing and screaming at him and he forced the animal to shut the fuck up. When he heard her two friends discussing the date, he called Zac to tell him to start following Jade as soon as she left Fenrir, despite the fact that the ink on the contract hadn’t even dried.

  He went back to his office downtown and tried to concentrate on his work. But, he couldn’t. Not when all he could think about was Jade’s date. By seven p.m. he was crawling out of his skin and after confirming Jade’s location with Zac. He went to the restaurant where he tailed Jade. Sebastian ordered full surveillance, and when he got a picture of Jade’s date, he sent it to his best computer guys and had them do a search on all law enforcement databases. After seeing the records, he went into a rage. Even worse was when he watched Jade and Daniel leave the restaurant and head towards his apartment. It took all of Sebastian’s strength not to tear the man’s head off.

  Sebastian told himself he was doing the right thing. He couldn’t let Jade fall for that asshole. She hated him even more now. No, that was good. That was the point. Jade should stay away from him. But still, he had a job to do—protect Jade and find out who was trying to kill her. And today, he found himself back at Fenrir Corporation. He needed to ask Grant for more information and more access to Jade so he could do his job. Then, maybe, he could put Fenrir and Jade behind him, and get on with his miserable life.

  “Mr. Creed,” Jared greeted him. The younger man was leaving his desk, a stack of folders in his arms. “Mr. Anderson is running a bit late. He’s stuck in an HR meeting, but said you should go ahead and wait for him inside his office.”

  “Thank you, Jared,” Sebastian said.

  “I need to drop these off at Mrs. Westbrook’s office, but I can get you some coffee or tea as soon as I’m back.”

  “Just water, please.”

  “Of course, Mr. Creed,” Jared said with a nod as he left.

  Sebastian let himself into the office, taking the seat opposite Grant’s large desk. He sat there, looking around the room, trying to put pieces of the puzzle together. The CEO’s desk was neat and held no personal items, or other things that might give a hint to Grant’s personality outside of Fenrir Corporation.

  The sound of the door opening caught his attention. Expecting to see Grant stride in, he stood to greet his client. He was surprised, however, as a petite woman in a yellow floral dress walked into the room.

  “Oh, excuse me,” she said, realizing there was someone else in the room. “Jared wasn’t at his desk, and I just assumed Grant was in here.”

  Sebastian eyed the woman. She was pretty and he couldn’t help but appreciate the sight before him. Lush curves filled the dress in the right places, and her thick, jet-black hair was piled on top of her head. Her most startling feature was her eyes—one green and one blue. And they were staring right back at him.

  The woman crossed her arms over her chest. “Can I help you, Mr…”

  “Sebastian Creed,” he said, walking towards her and extending his hand.

  “Oh.” Her lips parted, then spread into a smile. “So, you’re Sebastian Creed.”

  “And you are?”

  “Frankie,” she supplied.

  “Grant’s not here,” Sebastian explained. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  Frankie let out a chuckle, her eyes sparkling. “Oh, I’m not that disappointed. You certainly live up to your reputation, at least from what I hear from the women around Fenrir.”

  It was Sebastian’s turn to laugh. “I do my best.”

  “Get your own wife, Creed, and stop trying to steal mine,” Grant interrupted as he entered his office. He strode towards them, putting a possessive arm around Frankie’s shoulders.

  “I didn’t know who she was,” Sebastian said with an apologetic nod.

  “I think you can forgive Mr. Creed, can’t you Grant?” Frankie traced a finger on Grant’s chest.

  “My wife is gorgeous,” Grant said, leaning down to press a kiss on her forehead. “I understand if men flirt with her. Not that I have to like it.”

  Frankie rolled her eyes. “Oh please. Like I never have to fight off women falling over themselves to get your attention.”

  Grant pulled her closer. “You never have to worry about me, sweetheart.”

  Sebastian cleared his throat, and the two lovers pulled apart, Frankie’s cheeks growing pink.

