I buried my face in his chest, gasping a little from all the sobbing. He stroked my hair tenderly. It made me want to go to sleep in his arms, there and then.
“It’s ok, beloved,” he murmured into my hair. “It’s all going to be all right. I promise.”
I looked up at him. My makeup must have been smudged all over the place, but I didn’t care. He just called me ‘beloved’.
All at once, my confusion over Sebastian exploded in my head.
“I need to know where I stand, Sebastian,” I said. “Life is going at a breakneck pace. I need to… I just want to understand what is going on here.”
Sebastian nodded, stroking my cheekbone and jawline gently with the back of his hand.
“With us, you mean?”
“Yes. With us. If there is an us.”
“You do deserve that,” he said. “Okay then. I’ll start and then you tell me what you think.”
I gazed at his handsome face.
“It’s like this,” he sighed. “Finola, I have spent my whole life running from the idea of a fated mate. I never wanted domestic bliss. My idea of heaven was a day out hiking alone. No staff. No bother. No fuss. If I had company, it was strictly the temporary kind. But then…” He broke off, circling me with his strong arms. “Then you appeared.”
He pulled me to him, then eased me back so he could see my face again.
I didn’t say a word, but just raised my eyebrows, willing him to continue.
“It’s hopeless, Fin. I can’t fight it any longer. You’re in terrible danger because of me and I’d give anything for that not to be true. But more than that… More than that, I can’t let you go. When I’m with you, I feel… real.”
He gripped the sides of my head firmly with both hands and leaned in so we were an inch apart.
“If you feel the same way, I think we should do something about it.” His eyes dropped to my lips, then rose again to my eyes. “I’m trying hard to find reasons why we should live without each other and I just can’t find a single convincing one.”
A smile flickered across his face. I grinned and we both started laughing.
“Is this your way of asking me to be your girlfriend? Seriously?”
“Yeah, kind of. Actually I was hoping maybe a little more than that.”
He pulled me in close again, then kissed me briefly. We looked into each other’s eyes again, then kissed again, deeper this time.
I broke the kiss for a second, so I could speak.
“That sounds good to me,” I whispered.
We kissed again, passionately and enthusiastically. All the emotion of the past few days blended and turned into joy.
We were together. We were a couple.
He was the only man I’d ever met who I wanted with every cell of my body. I could hardly keep from bursting out laughing.
This beautiful, incredible man? He was mine. Mine.
I nearly had to pinch myself to believe it. But our rapidly heating embrace was all the proof I needed.
Wrapped around each other on the sofa, making out like teenagers, we didn’t notice anyone enter the room. Suddenly, we heard someone clear their throat from the corner.
“Excuse me… I’m so sorry… Sir? Sir?”
It was Dennis. We leaped apart, guiltily. I dabbed my mouth, self-conscious about what Dennis must have seen.
“What is it?” Sebastian asked in a neutral tone. He hid any irritation he felt at the interruption. I adored him all the more for it.
“Its, ah…” Dennis looked uncomfortable. “May I speak with you, sir?”
“You can speak in front of Finola,” Sebastian said. “Come on. What is it?”
Dennis shuffled his feet, looking agonized.
“Sir, it’s a visitor. You have a guest in the house.”
“Yes? Who is it?”
“It’s…”. He cleared his throat again. “It’s Mrs Chase, sir.”
The name washed over me at first. I guess I just assumed it was Sebastian’s mother. Or sister. Or something.
But then I looked at Sebastian. He had turned pale.
“Mrs Chase?” I said, hearing the words as though someone else was speaking. “Is that… Who is Mrs Chase?”
The door flew open. In walked a stunning icy blonde. She was six feet tall and rail-thin, in tight blue jeans and black sunglasses. Her sculpted cheekbones and long limbs gave her the air of a supermodel, or a beautiful CGI alien.
She stood right over me and pushed her sunglasses on to her head for a closer look.
