Thank you for wearing your uniform. It meant a lot to me and Josi. As for my gift to you, she’s standing right there. Talia is special in so many ways. Don’t let her slip through your fingers this time around.
Mina
Setting the card on the island, I uncork the bottle. As I wait for the wine to breathe, I graze on more cheese and fruit, while Mina’s note flashes through my mind on an endless loop. Why didn’t Sebastian tell me everything the card said? Is he just not ready for more? The thought makes me a little sad while I pour myself a glass of wine.
As I take a sip of wine, my gaze strays to the window. The sight of the snow rapidly falling lifts my spirits. I move to turn off the kitchen light and grin when the switch I hit starts a fire in the dual-sided fireplace instead.
Glancing around for a chair that’ll suit, my black silk lounge pants whisper quietly around my legs as I turn off the light, then move the piece of furniture right in front of the window. I retrieve my wine and return to the window, where I lean on the chair and lift the collar of Sebastian’s jacket to draw in its amazing smell.
“What is it with you and rearranging furniture?”
Sebastian’s low chuckle makes my body tighten with anticipation. I smile when he rests his hands on the back of the chair I’m leaning on, blocking me in. He smells so good I inhale deeply a couple of times.
“Watching the weather in the dark is just something I do. I find it relaxing. I’d planned to sit, but for some reason I’m too antsy, so here I stand, sipping this fantastic wine.” I turn and glance up at him as understanding clicks into place. “You bought that wine specifically for me too, didn’t you? Just like the handcuffs.” I offer an apologetic smile. “I only saw the engravings after Hayes put them on me.”
He holds my gaze for a second, then nods. “I bought a couple bottles six months ago. I meant what I said about a clean slate, Talia. I wanted you badly then, but after everything we’ve been through…” He pauses and slides my hair over my shoulder, tracing his thumb along my jaw. “What I feel for you goes beyond anything I’ve ever felt for another person. All I want to do is protect you and keep you safe. I like seeing you smile and knowing that I’m the reason for it. And even if our lives hadn’t crisscrossed in the maze of fuckedupness we just discovered in the last twenty-four hours, I know our connection would still be undeniable. You bring out the best in me, and I don’t plan to let you go.”
My heartbeat leaps and my chest swells. That sounds pretty committed to me. I smile and fold my hand over his. “Good, because I don’t plan to go anywhere.”
Sebastian shakes his head, his jaw tightening. “You might one day.”
Does he still think I’m going to run? Not after that speech. “Why would you think that?”
Sebastian takes the glass of wine from my hand and holds it up to the light outside. “You see that red color?”
When I nod, he turns the glass toward the darkened room. “Now what do you see?”
I squint at the wine. “I know it’s red, but the color is so dark it looks black.”
He turns the stem in his hand, staring at the wine moving in the curved glass. “I’ve had days where reds look like this, the blackest red. One day I could wake up and all I’ll be able to see are shades of gray.” Sebastian sets the glass on the built in bookshelf, then turns to me. Lifting a lock of my hair, he slowly runs his fingers down the strand, exhaling harshly when he reaches the end.
“I went through hell after I opened my eyes in that hospital bed and realized I lost most colors from my sight. At first, I thought it was like amnesia and that it would come back. I kept hoping. Once I realized that was my new reality, it took me a long time to get my head on straight. I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose the red spectrum too, Talia. I doubt I’ll be a fit man to be around. You won’t want to stay.”
I hold his gaze. “You will never lose red from your life, because your red will still be here, standing right in front of you.” I touch his jaw. “But if the day ever does come, where all colors completely disappear…let me be your rainbow, Sebastian. I can show you where to look.”
“You—” He pauses and clears his throat, looking away.
His throat is bobbing. My tough SEAL is choking up. The second I lay my hand gently on his bare chest, he meets my gaze.
“You already are, Talia. Through your eyes, no matter the shade, all colors are endlessly fascinating.”
