“The sick bastard who set fire in your room is to blame.” Sebastian’s arm tightens around me. “I’m just glad I moved you when I did.”
I cover my hand over his on my waist. “Me too.”
Sebastian spreads his fingers and threads them with mine, folding our hands together. “Tell me the rest.” When I don’t answer, he says, “You looked so devastated. Tell me, Talia.”
I swallow and nod. “I’ve been losing bits and pieces of Amelia from my memory. I can’t picture exactly what her face looks like anymore.” My voice cracks as I finish. “That artwork was the only thing I had left of her, Sebastian, the only sweet memory to hold onto. Nothing else survived the fire.”
“You didn’t mention a fire before,” he says quietly.
A part of me wants to confess all my sins. I squeeze my eyes shut. I can’t tell him everything. I just…can’t, but I can tell him about the fire. “When I got back to my apartment after you dropped me off, there’d been an explosion in the building, destroying our place. We were later told it was a gas leak.”
He presses a gentle kiss to the back of my head. “I’m sorry.”
“I am too,” I whisper. A few quiet moments of silence fill the space. It feels right, laying here in silence with him.
When a bright red alarm light shines in the shape of Sebastian’s watch face on the ceiling from the nightstand, I’m instantly reminded of the inscription on the back. I’m proud to call you son, Sebastian. Stay brave, remain loyal, and protect family above all else. I love that his father saw those qualities in him, even when he was a rebellious teen.
“It’s one-eleven,” I say quietly. “Tell me why you set that alarm everyday.”
Sebastian turns off the silent alarm, then wraps his arm around me once more. “I told you, it’s a reminder.”
“To remain ‘diligent, aware, and ready.’ I know, but you haven’t told me why.”
He sighs into my hair. “That night my mom died, I came home late. I’d been out drinking and doing something I shouldn’t have.” He pauses and exhales sharply as if the memory still pains him. “One-eleven is when the intruder entered our house. If I’d been fully sober, things might’ve turned out differently. Maybe I could’ve taken control of the situation and protected her.”
“Is that why you don’t drink?” When he remains quiet, I say, “Sober can’t stop bullets, Sebastian. Your mom would be proud of the protector you’ve become, of the good you’ve done, and the people you’ve saved.”
He squeezes my waist. “Keeping those I care about safe is how I operate.”
It suddenly hits me where I’ve heard that other voice from earlier before. It was Theo talking to Sebastian outside my bathroom door. I should’ve known Sebastian would keep an eye on me. He wouldn’t let me go undercover at the Sly Fox club without inserting his own level of protection. He has always watched over and protected me. “You assigned Theo to me, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
I can tell by the tension in his body, he wonders if I’m mad. I sigh and rest my head on his arm. “Thank you for being my friend. The best actually. You’ve always been that to me.”
Nobody surprises me like Talia does. As she burrows her soft body even closer, I keep my thoughts on task so I don’t react to her sexy curves and arousing floral smell. If I get hard right now, I’ll lose all the ground I’ve gained with her. Somehow I stay focused and find my voice. “I thought Cass was your best friend.”
“She is, but even she doesn’t know about my past like you do. You’ve always been there for me when times were the hardest.” She grips my fingers tight. “Always. Promise me we won’t lose that for each other. That no matter what, you won’t lose faith in me.”
“Never.” I uncurl my fingers from hers and press the flat of my hand to her chest. Her rapid heartbeat hammers against my palm, while my heart calmly thump, thumps against her back. Why is her heart beating so hard? How could she think I’d ever lose faith in her? “I promise.” Folding our hands back together, I press her closer and softly command, “Now go to sleep, Little Red. You’re safe.”
I’m amazed that she instantly falls asleep in my arms.