“Is this her?” she asked, screwing up her eyes and peering at me as though I was a specimen in a jar.
“Who the hell are you?” I spluttered, suddenly panicked.
The blonde goddess looked at me for a moment, then smiled and held out her hand. “I’m Isabel,” she said. “I’m his wife.”
18
Time seemed to stop.
I froze. Sebastian got up.
“For fuck’s sake, Isabel. Couldn’t you have called ahead?”
“She’s your wife?” I didn’t recognize my own voice. “Is she your wife?”
Sebastian’s lips were pressed together so hard, they were turning white.
“It’s not what it seems, Finola.”
“IS SHE YOUR WIFE?” I yelled.
“Honestly, darling, haven’t you told her what-“ Isabel cut in.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” I bellowed.
Sebastian cut in. “Yes, Isabel’s my wife. Technically.”
“Technically?”
“Yes.” He was getting angry now too. “Isabel, can you explain to Finola exactly what our marriage is like?”
“I don’t want to hear it,” I said. The blood drained from my face as I stood up. “I don’t think I want to hear any more of this at all.”
I ran for the door. Sebastian called me back, but I ignored him.
Isabel’s voice came up the stairs after me. “Sweetie, this is all a big storm in a teacup. Please-“
“Leave me alone,” I yelled.
My room was huge and quiet and serene, and exactly where I needed to be at that moment. I locked the heavy old door and sank to the floor. Sebastian’s heavy tread sprinted up the hallway and stopped outside the door.
He hammered on it with his knuckles, making me jump.
“Finola! Please come out. Let me explain all this.”
“Go away.” I jumped up and paced the room.
“Isabel’s not my wife in the true sense. Is she? I mean, you must see that. She’s not living here, for a start.”
“Oh, she lives somewhere else. Why is she here now then? She just walked in, right? How could she just do that? Oh yeah, because she’s your wife.”
“Finola, damn it. This is such a non-issue. Come out and we’ll talk about it. You’ll realize you’re just being silly.”
If there was anything he could say to enrage me, that was it.
“A non-issue? A fucking non-issue? You’re married to someone else and you didn’t think telling me the truth about that was an important issue?”
“Finola-“
“Don’t you dare tell me I should take this and just let it go. So you have an open marriage. Big whoop. I never agreed to be your mistress and I don’t intend to.”
“Mistress? Oh, come on. You must know you’re a lot more than that.”
He sounded almost desperate. Part of me was glad. This had knocked the breath right out of me. I shouldn’t be the only one feeling this terrible.
“No wonder you kept saying how you didn’t want to settle down.” I was shouting through the door now. “You were already settled. This fated mates bullshit? Is that something you tell stupid fat girls to get them to put out?”
The door banged violently. He must have hit it with an open hand or something.
“Don’t ever, ever let me hear you talking about yourself like that again,” he roared. “You say what you like about me. But goddamn it, you will not talk that way about the woman I…”
. He faltered. “You mean a hell of a lot to me, Finola. Please.”
“Not good enough,” I yelled.
I looked around the room. All the clothes and other stuff were gifts from him. I owned nothing here. I ran to my closet to find the outfit I had arrived in.
It was neatly folded on top of a chest of drawers, laundered and ironed. Of course it was. This dude had servants for everything.
“Finola! Please come out. Let me explain. Isabel can explain too, if you don’t believe me. We’re not a proper couple, as you’re imagining it.”
“I do not want to hear anything she has to say. Or you. Go back to her now. Leave me alone.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Tearing off the expensive designer clothes I had on, I hastily dressed myself in my plain old chain store jeans and shirt from home. My sneakers were in a bag at the bottom of one of the drawers. I slipped them on. I hadn’t even had the chance to bring a purse. So I had no idea how I was going to get back to London. But I resolved to get out of here somehow.
“Finola. Talk to me. Please.”
I unlocked the door and threw it open.
“I’m leaving now,” I said.
