Blackest Red

by P. T. Michelle

  Gasping quietly, I jerk my gaze up to see smoldering turquoise blue staring back at me. “All mine,” he simply says, but the words make me shiver despite the heat in the room. Then he does it again, this time harder.

  I glance around, but the place is so jammed, no one can see past my long winter coat. My gaze returns to his and my breath hikes. There’s something incredibly sexy about him choosing to do this in such a public place.

  “I’m waiting, Talia.”

  “For what?” I say in a breathy voice.

  His gaze searches my face as his fingers dig possessively into my inner thigh. “For you to tell me to fraternize you senseless. To demand it, even.”

  Sebastian’s suggestive comment reminds me of that stupid contract my brain seems to have temporarily forgotten during the inferno blazing between us right before the fire alarm went off last night. If I weren’t so sexually frustrated, I’d find that hilariously ironic.

  “But what about the contract?” I grasp at anything to keep him in line. Despite the simmering moments we’ve had, I know his signature on that paper was the only thing keeping him walking a very gray line. He’s a man of his word, first and foremost.

  Sebastian shrugs. “That jackass fired me two nights ago.”

  “Jared fired you?” I stiffen my spine, suddenly anxious. There’s nothing to keep him from pushing hard on me now. Gray just shifted to full on black. “Why didn’t you tell—?”

  “I told him you rehired me.” A ruthless smile tilts his lips. “He wasn’t pleased.”

  I swallow my nervousness. “I’m sure that pissed him off royally. Why are you still here?”

  That smile turns downright wolfish. “I’m waiting, Talia.” His thumb pauses at the spot on my jeans that will rev me in no time. “I want to hear you say that you want me.”

  When I start to press my lips together, his thumb applies pressure, making my stomach flutter and my pulse skip in excitement.

  “You say my name while you sleep,” he says smugly. “You did it several times last night.”

  Do I really say his name in my sleep? Cheeks flaming, I reach down and try to remove his hand, but he just clamps onto me even tighter and leans close, saying against my temple, “Do you ache deep inside so much you feel nauseous? There’s only one cure, and that’s me giving you the kind of carnal satisfaction that hits you bone deep.”

  “Arrogant much?” I reply against his jaw, wrapping sarcasm around me like a bulletproof vest.

  He cups the back of my neck as his lips move to my ear. “Not arrogance. Assurance. That’s how you make me feel every time we’ve been together. Incredibly, deeply satisfied.” Pulling back, he scans my face. “What we have is more than a connection based on strong attraction and raw chemistry. Call it friendship, call it mutual respect at the highest level, label it whatever the hell you want, Talia, but don’t fucking ignore its existence.” He tilts my chin, forcing my gaze to his. “I’m done letting you deny us with flimsy bullshit excuses. I want you to look me in the eyes and say it.”

  His eyes are so bright and intense my heart leaps. “I want you, Sebastian, but that’s not enough.”

  He shakes his head in a fast jerk, his grip tensing on my jaw. “Yes, it fucking is.”

  My stomach twists, but he needs to know why, even if my answer means he’ll turn away from us. “Not for me. I need—”

  “Natalia!” Jared’s voice sounds above the crowd. He’s standing in the doorway, waving to get my attention.

  As he shoulders his way through the crowd, Sebastian releases me and says on a low growl, “Per the terms of BLACK Security’s contractual agreement, I see him as a threat to your well-being. If that shit so much as tries to put his hand on your lower back or touches you in any other intimate way, I’m going to protect you. Meaning…I’ll break his fucking arm.”

  “No you won’t!” I hiss.

  His gaze narrows to a “watch me” stare. Mine narrows too.

  “I’m glad I found you,” Jared says once he reaches us. Concern etching his brow, Jared ignores Sebastian’s low, “You weren’t invited,” comment and grasps my hand in both of his. “Are you okay? I got a call this morning about the fire since the room was originally booked on the company card.”

  When Jared tries to rub his thumb across the back of my hand, I sense Sebastian stiffen. “Yeah, it was pretty intense.” I pull away from his hold and pick up the empty baskets from the ledge. When I turn back and see the pleased smirk on Sebastian’s face, I push the baskets into his hands and answer Jared. “I’m fine.”

