“You okay with me staying?” Leah roused enough to ask.
Sebastian gave her a puzzled stare. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She opened her mouth to say she thought he was the type of man who wouldn’t want to risk his women getting too close, wouldn’t want them staying the night in his bed. But then, she’d already misjudged him quite a few times, and he might get offended.
“No reason,” she said. Her eyelids were drifting, heavy with sleep; she felt him kiss her cheek softly and smiled.
“Sleep, Leah. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Chapter Six
Leah woke in the early light of morning desperate to pee. Disorientated for a moment, not knowing where the hell she was as she opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room, the heavy weight on her stomach made her glance to her left.
Sebastian lay there, fast asleep, firm lips slightly parted, stubble blackening his hard jaw, his arm slung comfortably, possessively, over her.
Memories of the previous night came crashing back and Leah froze, wild-eyed for a little while, wondering if he would wake up if she moved. At last the urgent demand of her bladder got to her and she very, very carefully wiggled out from under his heavy arm. The only thing she could cover herself with was the coverlet lying over him as well and picking that up would almost certainly wake him up, so she made a hasty nude dash to the bathroom.
Washing her hands, she winced at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was all over the place, her eye makeup had turned into a panda mask, her lips looked swollen and red, and she had pink patches on her chin from stubble rash.
In short, she looked a fright, and there wasn’t a lot she could do about it. She dampened a washcloth and tried to clean her face off as best she could, finger-combed her hair, and finally gained the courage to go back into the bedroom, this time wrapped in a large bath sheet from the heated towel rail.
Sebastian was still soundly asleep.
Irresolute, Leah stood watching him, the old familiar doubts and uncertainties creeping in. He couldn’t really be interested in her. He was rich, handsome, charming; he could have anyone he wanted. She’d been a challenge, that was all, because she didn’t immediately fall at his feet. Now that he’d had what he wanted he’d lose interest. Better to slip quietly away now rather than face the humiliation of being asked to leave, of seeing the disgust in his eyes when he looked at her in the cold light of day.
Looking around, her gaze fell on the ruined dress on the floor and her lips twisted wryly. Well, she certainly couldn’t wear that on her walk of shame back to her room. Which was best done as quickly as possible, hopefully before any of the other guests saw her. Her eyes fell on Sebastian’s discarded dress shirt and she snatched it up quickly. He was nearly a foot taller than she was and broad through the chest; she shouldn’t burst out of it and it would at least cover her butt and the tops of her thighs. Tiptoeing around the room to collect her underwear, shoes, and camera bag, she cast one last regretful look at the sleeping man in the bed before creeping out and closing the door behind her as quietly as she could manage.
~~~~~~~~
Sebastian woke cold and alone, the soft scent of Leah teasing in his nostrils… but the woman herself was gone, leaving only a torn dress behind. He clenched his fists and swore under his breath. Had he said something, done something to put her off, make her think she had to leave without a word, without even a goddamned note? He’d been looking forward to waking up beside her, loving her again, maybe taking a shower and ordering a room service breakfast to eat in bed together.
Obviously she hadn’t felt the same way. She thought he was just a playboy, she’d made that pretty clear, but he wasn’t playing around. Leah was the most beautiful, fascinating, challenging woman he’d ever met, and he wanted a lot more from her than just a single night.
Getting out of the mussed bed, he headed for the shower, his stride purposeful. He’d convince Leah he was worth taking a chance on.
He had to.
~~~~~~~~
Leah opened the fridge and surveyed its contents despondently. Half a carton of Chinese takeout of indeterminate age, a bottle of sriracha, an essentially empty jar of mayo, and some wilted lettuce in a plastic bag didn’t look like a particularly appetizing dinner. Blowing out her cheeks, she closed the door and considered going out to get something. Or maybe just choosing from her extensive selection of takeout menus and ordering in.
She was debating between pizza and Thai when there was a loud knock at the door. Looking up in surprise, she headed over to peer through the peephole and almost died on the spot when she saw Sebastian’s handsome face. Leaning against the door, she pressed a hand to her chest, where her heart was doing a great impression of a galloping horse, and tried to calm herself down.
“Leah?” His deep voice on the other side of the door set her heart racing again. “Are you there?”
Slowly, her fingers shaking, she reached up to slide off the chain and open the deadbolt. Pulling the door open a few inches, she looked at him in uncertain silence. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a black button-down shirt that made him look darkly handsome and damn near edible.
“Hey.” Sebastian shuffled his feet awkwardly before pulling a hand from behind his back and almost thrusting a bunch of bright yellow daffodils into her chest.
Even more startled, Leah took the flowers instinctively. “What… what are you doing here? How did you know where I live?”
“That was a bit of a pain to track down, actually,” Sebastian admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. “I had to wait until Sal and Heather got to the hotel in Hawaii and then talk Heather into giving me your address.”
Her jaw dropped. “You what? You interrupted them on their honeymoon?”
“I couldn’t figure out another way to get in touch with you quickly!” he defended himself. “Since you apparently don’t read your email… I got your email address off your website.”
“It’s Sunday, I was taking a day off. What was so urgent, anyway?”
“The best night of my life, and the desperate need to ask you for a repeat?” Sebastian chewed on the corner of his lip, eyeing Leah uncertainly. “Why did you run out on me this morning?” It came out more plaintive than he would have liked, but the hell with it. She had him wrapped around her little finger already; he was pretty sure she’d figure that out soon enough.
The small smile dawning on Leah’s lips, the light brightening in her eyes, gave him hope. He took a step forward, hooked his arm around her waist, and pulled her closer, heedless of the flowers being crushed between them.
“I was really disappointed,” he told her, a scant inch separating their lips. Hers parted slightly, her eyelids lowering.
“Were you?” Her voice was definitely a little breathless.
“Mm-hm. I’d been having wonderful dreams about ways we might make use of those other two condoms I found.”
“Like… a water balloon fight?” A smirk grew on her lips as she made the suggestion.
Sebastian couldn’t help it. He threw his head back and roared with laughter. Leah was giggling against his chest by the time he managed to stop, the flowers now a hopelessly crushed mess between them.
“I am crazy about you,” he told her sincerely, framing her face in both his hands before kissing her slowly and tenderly, leaving her in no doubt at all that one night was never, ever going to be enough.
She smiled up at him when he let her go. “Do you think your enthusiasm for my company might extend to taking me out to dinner? The contents of my fridge are probably overdue for a decent burial, to be honest.”
Ignoring the yellow pollen now dusting the front of his clean shirt, Sebastian took her hand in his, lifted it to his lips to kiss. “Of course, angel. Whatever you want.”
~The End~
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The Best Man For Leah Page 4
