I took a sip of my wine. Sebastian dabbed his mouth with the napkin and balled it into his fist.
“You’re right. Things haven’t improved much since all this began. I tried, but no dice.”
He stared out of the window at the sea and his eyes seemed to flash with a metallic steel tint. “If this is how it has to be, then fine. Let’s call two willing tigers in the family to help me. Then we can wipe this loser from the face of the earth.”
15
The car ride home was tense.
"I have absolutely no idea what you were talking about. Either of you.“
The wine didn’t help the gnawing feeling of anger in my stomach. Something had really irritated me.
It wasn’t just Lucas and Sebastian’s suggesting I wasn’t a regular person. The thought of being ‘special’ like them did horrify me a little. But most likely it was the fact that they brought up my family history in the first place.
That sort of talk couldn't help but remind me of the fact that my history wasn't normal, like I wanted it to be.
I desperately wished I came from a nice ordinary family. One who loved me and kept me. But I didn't.
My mother gave me away and I was taken in by strangers. Strangers who did actually love me, but hey. That didn't stop me feeling glum about it all. Whenever I got to thinking about family, I was the Mayor of Self-Pitysville; population: me.
Sebastian steered the car round a steep curve in the road. His face was blank.
I stewed quietly in my seat.
"You realize you must have magical family somewhere in your lineage?" He spoke slowly, like he was explaining something to a particularly difficult child.
"No, I don't realize that," I said. "I'm not one of your kind. I'm a human. A normal human."
"There's nothing abnormal about magical people," he said. "We've been around longer than Plainfolk."
“Plainfolk.” My face was burning. I was getting pretty agitated.
"Plainfolk is what we call the non-magical people of the world."
“Yeah, you told me that already. Why do you need a special word to talk about real people? People who aren't freaks?"
I wasn't sure why my rage was stoked so hard by what he was saying. I just felt like bursting out of the car right then, all guns blazing.
"Look, I didn’t mean to upset you," he said. He took his hand off the wheel and grasped my shoulder.
I flipped his hand off me. “Don't."
Tears welled up in my eyes.
“Look, you didn't want to tell me about your family on the ride back to your place yesterday. So I didn't ask. But clearly this is something important we need to discuss. You're livid. I’m baffled. Why don't you tell me about it now?"
I swiped at my eyes, refusing to cry properly.
"I'm not livid."
He glanced over at me.
"Your face is bright pink and you're trembling. And your fists are clenched. Livid is as fair a description as any. What would you call it?"
"I'm not."
“You really are.”
I sighed theatrically. He was going to have to hear the story. I could tell he wouldn't let up until I explained myself.
"Okay. It's not a very interesting story. I’m not interesting, like you. But here it is."
I paused, not sure how to begin.
Sebastian tapped the steering wheel with his fingertips. “I’m listening."
"Right. Well... I'm adopted. I was abandoned by my mother when I was a baby. She left me on a church doorstep in Ireland.”
The words tumbled out of me. Once I opened the door, there was no stopping them.
I continued. “I was taken into care by a state institution. Then I was adopted by an Irish couple. They were about to move to England. They already had older sons, but they didn't have a girl. So they picked me. Well, I was allocated to them. However these things work. I ended up in their family, basically."
I was talking much too fast. My cheeks burned with pent-up emotion.
Sebastian listened intently, his eyes on the road.
His quiet attention was encouraging. A surge of strength shot through me. Maybe I could talk about this without crumbling. Maybe I could.
"My adoptive family were just the sweetest, loveliest people on earth. Proper Christians, you know? The kind who actually do the things Jesus talked about. Not the kind who preach goodness and say ‘fuck the poor’ in private.”
Sebastian raised his eyebrows and nodded very slightly.
"I was an awful teenager. Just hideous. I was so ungrateful and I always felt like I didn't belong. But the main reason I felt like that? I was a spoilt, entitled brat who didn't know when she had a good thing going on."
My voice cracked. I stopped for a minute.
Sebastian took my hand in his and brought it to his lips. He kissed it, still watching the road.
"Go on."
"I wanted to find my birth mother. So one day I did some detective work online. And I… I found out some information. To cut a long story short, I tracked her down."
"Wow. Good job!”
"Not really. I wish I hadn't bothered." I bit my lip, fighting tears again. "She didn't want to know me. She ignored my letters. So I tried calling. She never answered. Then one day I rocked up at her house.” I stifled a sob. “She told me to get lost."
Sebastian's mouth opened, as if to say something. Then he thought better of it. He waited in silence for me to finish.
“So that was…” A tear slid down my cheek. I batted it away, irritably. “That was that.”
"God, that must've been hard." He squeezed my knee.
"You could say that. So then I turned into even more of a bitch at home. I basically blamed those wonderful people for everything. Even though they had no control over my birth mother. They had nothing to do with her lack of maternal feeling. I twisted it all round in my head. Eventually, I’d convinced myself my adoptive parents were to blame. Like, they should've made contact with my birth mother for me when I was younger. Before my mother stopped loving me. It became all their fault, in my mind. I guess it made my birth mother’s rejection easier. If it wasn’t her fault, or mine, then it had to be theirs.“
Sebastian nodded, still silent.