I sniff back my own emotions and smile, adopting a teasing tone. “At the moment, red and black are my favorite colors. Though I think they’re best displayed right up against each other, so you can truly see how well they complement.” I unsnap the side button on the leather jacket’s collar. “Would you like to see how I usually wear your coat?”
Sebastian slowly tugs the zipper all the way down. When he sees nothing but skin underneath, hunger flares in his eyes. Tracing his knuckle along the inside curve of my breast, his gaze snaps to mine. “You wear it just like this?”
I nod. “I feel safe when I wear it. The smell comforts me.”
He lets out a low chuckle as he runs his finger along the inside curve of my other breast. “The smell of leather comforts you?”
I shake my head. “No, your smell comforts me. It always has.”
He stills and his nostrils flair. “When I learned that you kept my coat all this time, yet you wouldn’t let me touch you…that night about destroyed me, Talia. I haven’t been able to get that evening out of my head.”
I turn and place my hands on the back of the chair, then glance at him over my shoulder. “Would you like a redo?”
Sebastian steps behind me and slides his fingers along the edge of my hair. Pushing the curtain over my opposite shoulder, he rasps in my ear, “Will you let me add one variation?”
My heart is already racing, but I nod.
I stay still as he moves into the darkness of the apartment and then returns. When he steps up behind me once more and lays his hands over mine, my insides tingle with anticipation as he runs his fingers along the back of my hands.
He clasps my wrists and then surprises me by lifting them off the chair.
“What are you doing?” I ask, panic rising in my chest as he starts to draw them to my sides.
“I want you to trust me, Talia. You’ve trusted me in so many ways. I would like you to trust me with this.”
When he pulls my arms fully behind my back, my breathing ramps. I can’t help it.
“Don’t think about the past,” Sebastian whispers in my ear, while locking our fingers together. “Think about how all I make you feel is pleasure. Trust me, Talia. Will you let me?”
I don’t know if I can. I blink several times, trying hard to focus on his words and not the fear clawing inside me. I take a deep breath and nod, hoping to convince myself I can do this. Sebastian cares for me. He would never hurt or terrorize me.
He plants a warm kiss on my neck at the same time I feel one of the handcuffs snap closed on my wrist. I gulp and reflexively try to jerk free, but Sebastian holds fast and says in a lighter tone, “At some point, I want to know how you got out of these cuffs in order to send that gun my way.”
“Hairclip,” I say, praying that talking will distract me from the panicked tension building in my chest.
Sebastian stops moving. “Do I want to know how you know how to do that?”
“Theo taught me.”
His fingers encircle my wrist, tension in his hold. “What?”
I ignore the annoyance in his tone. “You can thank him by calling him Theo from now on.”
Sebastian grunts before kissing the back of my head. As I smile in the darkness, knowing that means he agrees, he slowly rubs his thumb along the inside of my hand. When he adjusts the cuff, tightening it, I stiffen.
“We’ll take it slow,” he murmurs, then steps right up against me. Pressing his erection along my ass, he clasps my other wrist.
I keep my eyes focused on the falling snow and try not to let my mind go back to the past. Se
bastian kisses my jaw, his warm lips lingering on my skin. “Your safe word is always there. I will stop immediately if you wish, but I hope your trust in me is stronger.”
Trust is key with Sebastian. That fight we had in the hospital hall was all about my lack of trust in him. I inhale deeply and try to keep my body from shaking when I hear the other handcuff opening. He hasn’t moved away and I find his presence covering me from my shoulders to my butt so comforting. I can only hope that I’ll be able to hold on to the calm his closeness gives me once he steps away to lock my wrists together.
When he curves my left wrist around his lower back and then lifts my right wrist around the other side of his body, surprise eclipses the dread gnawing at my stomach. He’s locking us together?
“I would never make you do it alone, Talia,” he says, closing the second cuff around my other wrist. “I’m giving you control.” Releasing my cuffed wrists, he slides his hands up my waist, then slowly along my ribcage. Cupping my breasts, he pinches my nipples hard and husks in my ear, “I love you, Talia. A first for me to say to anyone.”