Best friends. It’s a foreign concept to me. Like love. I’ve never had a best friend. Calder is the closest, but he’s family. And so is Mina. I would do anything for my family, but I’ve never once told any of them that I loved them. Losing my mom the way I did was more than my teenage mind could handle, so I shut that part of me off. Learning to control my emotions helped me make sense of the world that crumbled so completely around me. It seems that life has never stopped shifting under my feet, but Talia’s been a beacon among the chaos.
I feel protective of her like family, yet that’s where the similarity ends. My response to her is savage and passionate, my dominant instincts jacked to the highest level, pushing me to possess and defend every inch of her. I would take an entire clip of bullets for Talia. I don’t even want to think how I’d react if something had happened to her tonight. I would be an epically scary motherfucker. “Best friends” is a tame, one-dimensional…safe description of us.
Talia’s quietness as we made our way to the new hotel bothered me. She didn’t speak as we entered her hotel room. I was thankful I’d booked our adjoining rooms this morning, so at least we could go straight up to the room. She didn’t spare the room a glance, just set down her laptop and purse on the desk, then immediately walked into the bathroom and shut the door, locking it behind her.
As the shower turned on, I leaned against the wall next to her bathroom door and scrubbed my fingers through my hair. I’ve never hated being so fucking right in my life. The look on her face when she gazed up at me while holding that destroyed artwork tore me to shreds. I’ve seen fear, worry, sadness, anger, fury, and defiance flicker through her gorgeous eyes, but the emotion I witnessed tonight nearly brought me to my knees. I’ve never seen disillusionment in Talia before. In that moment, it felt like she’d lost hope. One of the things I’m in awe of is her unflappable optimism.
The sad sound of her sobs rising over the pounding water made me want to break down the fucking door, climb in there with her and hold her close, but I knew she wanted to be alone. So I stood there and listened, grinding the back of my teeth and growing more determined than ever to find the bastard responsible not just for threatening her life, but for taking that light out of her eyes.
She mumbles something unintelligible in her sleep, bringing me back to the present. While my gaze slides over her profile, my erection hardens. I ache all over for her. She’ll let me be her friend, but not her lover? She claims I’m the only man she trusts, and to an extent, I believe that. But now that she won’t allow herself to be with me, unless I seduce her into it, I feel torn up inside. My gut tells me she wants us just as much. What changed from the woman who gave herself over to me so freely at Martha’s Vineyard? How do I convince her to want us again?
The snow outside reflects in the room, giving me a full view of her profile. Knowing she’d tense up if she were woken, I gently roll her toward me to stare at her gorgeous face. Without conscious thought, my fingers slide into her soft hair and I rub my thumb tenderly along her cheekbone. She’s so soft and smells like heaven.
Touching her is pleasurable torture. I know I’m pushing my luck, but I can’t help it. I’ve never craved someone as much as I do Talia. I can’t stop thinking about her, wanting to touch her. I trace my thumb along her cheekbone once more, my fingers pressing into her scalp. Mine. She sighs and snuggles against my chest, whispering my name, like she’s done it hundreds of times before.
The surprising act of unconscious trust and the sound of my name from her lips radiates through my chest, shooting straight to my cock. Does she feel more deeply for me than she lets on? I know she cares, because that’s her nature, but could her unshakable trust in me as her protective friend also mean an unfettered acceptance of me as her lover? I’m not a perfect man and I might be broken in many ways, but no
one arouses every part of me like she does. She makes me forget my flaws, and fucking hell, she satisfies me on every sexual level. Like she was made just for me. The unexpected realization sends warmth spreading through my chest, lifting the heaviness and letting me breathe deeper than I’ve been able to in a long time.
I smile in the darkness and press a kiss against her forehead, murmuring. “No more running. No more hiding your feelings from me. You are going down, Little Red.”
When my eyes pop open in the morning, Sebastian’s arm is still around me, his hand tucked intimately between my thighs. Have we been like this all night? A flush spreads across my skin and I slowly untangle us so I won’t wake him. Grabbing clothes, I head for the bathroom. By the time I exit the bathroom fully dressed, I’m relieved that he’s already in his own room doing business on the phone.