  “All right, Creed,” Grant began. “Your assistant said you wanted to meet with me and that it was an urgent matter. I only have ten minutes to spare. I promised Frankie I’d take her to lunch.”

  “We get very hangry,” Frankie stated, smiling at him and rubbing her belly. Sebastian didn’t notice the slight bump there, but now he could see it. “I’ll give you a few minutes, though. I have to answer some emails.” She walked over to the couches and sat down, taking out her tablet.

  “I just need five minutes,” Sebastian stated as he sat down.

  “Good. Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?’ Grant asked as he stepped behind his desk.

  “I need access to your lab. I mean, Dr. Cross’ lab.”

  “Request denied,” Grant said flatly. “Is there anything else?”

  “What do you mean denied?” Sebastian’s brows furrowed.

  “I mean, no. You can’t have access to her lab. It’s restricted.”

  “I’ll sign any NDA you want. Or I can give you a bond for whatever you think is the value of her work if there’s a leak. But, if you want me to find whoever is trying to hurt Jade, then I need to be around her…work,” he added.

  “There’s no reason for you to access her lab,” Grant said. “The work she’s doing there is of the utmost importance to me, and I can’t risk it. Besides, that lab is stronger than Fort Knox. We have the most advanced security in there, and we just upgraded after the last breach.”

  “Last breach?” Sebastian asked incredulously. “And how many breaches have you had? Why does this keep happening?”

  “Sebastian,” Grant said in a deadly voice, his green eyes going dark. “Dr. Cross’ work is of no consequence to you or the job I hired you for. Protect her. Keep her safe while she’s outside of Fenrir. That’s all you need to do.”

  Sebastian felt the anger rising in him. What was Grant hiding in that lab? All he wanted to do was protect Jade, and the best way to do that was to stop the threats on her life. “Grant. I—”

  “Madre de dio!” Frankie exclaimed as she got up from her seat and walked over to the two men. “Mr. Creed, if you want to spend time with Jade, just man up and ask her out already!”

  “That’s not why I want access to her lab,” Sebastian replied defensively.

  “Sure, it isn’t,” Frankie said, her mismatched eyes sparkling.

  Grant eyed Sebastian suspiciously. “My answer is still no.”

  Sebastian gritted his teeth, but nodded. “All right.”

  “Should I hire another company to do this job?” Grant asked. “Or can I trust you to be
professional?”

  The warning in the other man’s voice was clear. “It’s fine, Grant,” Sebastian said, getting up from his seat. “Sorry for intruding on your time with your wife.” He gave Frankie a last nod and then left the office.

  Chapter Ten

  The restaurant Gabriel picked was much classier than her previous date’s choice. While Daniel took her to some hipster East Village restaurant, Gabriel seemed to pull out all the stops. It was French, of course, and ,according to Gabriel, it was very hard to secure a reservation. Luckily, the chef was a former client from his last job and agreed to give them a table on very short notice.

  “Are you enjoying your Matelote, cher?” Gabriel asked.

  “Yes, it’s excellent.” Jade took a spoonful of the fish stew. “Thank you for recommending it.”

  “De rien, ma petite,” he replied, giving her another one of his charming smiles.

  “My French is rusty,” she said, putting her spoon down. “I hope you don’t mind if we switch back to English for a bit.”

  “Not at all,” he said. “But we can always practice your French later.”

  “So, tell me why you decided to work for Fenrir?” Jade asked, changing the subject. She caught the meaning in his voice, not that Gabriel was hiding it. The Frenchman was obviously trying to seduce her, giving small touches here and there, telling her she was beautiful. And she did feel beautiful. Tonight, Lara picked out her dress. It was a vintage red cocktail dress with a full skirt. Since it covered her back, she let the witch sweep her hair up in a fashionable updo. With the dress and the hair, Gabriel declared she looked like Audrey Hepburn.