I tried to push past him, but he was too huge. He blocked my path easily with one muscular arm.
“Don’t leave like this. Not like this. It’s not safe.”
“Oh yeah, it’s not safe. Well, as long as you only want me here for safety. Not because you want to be with me or anything.”
I was being childish now, but I didn’t care.
“Are you serious?” he shouted. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pierced me with that blue gaze. “I want to be with you more than anything in the fucking world. Can you just stop sulking like a moody princess for one minute and give me a chance to make this right?”
My hackles rose again. “Sulking? I find out my supposed one true love is married and being upset about that is sulking?”
We fell silent. My words “one true love” hung in the air between us like flashing fairy lights.
“I’m going,” I said, wriggling out of his grasp.
He let me.
I trotted down the stairs, with no clue about the practicalities of what I was doing. I just knew I had to get out of there before the disappointment and heartbreak ate me up inside.
Isabel was at the foot of the stairs. Of course she was.
“Please don’t be upset with him,” she began. I barged past her and into the sitting room. The room where everything had been wonderful less than an hour ago.
Dennis was still standing near the door, looking anxious.
“Dennis, I need some money,” I blurted. “I need to borrow some money to get home. I’ll pay you back, I swear. If you let me have your email address, I’ll transfer the money to you as soon as I’m home and have my laptop again. And I need to call a taxi too. What’s the nearest railway station? I need to get to London Bridge Station. I guess there will be a few station changes to make on the route. That’s fine though. Could you please help me? Please?”
Dennis listened politely to my babble. He turned to the doorway, his attention diverted. It had moved to Sebastian and Isabel, standing next to each other, watching us.
They were such a beautiful couple. They suited each other perfectly.
That realization bit into me like the jaws of a wild animal.
How did I ever think I could keep a man like that? I wasn’t in her league. Not even close.
My legs felt weak suddenly and I crumpled onto the pale blue sofa.
“I’ll handle this, Dennis,” came Sebastian’s voice. Just like that, Dennis was gone. He knew who paid his wages, I thought bitterly.
“I need some money,” I mumbled. “I will pay back every bit of it. You have my word.”
“You’re not getting a penny,” Sebastian said. “I’ll tell you what we’ll do.”
Before he could finish, there was a commotion in the main hall. Raised voices echoed round the high ceiling. We all turned to look in the direction of the noise.
With a thud and then a cry of “Whoops, sorry mate”, Sebastian’s cousin Lucas sauntered in. Right behind him was Sebastian’s driver and bodyguard, Rufus.
The three of us stared at them.
“Forgive the intrusion,” Rufus said. “Things have changed somewhat.”
“No kidding,” I said.
* * *
“Finola, hello mate!” Lucas came and plonked himself next to me on the sofa. “Hey, you look a bit worse for wear. Everything all right?”
Sebastian’s death stare finally sank in.
“Oh. Oh, okay. Don’t mind me. Sorry.” He gave me a friendly pat on the back. “None of my business. Hello Izzy.”
“Hey, Lucas.”
Isabel and Lucas hugged. Of course, Lucas knew his cousin’s wife. I was the only person on the planet who thought he was single and available to be with me.
“What’s going on, Rufus?” Sebastian gestured to an armchair. “Please.”
Rufus sat down, grimacing. “It’s not good news, I’m afraid.”
Sebastian leaned on a heavy old sideboard. “Go on.”
“Your cousins were… intercepted on their way from France.”
My eyes shot to Sebastian immediately. His face was blank, apart from the clenching of his jaw muscles.
“Intercepted?”
“I’m afraid they were both killed shortly before dawn.”
Isabel exclaimed and I gasped. Sebastian just stared.
“They’re dead?” He frowned. “Lavery took them? Did he…”
“I’m afraid so.” Rufus looked compassionately at Sebastian.
“He took their hearts,” Lucas said, his face ashen. “While they were still alive, apparently. Well, I’m sure they weren’t alive long.”
