by Kailin Gow
Serena threw her head back, as she clawed at Sebastian’s back. She can imagine how incredibly hot he looked fully naked against the window, all his muscles on display, and she shuddered, along with the intense buildup of Sebastian’s tongue on her. When her shuddering subsided, she murmured, “I want to show the world a Sebastian Sorensen rarely seen.”
Sebastian smiled. “What do you have in mind?”
“You up against the window. Me in front.” Serena licked her lips.
“I like how that sounds,” Sebastian said. “What do you…” his sentence stopped in mid-air as Serena surprised him by gripping his shaft and mounting him, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Serena…” he groaned.
Serena clenched tightly as she climbed Sebastian, causing him to inhale and shudder. “Sebastian…”
He lifted her higher, capturing her hands in his, kissing her on her breasts and stomach while lowering her down. She was falling down on top of him when he pushed up, slamming her against him and against the window. He leaned forward, whispering into her ears, while fogging up the glass with his hot breath. “For that little surprise…” he thrust into her, “you deserve…” he thrust harder, causing her to ride up the window, her butt wiping away the fog on the window, “No mercy,” he thrust deeper and faster still until she grabbed onto his soft wavy hair, clenching it into her hands, and moaning deep into his neck as she came so hard, her body crumpled on top of him. Seconds later, he let out a cry and pulled her tight against him, climaxing against her.
Both glistening from sweat and heat from each other, they sagged against the window, still wrapped around each other unable to let go.
Serena smiled now as she took her cup of coffee and felt the pain of his fingers on her thighs. That brief moment of pain and the pale blue marks that remained were well worth the exquisite night of love making that had followed.
“Enough of wallowing in sexual bliss,” she snapped at herself as she got out of bed. “We’ve got a composition to work on.”
Barefoot and still wearing his shirt, she headed to the kitchen. A bowl of fresh fruit was set on the granite counter, beside it, a note.
My vixen,
I’m sure you already know just how happy I am with our living arrangement. These past nights have far exceeded my expectations. They’ve also made me a little forgetful when it comes to my other obligations.
I was rudely reminded of that this morning when I awoke to a call reprimanding me for not be where I had said I’d be; a meeting in Seattle.
Two, three days at the most and I should be back home, in your bed, in your arms.
Please forgive my hasty departure… Keep our bed warm until I return.
Yours,
Sebastian
Smiling, she brought the handwritten note to her chest. As rough and tough as he could get during lovemaking, which she loved as much as he did, he proved to be sweet and tender outside the bedroom.
With him gone, his place felt empty and cold and she suddenly longed to get out. Munching on a chunk of pineapple she went in search of her phone and called Laura.
“Well, hallelujah. I thought I’d never hear from you again,” Laura exclaimed.
“Sorry. I’m drowning under works, compositions and more work.” Serena gulped down a sip of coffee. “But I’m free today and I think I’m getting cabin fever. What are you up to?”
“I had a few things to pick up at the store, grab lunch, maybe a little idle shopping.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Four hours later they arrived at Laura’s apartment, their arms weighed down with a dozen bags. Shoes, skirts, lingerie, dresses, panties and more.
“You never shop like this. What’s up?” They set the bags down by the door and Laura made a beeline for the mini wine cellar under the kitchen counter.
“What do you mean? I like to shop when I get a chance.”
“Serena, I’ve known you long enough to know you can be a rather pragmatic shopper. You never buy what you don’t need. Today you practically bought out that boutique.” She popped open a bottle of Chardonnay and poured them each of glass.
“I’ve been bogged down with music, music and more music.” Serena took her glass of wine and took a delicate sip. “I just needed to get out and surround myself with new stuff. I needed to think about something else.”
“Why do I get the feeling you're not telling me the whole story?” Laura led the way to the big cushy sofa in the living room and sat down.
“Okay, maybe… but it’s too soon to talk about it. I don’t want to jinx it.” She sat down and took a big gulp of wine. Though she longed to talk about her relationship to Sebastian, she wasn’t quite ready to put it out there. She’d been shoving back deep inside her the growing emotions that’d built up in the short week she’d spent with him. As far as he was concerned, this was a purely physical relationship, and she knew it was important she maintain the same attitude… or at least the illusion of that same attitude.
“Fine, I get that. I know I’ve been known to announce my love and devotion to a guy only to have him dump me the next week.”
“Look, all I’ll say is that it’s been really exciting these past days; exhausting, but a thrill a minute. The sex is amazing and everything in between is great. We spend much of every day together and there hasn’t been one moment I wasn’t happy to be with him. He’s a great cook and he spoils me like you wouldn’t believe. It’s almost embarrassing.”
“I’m happy for you sweetie. You deserve someone who’ll spoil you. You’ve worked so hard this past year.” Laura looked thoughtful as she sipped her wine. “Is he cute?”
“Huh?”
“This new guy… is he cute?”
“Yeah, really. I mean, no. He’s beyond cute. He’s gorgeous.” She emptied her glass of wine and set it on the coffee table.
“When do you think you’ll introduce me?” Not missing a step, Laura refilled Serena’s glass.