  “…And so when the opportunity came up, I thought, why not?” Gabriel finished his story of how Fenrir recruited him. Jade caught only half of it, but nodded anyway. “And how about you?” he asked. “You’re quite young to be a Doctor, non?”

  “Uh, yes, well, I finished school quite early,” she explained. She gave Gabriel the details of her study and work history, a carefully crafted cover she and Mr. Vrost worked on—one that wasn’t too different from her real background but didn’t give away any details of her research.

  “Ah, beautiful and smart,” Gabriel declared, grabbing her hand from across the table. His hands were smooth and warm, and his fingertips were tracing lazy circles on her palms.

  Jade couldn’t help but frown. Here was a gorgeous and sexy man, paying her compliments and attention, but still she felt…nothing.

  “Jade?” Gabriel asked, his brows drawing together. “Are you all right, cher?”

  She pasted a bright smile on her face. “Yes, of course,” she said, giving a small laugh. “I was thinking of something I forgot back at the office.”

  “Ah, well, sometimes it’s hard to leave work, right?” he laughed. “How about some dessert? I was thinking we can have it to go and head back to my place? I have this lovely digestif that would go well with the apple tart.”

  ***

  “C’mon, Smith, I need something.”

  “Sorry, boss, I’m workin’ as fast as I can.” The voice from the comm unit in his ear sounded agitated, but Sebastian didn’t care. That stupid Frenchman was probably charming the pants off Jade right now. He needed some dirt on him, like that idiot Daniel the other night. Smith was a genius, head of Creed Security’s tech department and there wasn’t anything on the planet he couldn’t find.

  “Um, boss,” Zac whispered. “You ok?”

  “Yeah,” he said gruffly. “I’m fine.”

  “Don’t break the steering wheel, though, yeah, boss?”

  Sebastian looked at his hands as they gripped the wheel. His knuckles were white, and he could almost hear the plastic creaking under his fingers. Releasing his grip, he relaxed back into his seat and scowled.

  He wasn’t planning on being here tonight. The conversation yesterday with Grant and his perceptive little wife had rattled him. No, he didn’t want to spend more time with Jade. Just the opposite. So, he decided to rotate Jade’s protection detail among his best guys and have them log hourly reports. Last night, he didn’t get anything unusual, just Jade going home after work, so he didn’t pay much attention to what was happening.

  Tonight, however, he was sitting at home, ready to head out to Luxe when he saw the latest report. Jade left her apartment at 7:06 p.m. with an unknown male subject and got into a cab headed uptown. Sebastian ignored it at first, but all the time he was sitting at Luxe, he kept waiting for the next report. When it arrived, saying that Jade and the unknown man were sitting inside some fancy restaurant with a name he couldn’t even pronounce, Sebastian lost his cool. Leaving Luxe in a huff, he drove downtown as fast as he could, calling Smith on the way to have him find out who this man was.

  He found the car tailing Jade tonight parked across from the restaurant. Sebastian must have scared the shit out of Zac when he pulled open the door and ordered the younger man to move to the passenger seat. By the time Sebastian had turned on his in-ear comm unit to call Smith, he already had a name. Gabriel Marchand, an employee at Fenrir Corporation, but nothing else.

  “What’s going on, boss?”

  “None of your business,” he growled.

  “I mean, with the Doc and her date?” the younger man clarified. “They still in there? How long does it take to eat French food? Don’t they have those tiny servings of leaves and sauce an’ shit?”

  “I wouldn’t know, Zac,” Sebastian replied. This place was fancy, for sure, and someplace you’d take a hot date to impress her. He wished he could get a visual of what was happening inside, but he couldn’t see from the street, and he damn well couldn’t just walk in there and tip them off before he found something incriminating on Marchand.

  “Anything, Smith?” he called again.

  “Workin’ on it, boss,” came the gruff voice in his ear. “No criminal records, no immigration flags, not even a parking ticket. But, I’m working an angle, I just need some time.”