I clapped my hand to my mouth, not sure if I was about to throw up. My head pounded.
Sebastian’s face was terrifying. He looked murderous.
Suddenly he burst from the room. Isabel shut the door behind him. We heard snarling, growling noises from somewhere distant.
“He won’t be able to control this shift,” she said. “It’s an emotional moment. He won’t want to alarm anyone.” She was looking at me when she said that.
“I just want to go home,” I said in a small voice.
“Rufus, please be honest with me,” said Isabel. “Sebastian is Lavery’s main target, isn’t he? It’s all about him.”
Rufus nodded. “Regrettably, it does seem that way. Lavery has some sort of grudge against Mr Chase in particular.”
Lucas chimed in. “Seb thought he was just developing some sort of biotech drug or something, and testing it on white tigers. He wouldn’t accept it could be anything else. Turns out it’s not about science after all. Or not entirely. We don’t know why, but Lavery just seems to want Seb dead.”
Icicles crept through my veins at those words.
“We need a plan,” said Isabel. She was remarkably calm for such a majestic blonde. In my jealous funk, I was expecting her to flap about squealing or something. Guess you can’t judge a book by its cover after all, I thought.
“Yes,” Rufus said. “We need to get Mr Chase to safety, first and foremost.”
They discussed this for a while. Lucas offered lots of elaborate ideas, which Rufus gently dismantled and handed back to him.
Then Sebastian returned. He was wearing different clothes.
“My apologies,” he said, offering no explanation. “Right. Let’s do this. Rufus, have you formulated a master plan yet?”
“Not yet,” Rufus admitted. “This young lady is quite insistent that she wants to go home, though.”
Four pairs of eyes burned into me. I was a deer in headlights for just a moment.
Sebastian spoke first. “Yes, Finola wants to go home, but I don’t believe she’ll be safe. What do you think, Rufus?”
Rufus studied me for a moment. “Possibly not. Nonetheless, we can’t keep her with us against her
will. That would be kidnap. So if she wishes to go home, then go home she must.”
Sebastian seemed irked by this.
“I’m not putting her in harm’s way. She’s coming with us.”
“No I’m not,” I insisted. “I’m not going home either. Actually, I think I want to go to Ireland, to see my mum. She’s sick. It’s been so long. Can someone lend me airfare and tell me where I can catch a plane to Ireland? Is there an airport in Cornwall? I will repay you, I promise.”
Sebastian shook his head, but Rufus stepped in.
“Look. We need to put the range of options to Miss Malley. She’s probably not safe to leave us, but if she is miserable here, then that too carries its own consequences. Sebastian, she needs to make up her own mind.”
Sebastian stood up again, at his full height.
“Finola, let me talk to you in private for a moment. If you still want to leave after that, I’ll send you to Ireland in the helicopter with Rufus. He’s fully qualified to fly it, don’t worry. He just hates doing it. But he will. The rest of us will make our way somewhere in one of my cars.”
He reached out his hand and took mine. I pulled mine away, still angry.
“If you decide to come with us after all, we’ll all fly somewhere in the helicopter, with Rufus at the controls - sorry, Rufus - and I will formulate a plan to get this bastard while we travel.”
“That’d be the best option,” chirped Lucas.
“Come on then,” Sebastian said, leading me out of the room. “Give me a moment and then you can decide.”
He took my hand and pulled me down the corridor at top speed. I had to jog along to keep up with him.
“Where are we going? We can talk in the hallway, can’t we?”
He ignored the question and kept walking.
Eventually we reached an external door. Sebastian opened it and we stepped out into his garden. The sun was warm, with a light breeze. It was heavenly out there.
He led me over to a large cherry tree, covered in palest pink blossom.
“Stand here,” he ordered. I stood at the required spot, with an expectant expression on my face.
Tiger Billionaire: The Whole Story (BBW Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Box Set) Page 12