"I know that sounds stupid. Of course it wasn’t their fault. They did everything right. My awful behavior was the only thing wrong.”
"Sometimes things that are really hard to understand become blindingly obvious later.” Sebastian stopped at a red traffic light and stroked my arm. The warm tingle of his fingers on my skin felt divine.
"I know. Well, I know now."
"So have you moved past that now? Are you a happy family again?"
The car moved off again, through the deserted lanes.
I looked at the floor. My cheeks burned again.
"Not exactly."
"What happened, Fin?"
Fin. He had never called me that nickname before. It almost derailed my train of thought.
I forced myself to get back on track.
"One day, when I was sixteen, I flew into a terrible temper. They'd tried to stop me going to some late party. It was miles away. Full of older kids. Quite right too. But I was so angry, I screamed at them. I said they were ruining my life. I told them if they'd just been decent people then they wouldn't have torn me away from Ireland, where I had a chance of a relationship with my mother. A whole bunch of bullshit and whining. God, I hate myself when I think about it now."
The car coasted round the bends of Sebastian’s private road. We headed for the wrought iron gates, which opened silently as we approached them.
As the car crunched across the gravel of his driveway, I began to sob.
Sebastian stopped the car. Then he undid our seatbelts and scooped me into an enormous hug, right there in the front seats.
I pressed my face against his thick, hard shoulder and shook as the tears came. He said nothing, just letting me get it out of my system.
When I lifted
my face again, he wiped away each tear with his fingers, so delicately. He held my face in his hands.
"Did you leave home?”
"Yes. They were right about me hanging with the wrong crowd. They were right to try and intervene. I was drinking, just like they worried I would. And one day I just went nuts. I was drinking in the park with my stupid non-friends. Then I came home and smashed a shelf full of glass animals, which my Mum collected. I kicked through a pane of glass with my boots. Then I shoved a tall grandfather clock over at the foot of the stairs so it broke. God knows how much damage I did."
My tears flowed freely now. I waded through a flood of self-disgust. One I found myself in pretty often.
"I bet the emotional damage was greater than the material damage," Sebastian said.
"Maybe. I don’t know. I stormed out of there like a stupid, stupid kid and I ran to the city.”
“Then what did you do?”
“Stayed with friends, working jobs here and there. Got myself to university by saving up as much as I could and working three jobs while I was studying.”
“That’s no mean feat,” Sebastian said, kissing my hair. “You’re a survivor, Finola Malley.”
“Then I signed up with the temporary office work agency. Then I got placed at your bank. That's the story so far."
Sebastian nodded, deep in thought.
"So you haven't been in touch with your family since the day you walked out? When was that?"
"I'm twenty-three now, so that was nearly seven years ago."
"Seven years." He rubbed his chin. "You know what this means? You need to repair the damage right away. It’s gone on long enough.”
“Easier said than done." I rubbed my eyes, not caring if mascara streaked across my face. "You can't repair everything that's broken, you know."
"You can repair most things."
I sighed sharply. It was exasperating. He was probably right. But that just reminded me I was still being unreasonable, even to this day. That made me feel even worse.
"I'm not even sure if they're still in the same house. I don't have a current number or address for them."
He shot me an incredulous look. "If you really want to find them, it’ll be easy.”
"Do you think they know about my... my magical heritage?” I could hardly bring myself to say it. “If I have any, that is."
He shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. Worth asking."
"You can't just ask regular people questions like that. Plainfolk. Whatever you want to call us."
"Them."
"Us." I still wasn't ready to admit to any non-ordinary DNA. "You can't just ask ordinary people straight out if you have magical roots. It sounds crazy."
He shrugged again. I felt like throwing something at him.
"You'd be amazed how many Plainfolk are well aware of the magical citizens of the world. They just don't talk about it openly."
"So what would you have me do? Just shoot over there, walk in and say 'Hi Mum and Dad, sorry I missed the last six Christmases. Am I part-pixie?"
Sebastian burst out laughing.
"Yeah. Why not just go for broke?“
“Sebastian!” I shouted in frustration. "This is serious."
"It is serious. I know it is.“ He took my hands in his. "Nothing is more serious than family. I’m coming to realize that.”
"Tell me what to do." My voice sounded little and fragile. I had lost my usual sass and it felt uncomfortable. "Tell me how I fix this."
"Easy. You make contact, you talk to them like an adult and you straighten things out. And if you want me to, I will help you. And if you don't want me to, then I'll back the hell off. Like I said: easy."
He hugged me then, with the full force of both arms wrapped tightly round me. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder, breathing in his manly scent.
The idea of making up with my adoptive family was irresistible. I wasn’t so confident that it could be fixed. But the idea that maybe it could… Sebastian’s sturdy hug filled me with a sensation I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Hope.