My heart jerks. He loves me! Blinking back tears, I whisper, “I’ve always loved you.”
His hands stop moving on my body and he utters, “So much fucking wasted time.” Pressing his lips to my temple, he whispers, “Use your power to let go of the past.”
I arch into his hands, loving when he twirls my nipples then tugs just enough to make me cry out. Moisture floods my sex and my arms react instinctively, trying to tug him closer.
“Tell me what you want?” he demands, and I feel his erection slowly rub against my ass.
“Touch me, Sebastian.”
While one hand twists my nipple in jaw-grinding pleasure/pain, he tugs at the string holding my pants up. Before the material even hits the floor, his fingers are tracing along the bit of hair between my thighs. He spreads the sensitive lips and then kisses the side of my neck as he slides his fingers back and forth along my clit.
I buck against his hand and gasp, loving his hands on me. The pleasurable sensations override any negative thoughts I have of Hayes and what he did to me.
“Is this enough?” he teases, barely touching my entrance. When my body floods with more moisture, he groans and grinds his erection against my ass. “God, it jacks me up how you soak for me, Talia. I can’t decide what I want more…to fuck your pussy first or dine on it.”
“Inside,” I demand, panting.
He slides a finger into my channel from the front, rubbing along my clit. “Is this what you want?” When I whimper and rock my hips, his breathing amps. Releasing my breast, he moves his other hand down my ass, then between my thighs. “Or do you want it from behind?” he says in a gruffer tone and plunges two fingers deep inside me while moving his other hand up to tease my clit.
I gasp and moan as he builds my desire from both sides, his knowing fingers hitting crazy-level bliss buttons. But as much as my heart races and legs shake, I crave more.
His breathing elevates and his chest heaves against my back. “Fuck, I want you so much, Talia. Tell me what you really want.”
My hands are already clutching at his pants. “You, I want you. Now.”
Grunting, he releases my body to yank his pants down. I moan when he flattens his hand on my lower belly and pushes me toward him. Lifting me slightly, his cock nudges at my entrance from behind. He’s breathing hard, his muscular body tightly wound and straining behind me.
“What are you waiting for?” I pant out, near delirious to feel his thickness stretching my body, taking me, branding me his.
Staying just outside of me, he clasps my hips with both hands. I feel the barely leashed strength behind his bruising hold as he grates out, “Control it, Talia.”
And it finally hits me what he’s been saying. Turning my hands in the cuffs, I grab the top curve of his muscular ass and arch my back at the same time I pull him forward, demanding, “Fuck me, Sebastian.”
Sebastian surges deep inside me, expelling a guttural groan. I shiver at the toe-curling sensations the new position elicits and the erotic feel of the jacket’s silk lining rubbing against my hard nipples with our movements. Moaning, I dig my nails into his tight butt muscles, telling him to thrust harder.
He nips my neck and my body jerks with the next roll of his hips’ deeper penetration. “I fucking love being inside you.” His voice is hoarse as he clasps my thigh in a tight hold while his other hand slides along my clit. “Every time is—”
“Right where I want you to be,” I say on a gasp, then shake all over when he tweaks the sensitive bit of skin between his fingers with just enough edge to make me keen. Biting my lip, I flex my channel muscles around him, taking us both higher.
He shudders, then withdraws and takes me hard once more, exhaling a primal roar. I feel him release, and I come right along with him, screaming as my body quivers through the powerful waves of euphoria crashing over me. I give myself fully over to Sebastian’s masterful hands and strong embrace, basking in his support and love.
I pull my car into a close parking spot, the tightness in my chest easing when I see Talia’s red hair blowing in the wind as she squats to place flowers on the grave. She’ll probably be pissed I pinged her phone to find her, but I don’t care. Her safety is more important. Even though she’s back to her routine at the Tribune and busy working on her next book, you would think the knowledge that Hayes is gone and Paige has been arrested for stalking and harassment would settle my concern, but a part of me can’t help but worry for her.