  Jared eyes Sebastian, clearly waiting for him to take the baskets back to the counter. Holding Jared’s expectant gaze, Sebastian stacks the baskets, then lifts them over his shoulder at the same time one of the servers walking past grabs them. Shaking off his annoyance at Sebastian’s continued presence, Jared shifts his gaze back to me. “I was told this morning that your security cancelled your media interview today. I’d like you to reconsider.”

  “I cancelled it,” I say to keep Jared’s gaze on me. He does not need to see Sebastian’s murderous glare drilling into the side of his head.

  “It’s the wrap-up of the tour, Talia. Not to mention, it’ll show that you don’t let anything get you down, something I admire tremendously about you.”

  “It’ll wave a red flag in the face of the psycho who tried to kill her last night. No fucking book is worth risking her life over,” Sebastian snaps.

  “You’re sure it was intentional?” Jared asks, his face losing some of its color.

  Sebastian crosses his arms. “The fire was set just inside her room door using gasoline as an accelerant. You can’t get any more intentional than that.”

  Raking a hand through his hair, Jared blows out a breath. “We’ve never had anything escalate like this before. If we have proof, we need to call the police.”

  “We don’t have enough proof to call the police in as a threat on Talia,” Sebastian grates. “She switched the name on the room from her penname before the tour even started. Access to the credit card details is locked in the computer system, so whoever is responsible couldn’t have used your publishing house’s name or hers to target her. For now, the hotel is cooperating with the authorities’ general arson investigation.”

  That must’ve been what Sebastian’s phone calls were about this morning. I glance up at him. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”

  “I planned to fill you in on the way to the signings.” Sebastian’s gaze softens, telling me the rest. I didn’t want the case getting in the way of us. Again.

  “Are you okay with these last two signings, Talia?” Jared asks. “I’ll understand if you want to cancel them under the circumstances.”

  I nod. “I’ll be fine with Sebastian.”

  Sebastian doesn’t look away from me as he addresses Jared. “Extra security measures have been put in place to keep the media out and the bookstores secure. Talia will be safe.”

  “I’d like to ride along to the signings today,” Jared says, breaking the mesmerizing hold Sebastian has over me.

  “Hell no.”

  “That’ll be fine,” I say, overriding Sebastian. “That way, you can deal with the media, and Sebastian’s men can focus their energy on security.” I smile when Sebastian clamps his jaw tight. He doesn’t like it, but he knows I’m right.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Jared says, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll spin it that you won’t allow media interviews to take away from one-on-one time with your readers. Don’t worry, I’ll turn this into positive PR for you.”

  “You have exactly thirty minutes,” Sebastian says from the doorway between our rooms.

  “Could you be any more bossy?” I mumble as I kick off my shoes while opening my suitcase at the same time.

  Sebastian tugs his sweater over his head, mussing his hair. “We wouldn’t be having to hurry if Ivy League Junior hadn’t pulled you in front of the cameras on our way out of that last signing.”

 
I drop to my knees and dig through my suitcase, looking for my other nude heel. “He was just trying to wrap up the end of the tour on a positive note.”

  “What happened to no Q&A?”

  Sebastian sounds so annoyed, I set my pumps on the bed and stand to face him. “So that’s why—” My comment lodges in my throat. The sight of his muscular chest and mouthwatering abs flexing as he shrugs out of his button down shirt momentarily stuns me. God, he’s beautiful. When he looks up and grins at me staring, I straighten my spine and lift my chin. “Why are you arguing with me when we have so little time?”

  Sebastian opens his mouth, then closes it. Before he shuts the door behind him, he says, “You now have twenty-eight minutes.”

  Exhaling an exasperated sigh, I quickly grab my teal dress. I love its straight lines, pinched waist and fitted skirt that hits me a couple inches above the knees. But most of all, I love its versatility. If I wear pearls and nude pumps with it, the look is ultra classy. Switch out the pearls for sparkly, dangle earrings, and the pumps for black spiked heels, and the dress changes from classy to sexy. Smoothing out a wrinkle in the skirt, I slip on a pair of classic pearl earrings, then pick up my makeup bag and head into the bathroom.