Even though I’m hungry, I don’t bother with room service for breakfast. Instead, I pull out my laptop and start taking notes for a story idea that came to me while I was in the shower. Working always helps keep me focused, and in the light of day, last night’s reality crashes around me hard. Someone wants me dead. Work will keep my mind off that very sobering fact.
I’m so in the zone, the sound of my phone ringing makes me jump. I quickly answer it. “Hey, Aunt Vanessa.”
“Talia! Thank God you’re all right. I saw the news blip about a fire at the Regent. I just wanted to check on you.”
“I’m fine. I’m actually at a different hotel.”
“Why did you move? They said the hotel guests’ schedules wouldn’t be disrupted.”
“I just thought it was best. It’s all good.”
“Hmm, I’ve been keeping up with your tour. That was interesting learning about your security guard, aka, Mr. White, being a potential Blake. He didn’t look pleased with the reporter at all.”
“The reporter was being a jerk.”
“I’ll just be glad when the tour’s over. All this marketing drama is a bit much, but hearing about the fire really worried me. I keep thinking about those letters. I want you to be safe. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”
She’s really wound up. “I know, Aunt Vanessa. We’re still on for lunch at Rudi’s.”
“Did we make a lunch date?” she says, sounding instantly excited.
I frown. “Um yeah, don’t you remember at the kick off party?”
“Oh, that’s right.” She laughs at herself. “Jotting it down now. I’m looking forward to it.”
I hang up and stare at my phone, wondering how my aunt could’ve forgotten when she’s the one who insisted on our lunch date.
“I’d like you to consider cancelling the rest of your tour,” Sebastian says from the doorway between our rooms.
Instead of a suit, he’s wearing a black cashmere v-neck sweater over a light gray dress shirt, dark jeans and black leather shoes. I’d asked him to dress a bit less formal for the last couple of signings today, since I planned to do the same. Even in casual clothes, the man could’ve stepped out of a fashion magazine. He’s strikingly impressive and devastating to the heart no matter what he wears. I shake my head. “I’ll cancel the Q&A hour scheduled with the media, but I’m doing these last two back-to-back signings today. I don’t want to disappoint my readers.”
Sebastian looks like he wants to argue, but then his phone rings. “Black here.” He glances my way. “Yes, I want all the employees ID photos. I understand you can’t give out personal data. The photos will do. If I find anything, I’ll let you know. A file is fine.” While he’s talking, I send him a text with my email address, then just before he starts to walk out of my room, I wave to him.
When he pauses, I point to myself and mouth, “Send me a copy.”
He nods curtly, then walks back into his room, still talking.
My stomach starts growling a few minutes later, making it hard to focus on my outline, but then I get an email from Sebastian with the file. I quickly open it and start scanning, looking for anyone familiar or anything that stands out about them.
Sebastian closes my laptop lid on my fingers. “Time to eat.”
“Hey!” I glance at my phone to see an hour has passed. I pull my hands free, scowling at him. “I’m working.”
“Did you get anything from that file I sent?”
I shake my head. “Was that every single employee at the Regent?”
“Yes, why?”
I tap my finger against my lips. “It wasn’t who I saw, it’s who I didn’t. Are you sure they didn’t hire extra staff for that kickoff party the first night?”
Sebastian frowns. “Bryce told me it was the complete photo database, but I’ll confirm with him. Who didn’t you see in those ID photos?”
“There was a blonde woman serving drinks that night. I only noticed her because we almost collided. As I walked away, I remember thinking that she looked familiar.”
“How familiar? Like someone you knew in the past?”
I shrug. “It’s a vague recollection. I don’t think I knew her. It’s like she’s someone I saw in passing. That’s why I can’t tell you more.”
“I’ll follow up with Bryce if there might be some temporary employees they brought in, but in the meantime, did any of the men seem familiar?”
I tilt my head. “Why are you asking specifically about the men?”