I rub my jaw, smirking. Maybe that’s what love does to you. It makes you think about scenarios you never have before. I’m a prepared kind of guy, so fuck yeah, I’ll always want to keep an eye on Talia. For my own peace of mind.
But I understand why she didn’t tell me where she was going. I’m sure she doesn’t want anyone around while she has private time with her mother. As far as I know she’s never visited her mother’s grave. This is a first. I hope it helps her.
Talia and I have been great these past couple of weeks, but the sadness I see in her eyes sometimes when she doesn’t know I’m watching feels like my own chest is caving in. All I want is to make her happy, to never see that sadness. But there’s not a damn thing I can do about her aunt. The woman made her bed. It’ll be up to Talia to decide if she wants to let her back in her life. Personally, I would like her as far away from Talia as possible.
Just like Isabel. I would prefer booting my stepmother the hell out of all our lives. My earlier conversation with Isabel before I came here still festers in my chest. She hated that I interrupted her massage, but that was by design. I wanted her at her most vulnerable.
“What are you doing here?” Isabel squawked, while grabbing a towel to cover her bare ass.
“Excuse me, sir, but you can’t be in here,” the young male masseuse said to me as he turned and held his hands up.
“Get out,” I ordered in a low, deadly tone.
He stiffened, his lips pressing together. “I’m going to get management.”
I offered a cold smile. “You’re looking at him. I just bought this place. Now get the hell out. I need a word with your client.”
Isabel sniffed her annoyance that he closed the door behind him without another word, leaving her naked and all oiled up under nothing but a couple of small towels.
I pulled a side chair up, unbuttoned my suit jacket and sat right down in front of her, face to face.
Raising herself up on her elbows to make sure she was above me, she tucked a towel to cover her breasts, her gaze slitting. “I see you’re already spending your inheritance.”
“I haven’t touched any of my father’s money, but then you should know all about doing your best to make sure that never happened.”
Isabel’s brow wrinkles with her frown. “What are you talking about?”
As I watched her fidget slightly on the table, I smoothed my hand down my tie, taking my time. “I would think you’d be relieved to
learn that the man I shot saving Talia ironically happened to be the man you hired to kill me when I was a teen.”
She had the audacity to gasp her outrage, diamonds flashing on the hand she put to her chest. “Have you lost your mind? Accusing me of such a horrific thing. I would never do—”
“Save your theatrics for those who naively believe you have a heart,” I snapped, cutting her off. I leaned forward, my voice stone cold. “I could so easily snap your neck for what you did to my mother, to me. And you know I’ve got the skills to do it.”
True fear briefly registered, but was quickly overtaken with arrogance. “How dare you threaten me? I’m a Blake, I can—”
“You’re not fucking getting it, so let me be clear how this is going to go down, Isabel. Hayes Crawford admitted that you hired him to kill me, so unless you want to go to jail for murder, you’re going to be the best damn mother to Mina and grandmother to Josi, the most supportive. No more negativity, no more snide comments to Mina, Talia, me, or anyone else for that matter. If I see you step out of line even just a little, I’ll have you arrested.”
She shook her head. “You’re making this up to try and destroy me. You have no proof.”
“The fact Hayes knew details about me and my ties to the Blake family is enough,” I state.
“That’s all you’ve got?” She let out a haughty laugh. “The notion that I concocted a plan to commit murder is ridiculous. You really are delusional, Sebastian, but then what should I expect from gutter trash.”
I smiled and stood, buttoning my jacket. “This gutter trash can very easily make your life hell without involving the police. How do you think my father will react when he learns what you did?”
Her face contorted in true anger. “Go ahead. Take your bullshit lies to your father. You two barely speak. He knows you hate me. He’ll never believe you.”
My smile turned icy. “I wasn’t the only one in the room when Hayes admitted what he did and your involvement. Talia was too. My father and I are working on mending a relationship that you tarnished, but he adores Talia and trusts her implicitly. One word from her and your life as a Blake is over.”
Blackest Red Page 26