“It’s only been a couple of weeks, Laura. Give me a month or so.” Eager to change the subject, Serena stood. “I’m going to go to the bathroom.”
Laura leaned back and grinned. “You can’t escape me now, Serena.”
With a chuckle, Serena made her way to the bathroom. She knew Laura meant well. Maybe she should just come out and tell her about Sebastian; perhaps not the entire truth about their living arrangement, but at least that he was the one she was involved with these days.
She closed the bathroom door behind her, but before she could even unzip her jeans, she spotted Laura’s latest bathroom reading material and her heart sank. Grabbing the magazine, she ran back to the living room. “What is this?”
Stunned, Laura turned to look at her. “It’s a magazine, Serena. My God, have you been cooped up that long?”
“No! This!” She slapped the page that’d been left open for all to see. “What’s this?”
“Oh, that. Yeah, it’s your professor. I wanted to show you that. Your professor is quite the catch.”
Serena sank back into her seat and stared at the photo of Sebastian. Handsome in a dark blue stylish suit, he stood beside Willow. With his arm loosely wrapped around her waist, he looked directly into the camera, a wistful smile on his lips. Willow, for her part, was beaming.
“Did you know he was planning on getting married?” Laura said with utter innocence.
“No,” Serena growled as she tossed the magazine on the sofa.
“Gee, Serena. What’s with you? I know he’s your professor, but what’s the big deal?” Laura picked up the magazine. “I think it’s a pretty nice picture. This Willow girl is really pretty. She seems nice.”
“Nice? Are you crazy, Laura? She’s a gold-digger.”
“I don’t get it. You're usually so…” She stopped and stared at Serena. “Oh, my God. He’s… Is he…? Serena… your professor? Are you banging…?”
Closing her eyes, Serena leaned back and let out an exhausted sigh.
Chapter 15
As
he walked back to his rental car, Sebastian envisioned his next encounter with Serena. It’d been a week since he’d seen her and he missed her; her body, her touch, her kisses. He craved her in a way that was completely foreign to him. Accustomed to being in control of his senses, of having the upper hand when it came to relationships, he now felt strangely under her control, though he felt certain she was unaware of the control she had over him.
The sound of the moans and groans that accompanied her orgasms rang in his ear. Serena didn’t have the habitual, typical, porn movie sighs and cries that so many women tried to fake. Her moans came from deep within. The sound was rooted in something so feral, so ancient, it never failed to arouse him. It was the part of her she kept hidden to the world, yet with him, she was alive, passionate, a woman with deep needs he aimed to fulfill.
With a quiet groan of his own, he adjusted the uncomfortable tightness that now filled his pants and tried to think of something else.
He didn’t have to think too hard. On turning the corner he saw the car he’d rented for his stay in Seattle. Even from a distance he noticed the odd angle of the car and knew he had a flat tire. Cursing his bad luck, approached the car and realized the tire wasn’t flat; it’d been slashed.
Adding to the fear and fury of knowing someone could deliberately slash not one, but two tires, was the photo pinned under the windshield wiper. It was the same picture that had appeared in the society pages; the photo of him with his arm around Serena, only Serena’s face was scratched out; violently scratched out.
He felt sick to his stomach and leaned against the car as he tried to make sense of it all. His suspicions immediately went to Willow, but he quickly dismissed that notion. Though she was eager to marry him, he couldn’t imagine she’d go to such lengths.
Quickly running through former lovers, he tried to determine who could do such a thing. None of them had been particularly jealous or possessive. They’d known he was in it for the fun and play, and that a serious relationship was out of the question.
He turned to look at the car again. Whoever had done this wasn’t happy about his relationship with Serena, and if they’d done this to him here, now, what could they have done back home to Serena?
Chapter 16
The first flight back to Irvine had Sebastian in his apartment by nine o’clock the next morning. Eager to see her and hold her in his arms, to assess for himself that she was okay, he ran through the apartment, calling her name.
After a few minutes of yelling like a madman, he finally had to accept the obvious. Serena wasn’t home. Despite his warnings she not leave the security of his building, she’d gone out. When he called her cell phone, she didn’t answer, adding to the growing sense of dread that’d been building up.
Perhaps she’d just gone down for the mail. Perhaps she’d decided to go to the cleaners.
No, he finally decided. He wasn’t going to wait around to see. Certain something had happened to her, he rushed out and headed to her apartment.
Once there he banged on her door and was confronted by a beautiful, but clearly angry woman.
“Well, well. If it isn’t Professor love ‘em and leave ‘em hanging.”
“What?” he said with exasperation. “Who are you? Where’s Serena?”
Leaving the door open behind her, Laura returned to the boxes and suitcases she’d been packing. “I’m Laura, Serena’s best friend.”
“What are you doing?”
Laura looked at him, her gaze scrutinizing, assessing and accusatory all at the same time. “I can see why Serena is so taken with you. You are a looker… but that wasn’t enough to keep her pining over you.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I was out of town for a week. I left her a note. I even called her at the beginning of the week. She knew where I was. She knew I was coming back.”
“Yeah, right.” Unimpressed, Laura opened Serena’s top dresser drawer and threw a few personals into a suitcase.