  After I’ve touched up my hair and make-up, I try to zip my dress. The one downside of the dress’ tailored style is its hidden back zipper. The tiny tab makes it difficult to grasp and pull all the way up by myself. I can get it to my bra, but Cass usually helps the rest of the way.

  My phone vibrates on the counter while I make strange contortions in the mirror. It would be funny if the clock wasn’t ticking. I instantly answer, chuckling into the phone. “Hey, Cass, I could so use you right now. You forgot to pack yourself when you packed my teal dress for me.”

  “And to think I could be standing in the Regent being your personal dress maid instead of sitting on this veranda drinking a to-die-for coffee,” she says, snickering.

  “Actually, I’m not at the Regent any more. I moved to the Royal Grand due to a fire being set in my room.”

  “Oh, shit! I didn’t know. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Cass. Sebastian is taking good care of me.”

  “Well, I’m seriously glad you’re okay, but wait….as in really good care of you?” she says suggestively.

  I snicker. “Not that kind. He’s an excellent security guard.”

  “What happened to letting your inner-slut have some fun?”

  Twisting my lips in a wry half-smile, I run the brush through my hair. “Apparently I don’t possess your skills in putting my inner-slut to good use.”

  “Oh, Talia.”

  Cass sounds so disappointed, I sigh. “I know. I just suck at it.”

  “That’s where I know you’re wrong. You’re just thinking too hard. You have to learn to shut your brain off, girl. Please, for me, just give yourself a night with him. And if things don’t work out, and he breaks your heart, I promise to hang with you and watch sappy movies and eat buckets of ice cream until we want to bust. I’ll even go out and buy you a bigger BOB if you want me to.”

  I can’t help but laugh. She really is the best. Letting my laughter fade, I sigh. “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can! Everything you’ve ever worked for—getting into that journalism program early in college, your job at the Tribune, twice. Busting up that human trafficking ring at the Sly Fox club, writing two books in the time you normally write one…You’ve worked your tail off for every one of those accomplishments. Why would you expect someone like Sebastian to be any different?”

  She has a point. Sebastian is anything but easy. But he’s also an unpredictable person, not a goal to be reached. I exhale and smile. “I’ll keep that in mind. I miss you. When are you getting home?”

  “In a couple of days.”

  “I can’t wait until you get back. We’ll crack open a bottle of wine, and I’ll regale you with all the tour goings on, and you can tell me how brilliant your shoot went.”

  “Deal. See you soon. Oh, and Talia?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Step off the ledge. Anyone worth winning has to be worth losing your heart to in the first place.”

  She always makes me smile. “More magazine advice?”

  “Nope. That was a one-hundred-percent, genuine Cassism. You’re welcome. Now go have that hunky man take care of your zipper. I suggest down, not up.”

  Snickering, I tell her goodbye before she can give me any more relationship advice. Hooking my arms over my shoulder, I try to pull the zipper the rest of the way.

  When I hear Sebastian walk into my room, I blow out a breath of frustration and step out of the bathroom. “Hey, do you think you can help me zip my—holy shit.”

  Yeah, I said it out loud—Cass-style—but the last thing I expect to see is Sebastian wearing formal dress blues, his black-billed white hat with gold trim tucked under his arm. There’s a reason women drool over men in uniform, but Sebastian standing in my room, his dark hair perfectly combed, bright blue eyes piercing into me as his broad shoulders fill out his Navy uniform to utter perfection, is just downright cruel. How am I supposed to resist that?

  Sebastian gives a wry smile. “Mina insisted on dress white. I argued for a suit. We compromised on dress blue. My sister said taking on godfather duties deserves the uniform.”