  “Do what you can,” he ordered and then switched the comm unit to mute.

  “Boss,” Zac nodded his head towards the restaurant.

  Jade was leaving the restaurant with her date. Some blonde, male model-type Sebastian had never seen before. So that was Gabriel Marchand, he huffed. He didn’t understand why women fell for men like Marchand. Too pretty and dressed way too fancy.

  They were chatting as they stood on the street, and the way Jade looked up at Gabriel with a smile on her face set Sebastian’s teeth on edge. He wanted to punch something right now, preferably that Frenchman’s jaw.

  Gabriel waved down a passing cab, opened the door, and ushered Jade in. He then joined her in the back seat, and the cab sped away.

  “I’m gonna need your car, Zac,” he said as he turned the key in the ignition of the younger man’s ancient Toyota. “Why aren’t you driving one of the company cars, by the way? We have tons of new cars in the garage for you to use for stakeouts, you know that, right?”

  “This seemed more authentic, boss,” the younger man explained. “But, what about your ride?” he asked, tipping his chin towards the black Tesla Roadster parked behind them.

  Sebastian didn’t even glance at the car, but instead, tossed a set of keys to the other man. “Here,” he said. “Take my car back to my apartment. I’ll take it from here.”

  Zac looked at the keys like they were the Holy Grail. “Um…you sure, boss?”

  “Yeah, go ahead. The key to my apartment’s in there, too. You can crash at my place or get yourself a cab home.” He nodded towards the passenger side door.

  “Thanks, boss!” Zac said as he quickly exited the car.

  It didn’t take long for Sebastian to catch up with the cab. He memorized the plate number, and soon was following them discretely, staying at least two cars behind. They went all the way to the Upper West Side where the cab deposited the couple in front of a brownstone apartment building.

  “Shit!” Sebastian cursed as he watched them walk up the stoop. He parked the car a f
ew houses down, slamming the door shut as he exited the vehicle.

  “Hey!” a voice called out to him. “You can’t park there, buddy!”

  He ignored the voice and instead turned on the comm unit as he strode towards the brownstone. “Smith,” he barked. “Whatever you have on Marchand, I need it, now.”

  “Just sent it to you, boss,” Smith said, relief in his voice.

  “Thanks.” Sebastian fished his phone from his pocket, opening the secure message from Smith. His eyes widened as he opened the link. “That fucking bastard!”

  Luck must have been on his side because as soon as he reached the brownstone, one of Marchand’s neighbors was leaving. He quickly slipped his hand into the door before it shut completely, glancing at the list of tenants to find Marchand’s apartment. It was on the third floor, and he took the steps two at a time to get there.

  Sebastian stalked down the hallway, all the way to the end. When he reached the door to Marchand’s apartment, he stopped suddenly. Shit. Fuck. What exactly was his plan? Break in there? The Beast was howling. Yes, it said. Get her. Kill him.

  With a growl, he pivoted away from the door. No. He couldn’t. This obsession with Jade had to stop. Before she got hurt.

  He must die. He touched her. Mine. Ours.

  “Shut. The Fuck. Up!” he yelled as he slammed his hand into the wall. His fist went right through the plaster. Damn these old buildings. Practically made of paper.

  “Sebastian?”

  He turned around, following the voice, though it was no mistaking who it was. The sweet scent of cherries and vanilla filled his senses. “Jade,” he whispered.

  She blinked up at him. Once. Twice. There was a look of shock on her pretty face, which quickly scrunched in anger.

  “What are you doing here?” she cried, marching up to him. “Are you foll—”

  “Jade?” A voice interrupted her. “Everything all right?”

  Sebastian swung his head towards the door behind them. Gabriel Marchand stood in the hallway, casually leaning against the wall. He wasn’t wearing his suit jacket and tie, and his shirt was opened halfway down his chest. Jade backed away from Sebastian, running back towards Gabriel.