“Look, you don’t know the whole story. Serena knew she could be in danger if she left my apartment. I took great care to ensure her safety, but I could only do that as long as she stayed put.”
“I know more about this story than you think.”
Sebastian looked at her and gestured with his hand for her to go on.
“Serena has been getting some warning signals these past few days.”
Cocking his head to the side, he kept his eyes steadily on her, though he felt his gut fill with dread.
“At first it was phone calls; someone asking strange questions about her; who she was, where she was from, what she was doing.” Laura sat on the bed, her hands filled with socks. “When she stopped answering her phone, they left messages. They quickly became more and more obscene, asking what size cup she wore, how often she had sex, how naughty she was… things like that.”
“Like a stalker?”
“Exactly. After a few days she simply turned off her phone.”
“That’s why I couldn’t reach her after that first phone call,” Sebastian muttered.
“Anyway, that’s her business.” Laura stood, tossed the socks in the suitcase, and began throwing books and magazines into a box. “She’s not your concern anymore.”
“Why wouldn’t I be concerned with her?” Stunned, Sebastian tried to make sense of what this stranger was telling him.
“I would think Willow Brookes was enough to keep you busy these days, what with picking out china patterns and all that crap.”
Sebastian snorted. “What does Willow have to do with this?”
Laura shot him a menacing glare. “Look here, Mr. Professor. Just because you're a hottie doesn’t mean you can string Serena along, have sex with her on the side, while planning your grand wedding to that socialite bitch.”
“Wedding? Are you nuts?”
“No, sir. The one who’s nuts is you. I’m only thankful Serena learned about the true nature of her relationship with you now rather than later. I mean, just how long were you planning on stringing her along, anyway?”
“Look, first off, I wasn’t stringing her along. I’m not stringing her along. I don’t know where the hell you got this idea about a wedding, but Serena knows damn well how I feel about Willow. What insane ideas have you been putting in her head?”
Laura straightened up and looked him in the eye. “I didn’t have to put anything in her head. She saw it for herself, in black and white. You and Willow make an adorable couple, at least that’s how it seemed in the romantic picture they had of you guys in the society pages.”
Sebastian sat on the bed and stared dumbfounded at the box Laura had been packing.
“As if that wasn’t bad enough, when Serena went back to your place to get her things, there was a message on your voicemail. She thought it might be you, so she checked. It was your mother. She was thrilled with the news of your impending marriage and was looking forward to helping Willow with the arrangements. She congratulated you for finally coming to your senses.” Laura leaned back against the wall. Her voice dropped to a soft mutter as she continued, “She was happy you’d finally grown up and you’d put an end to dating such inconsequential girls.”
“My God,” Sebastian whispered. “Serena heard all that?”
“You bet.”
“But she knows how my mother can be. She knows how my mother feels about Willow.”
“All I can say is I was there to pick up the pieces, and it wasn’t pretty.”
“So, where is she now?”
Laura crossed her arms before her and a guarded shadow veiled her eyes.
“I need to know where she is. I have to talk to her, to make her understand what’s going on.”
Laura remained silent, but Sebastian could see she was debating whether to talk or not. Wanting to remain patient, he didn’t push for an answer and simply hoped this woman would see he had Serena’s best interest at heart.
“I know she’s safe,” she finally said. “Though I don’t believe she’s in th
e healthiest of positions.”
“What does that mean?”
Again, Sebastian had to wait through a long and tense silence. “Damn it, where is she?” Sebastian growled. “I’ll find out one way or another.”
Laura pressed her lips together then looked at him, her gaze defeated and tired. “She’s with him.”
A strange and painful sting gripped his heart. “What do you mean? A boyfriend? Her ex?” The words choked him.
Letting out a sardonic chuckle, Laura blurted out, “Ha, he’s never been much of a boyfriend to her; the way he treated her.”
“Then what?”
“Her master.” The moment she’s spoken the word, Laura brought her hand over her mouth in disbelief. “I was never supposed to tell you that, but… My God, I know it’s not good for her to be with him. She’s left him years ago to break the bond and go off on her own, pursue her dreams of a music career, live a normal life…”
Sebastian’s eyes looked stricken. “What do you mean? Is Serena in some kind of trouble?”
Laura cringed. “I’ve said too much already.”
Chapter 17
“Serena, what are you doing out in the cold?”
Standing on the penthouse balcony that offered a magnificent view of the ocean that gleamed under the moonlight, Serena didn’t respond to the gentle but firm voice that called to her. Yes, the night air was chilled and she stood wearing only a flimsy white silk gown and silk panties, but the cold was the last thing on her mind.
Her taste of freedom had been brief; too brief. She’d experienced life in a way that was foreign to her, but she’d quickly come to savor every part of that experience. Though she’d initially feared what awaited her outside his protective circle, what would happen were she not bonded to him, were she not at his side, she’d quickly surmounted that fear.
Waves crashed far below, reminding her of the wild child that still resided inside her; the wild child that wanted to venture far and wide, to go where she choose, unbridled, uninhibited; to take chances, no matter the risk.