16
We stumbled into the house, Sebastian’s arm firmly wrapped around me. Our movements were angular and urgent.
We could hardly keep our hands off one another.
As soon as the front door swung closed, Sebastian bolted it. He pushed me back against it with his whole body.
“You’re under my roof again, Miss Malley,” he growled, kissing my neck. I closed my eyes and let my lips fall open. His hands roamed over my silk-wrapped behind. “Did I mention how delicious you look in your new dress?”
“Thank you for this,” I whispered. “I love it.”
“Believe me,” he said, pushing his knee between my legs and kissing me deeply, “the pleasure is all mine.”
I moaned as his hard thigh pressed my most sensitive flesh. How I ached for him, once again.
He pulled one shoulder of my dress down so my sheer bra was showing. The pink nub of my nipple stood out, clearly visible to anyone walking past.
“Sebastian,” I hissed. “We can’t do this here.”
“We can do anything we like,” he said, kissing my collarbone. “This is my house.”
“What if someone sees?”
He lifted his head up. “Who?”
“Your staff! Is anyone on duty now?”
He looked at me for a second, as though confused.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Sebastian. Your staff are people. I don’t want people to see us like this.”
He grabbed me in his arms, grinning wickedly.
“Only one thing for it, then.”
With one swift movement, he lifted me off my feet and threw me over his shoulder. I yelped, hitting his back with my fists.
“Put me down!”
“Shush, you’ll wake the staff.”
“Sebastian!”
He ignored my protests and marched to the staircase. I stopped wriggling and let him tote me up the stairs like a rolled up carpet. He strode easily forward, as though I weighed just a few ounces.
Feeling his raw strength like that… god, it just made me even hotter for him. I was wet through again, squirming with the desperate urge to ride him hard, right then and there.
We reached the landing and Sebastian stopped.
“Hmm. Now, which door leads to your room?” He pretended to be lost.
“Put me down, you brute.” I patted him playfully. From this upside-down position, I could see his granite-like ass muscles flexing with each step. “Although the view from here is quite appealing.”
He ran his free hand up my skirt, skating his fingertips just inside the edge of my panties. I gasped.
“The view from here is pretty damn good too.”
His fingers slipped further inside my drenched underwear until they hit gold. I moaned, louder this time.
Still upside down and bent double, I was powerless to move at all really. But I edged my legs very slightly further apart to allow him more access.
He took the opportunity. Sweeping my wetness all over me, he stroked and probed. I gyrated against his hand, lost in the moment.
“We probably shouldn’t do this here, should we?” he teased, as he drove me to the very edge of longing. “Anyone could see us.”
“Sebastian…” I whispered. My eyes were shut, floating on the exquisite feeling. He had me exactly where he wanted me. I was his, utterly, to do with as he pleased.
“I think we’ll go to your room now,” he said. “Let me see. Is this the door?”
He plunged a finger inside me, still rhythmically rubbing me up and down with his thumb. I was wordless, thoughtless, just a bundle of nerve endings. I couldn’t even respond to his verbal teasing.
The next thing I knew, I was thrown onto a bed. My bed. Or, at least, the one I was meant to sleep in while I stayed here.
He hit a switch. Low lamps in the corners of the room flicked on.
Sebastian towered over me, his muscular bulk blocking out
most of the room behind him. He shed his clothing fast, throwing it across the floor without a care. He yanked my silk dress off roughly and tossed it. My underwear followed.
I lay there, completely naked in front of him. The second time I’d appeared in the buff in front of him today.
But this time, I didn’t cower under his gaze.
I enjoyed it.
He stripped completely, then loomed over me on his hands and knees, piercing me with his blue stare. I felt like helpless prey, writhing beneath the mighty jaws of a predator.
Somehow, when it was him, that was unimaginably hot.
“I’m going to show you who’s in charge now,” he growled into my hair.
His giant cock strained towards me, thick and twitching. I licked my lips. He looked so good naked.
“Do it,” I taunted him. “Show me.”
He pinned my wrists to the bed with his large hands and forced my thighs further apart with his knees. I was genuinely helpless, watching his mighty rod bob above me. How I wanted to feel it inside me. My pussy yearned so badly for him.
Suddenly, he released my wrists and sat up. I murmured in protest.
“Actually, I’m not going to make it so easy,” he said. “Get up, Finola. I want to see you take a turn around the room. Show me what you’ve got.”
Was he serious?
Apparently he was.
I got up off the bed and stood there.
“Walk.” He nodded toward the middle of the room with his head.
I obeyed, walking completely nude around the room. Just a few days ago, the thought of this would have sent me into a tailspin. There was no way I would ever walk around without clothes in front of a man.
Not until this man.
He sat on the edge of the bed, handling himself unselfconsciously, watching me. The sight of him with cock in hand was mesmerizing.
“Keep walking.” I must have stalled.
Concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, I reached the edge of the room, then turned.
A thought occurred to me. Maybe I could make this even more interesting.
Tiger Billionaire: The Whole Story (BBW Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Box Set) Page 10