  I knew in my heart that Mina chose Sebastian for such an important role in Josi’s life, but hearing him say it drills the fact home. How will he feel when he learns I’m going to be Josi’s godmother? Will it make him uncomfortable? I start to tell him, but then the look in his eyes as he sets his hat on the desk stops me. It’s saying so much more. I watch him re-straighten a perfectly knotted tie and realize why he looks tense and edgy. He doesn’t feel right wearing it. Why? Then it hits me…

  Now that he’s a civilian, he doesn’t believe he deserves to wear the uniform. Knowing how he left the Navy, I can’t let him think that way, so I walk right up to him and put my hand on his chest. Sliding my palm to his shoulder, I smile. “You look fantastic. I agree with Mina. It’s perfect for a christening.” I smirk and touch the gilt eagle button on his midnight blue, double-breasted jacket, then tap his tie. “Not to mention, those gold stripes on your sleeves will have all the ladies swooning in their seats. In a church, no less.”

  Sebastian clasps my waist, his expression turning serious. “There’s only one woman I want to swoon, but she’s too busy saying ‘no,’ while her body tells a different story every time I touch her.”

  My heart ramps and my breasts swell as his big hands wrap around my waist. I swallow and start to speak, but he quickly spins me around, then brushes my hair to the side as if he’d never said anything. “A stubborn zipper, huh?”

  Trying to regain my composure, I inhale deeply and nod, holding my hair out of the way for him. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

  He starts to slide the zipper up, then pauses to press a warm kiss to the back of my neck. Chill bumps instantly scatter across my skin, and just as I exhale a sharp, steadying breath, he zips it the rest of the way.

  Before I can move away, he slides the pads of his fingers down my arms just below the dress’ capped sleeves. Tracing the raised skin, his voice is a husky rasp in my ear. “Every time I touch her.”

  I’m surprised when Sebastian opens the front passenger door for me, but then the driver gets out and Sebastian slides behind the wheel of the black Mercedes. He doesn’t say anything to me the entire car ride. I can tell he has something on his mind, so I don’t intrude on his thoughts.

  Once he pulls into a parallel spot twenty yards back from the church, I start to open the door, but he scowls at me. Sighing, I release the handle. He sets his uniform hat on his head before he opens the passenger door and holds his hand out. I still can’t get over how handsome he is in a uniform as I put my hand in his. With Mina’s gift bag in my other hand, I step onto the snow cleared, newly salted sidewalk.

  “At least it’s not snowing,” I say, glancing up at the bu
rgeoning clouds ready to dump another four inches by the evening, according to the weather app on my phone.

  Sebastian grunts his agreement and tucks my hand in the crook of his arm. I hold onto him, appreciating the support since the sidewalk has a bit of an incline.

  When we approach what appears to be a patch of snow at least twenty feet long, Sebastian doesn’t say a word, he just turns and scoops me into his arms.

  “I could’ve walked across it,” I say quietly, my face turning beet red when an audience of people standing outside the church start clapping.

  “You’re not twisting your ankle on my watch,” he says in a matter of fact tone, completely ignoring the two guys who are now belting out a few lines from An Officer and a Gentleman’s theme song.

  As soon as we reach the well-salted area in front of the church, he sets me down. While Sebastian is greeted by his half-brothers, Gavin and Damien, with shoulder hand-clapping and a bit of ribbing, I look up the stairs leading to the church’s massive main doors, and meet the icy, distrusting stare of a thin, blonde woman holding court by the left door. I instantly recognize Isabel from news articles about the Blake family. Standing beside her is her husband, Adam, who is shaking hands and chatting with those just arriving. She gives me one last disdainful glare, then turns away with a tilt of her nose to smile at someone reaching in to hug her. I start to move closer to Sebastian when another guy with short, light brown hair clamps on to Sebastian’s shoulders, wrapping an arm tight around his neck. “Heya, bro. Long time no see.”

  My heart races for Sebastian. As I watch him turn and shake Calder’s hand then pull him into a hug, happiness fills my chest. Calder might be his cousin by blood, but he’s truly his brother. I’m so glad he came to the christening. I hope that means they’ll get a chance to talk.

  My hand is clasped and it’s instantly tucked into the crook of another man’s arm. I look up and smile at Den, who’s gazing down at me from his massive height with wise eyes. “Would you allow me to escort you up the stairs, Miss Lone?”