“Because the handwriting expert I had look over the letter you received yesterday is ninety percent certain a male wrote it. Even narrowing down the list of suspects to men, since there wasn’t a log-in time for the note delivery, there’s just too many people who came in and out on the security footage for us to figure out who might’ve dropped it off.”
“You think I’m focusing on the wrong person?”
He holds my gaze. “I’m not ruling anything out.”
The conversation makes me think too much about who might be after me, and a chill races up my spine. It must’ve shown on my face, because Sebastian clasps my hand and pulls me to my feet. “For now, you’re eating. No arguing. You skipped dinner last night.”
He’s right. I completely forgot that I didn’t eat. Maybe that’s why I feel so on edge. “We don’t have time for a long meal,” I say as I let him drag me to the door. “The car picks us up in a little over an hour for the first signing.”
“I’m aware of the schedule, Miss Lone.” Flashing a grin, he continues, “I know just the place. It’s based on a similar restaurant in Paris.”
“This is…different,” I say skeptically as I eye the crowd inside the small, standing room no bigger than thirty feet wide and forty feet deep. Only a couple streets over from the hotel, the restaurant has menu placards hanging from the ceiling, depicting wines, appetizers and main courses.
Fast moving workers bustle behind the main counter, calling out orders to those in a back kitchen, while also handing baskets full of warm bread and tapas-style foods to people over other patrons’ heads who’re waiting to order at the counter. People are eating from their baskets, standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the one-foot wide standing-only island that breaks up the middle of the restaurant, or along the narrow ledge that lines the side walls.
It’s a totally boisterous and chaotic environment, but people must really enjoy the experience of this place, if the long lines at the two different entrances are any indication. I’m not so sure I’ll even get any food, let alone find a tiny corner to stand and eat it in.
“The food here is delicious,” Sebastian says, grinning at my hesitant expression.
“Bounty awaits the brave, Talia. How bold are you? Ready to dive in?” Before I can utter a word, he clasps my hand and tugs me into the mass of people.
I’ve never been more thankful for Sebastian’s towering height. His wide shoulders cut a swath through the crowd and he quickly finds us a spot along the wall in the corner. As Sebastian waves to a guy behind the counter, I notice the body heat and fast conversation, keeps the place warm and buzzing with energy. In here, my long winter coat definitely feels
unnecessary.
A few minutes later, one of the servers brings us several different baskets to try. While observing New Yorkers pass by the huge glass window beside us, Sebastian and I eat and chat about living in the city. I enjoy his witty observations about city-folk while I down every morsel of the perfectly marinated skewers of meat and vegetables, and sop up the juices with the restaurant’s signature crusty bread.
When Sebastian moves on to funny stories about his BLACK security guys, I interrupt. “Wait, so Theo won’t let you call him Bear any more because of me?” I snicker when Sebastian grunts his annoyance. I like seeing him relax enough to tell stories, even if he doesn’t share ones about himself. I can’t believe that a crowded, jostling stand-up restaurant could feel so cozy with him, but it does. The entire experience is unique and delicious, from the food to the company. It’s definitely a place worth braving the mad crush of people for.
“I think you might know the staff,” I tease Sebastian as I take the last bite of my bread. A bit of butter didn’t quite make it to my mouth, and I laugh while unsuccessfully trying to wipe it away.
“Let’s just say I’ve been here a few times.” Sebastian’s lips quirk as he swipes the drop from my chin. Watching him suck the butter off his thumb is so incredibly arousing, I can’t tear my gaze away. All I can think about is his mouth on me just like that…licking me clean.
Another rush of people make it through the doorway at the same time that a couple with fresh baskets of food shoulder their way into the corner next to us.
When I’m pushed to the side and nudged against his chest in the process, Sebastian scowls and grasps my hip with one hand and my inner thigh with the other to steady me. I start to tell him I’m fine when his thumb slowly slides down the seam of my jeans.
Blackest Red Page 18
