She batted her eyes and leaned into his hand. “Do I get a reward for my bravery?”
Sebastian’s shoulders shook with a soft chuckle. “Yes, darling. You do,” he promised, tracing his thumb over the swell of her lips. “I’ll give you anything you wish, but you’ll have to wait until I’m not dead on my feet.”
“I think I can muster up enough patience to wait.”
He smiled and took her hand, tugging her toward the steps. “Come lay down with me. I just want to hold you until I fall asleep.”
Josh’s yawn seemed to drag on forever. His hooded sweatshirt hung crookedly on his frame. The dark color only served to highlight the tired shadows playing on his face. Glancing up, he offered Taylor a lopsided smile as she set a mug of coffee and plate of fresh peanut butter cookies down in front of him.
“Thanks, kid. Keep the sugar and caffeine coming, and I might survive this day yet.”
A soft snort drew their attention, and they both turned to watch Sebastian prowl through the room behind them. “She didn’t make them for you.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, Baas. It’s all about you.” He rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Taylor again. “Someone’s still fucking cranky. Didn’t you make sure he got a nap?”
She smothered a giggle behind her hand. “He only seems to be that way toward you.”
“Well aren’t I just the lucky one?” Josh scoffed.
“Watch your mouth,” Sebastian growled, dropping onto the couch beside him.
“What? Now I’m not even allowed to make light around your girlfriend?”
“Make light all you want. What I don’t care for is you talking like a disgruntled trucker around her. Do you use that language in front of my niece and sister?” Sebastian asked, lifting a tawny brow in his direction.
“Well, no, but…”
“Then refrain from doing so in my home.”
“It’s okay,” Taylor said with a soft laugh. “It’s not the first time someone’s dropped the f-bomb around me. In fact, you said the same thing a few hours ago.”
He lifted his head and pinned her with a piercing stare as Josh chortled beside him.
“Ahh, the truth comes out,” his partner drawled, his face twisting into a teasing grin.
Taylor lowered her gaze, wishing she could take the words back as Sebastian’s eyes continued to drill into her. She shifted uneasily on her feet.
“I didn’t use the term in casual conversation did I, Taylor?” he asked in a silken voice.
“No, Sebastian.”
Josh’s attention shifted between the two of them. A worried expression started to crawl across his face, and his smile faded. Taylor swallowed and squirmed beneath Sebastian’s unwavering stare.
“I don’t want you exposed to that kind of behavior and picking up bad habits that I am going to have to spend my time correcting. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir. Crystal. I’m sorry.”
He nodded. She didn’t need to be told twice. Skirting around the men, she hurried for the relative safety of the kitchen and filled his favorite mug. After stirring in a splash of peppermint mocha creamer, she carried it in to him, along with a plate of warm cookies. Sebastian’s wink assured her all was forgiven. His hand trailed up the back of her thigh and stroked it with absentminded affection as he poured over the papers Josh had spread before them. His partner chewed the end of a pen and flipped through his own files.
“Hey, Baas, check this out. Getting a location out of this guy’s friend should be no problem. It says here he has…” he trailed off, his gaze flickering to Taylor.
She raised her hands. “No worries, I’d rather not know,” she assured him. Running her fingers through Sebastian’s hair, she attempted to smooth his thick curls. “I’m going to go change the sheets and work on some laundry.”
“Good idea, baby. I’ll come find you before I go.”
He smiled and pulled her down for a smoldering kiss that made her cheeks flush with desire and her heart pound a little faster. She squashed a needful whimper as he released her. His jaw tightened for a brief second and, throwing the papers in his other hand on the table, he cleared his throat and stood.
“I’ll help you strip the bed. The mattress is heavy.”
“Really, Sebastian?” Josh asked incredulously. His forehead furrowed with disbelief. Muttering, he shooed them away with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Taylor colored at the unspoken implications brewing between the two men.
“Make yourself at home,” Sebastian suggested.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and steered her toward the steps with an unrepentant smirk. They barely made it into the hall when he spun her and slammed her back against the wall. His mouth slashed over hers in a bruising claim. Whimpering into the hungry kiss, she clutched at his back with one hand and fisted his curls with the other. His chest vibrated with a low growl as he turned her and barreled her toward the bedroom. Desire exploded through her body like burning napalm. The moment they made it through the doors, she was clawing at his shirt while he kicked the wooden barriers shut behind them. Flinging his arms up, he tore his sweatshirt over his head. Their mouths clashed again. The sound of rending fabric spilled through the room as he seized the front of her baby tee and tore the thin material. Her fingers fought with the button on his pants. Sebastian wasn’t as diplomatic. Dragging her thighs over his hips, he scooped her off the floor and carried her to the bed. Groaning into her mouth, he tore her yoga pants and panties down in a rough yank. Their clothing hit the floor in unison.
Taylor cried out as he filled her. Winded by lust and delirium, her breath came in shallow gasps. Sebastian’s eyes locked with hers as he slammed against her womb and stilled. His arms trembled. Savage, brooding desire and dominance stamped his face. Winding her arms around his neck, she strained with her efforts to capture his lips. A primal noise rose from the base of his throat as he caved and smashed his mouth against hers. She almost wept with joy when he seized a fistful of her hair and drove into her again.
The slow, battering thrusts increased to an animalistic frenzy. Their fierce lip lock drowned her cries of pleasure and pain. At least she hoped they did. Then again, she really didn’t care. All that mattered was Sebastian and the sheer power of his body as he thrust into her, bruising her deepest places and laying claim on her soul. Taylor screamed as a raging orgasm seized her and took hold. Darkness swirled. She almost passed out from the force. Sebastian’s face mirrored her ecstasy as he pounded harder. She clung to him, crying his name as his thrusts came faster, and a cavernous rumble built in his chest. Her nails dug into his back, her breath catching, while she struggled to hold on. His roar broke the silence. Taylor stared as a humbling wave of bliss swept across his handsome features. Nothing beat watching the pleasure wash over him or the forceful throb of his body as he emptied himself deep inside her.
The room spun with her lack of air. They held onto each other, trembling, as he covered her face with kisses and fought to catch his breath. The look in his eyes assured he was every bit as speechless as she felt. His thumb brushed across her brow, sweeping a lock of hair away. A worried frown crossed his face.
“I didn’t hurt you did I?”
Gazing up at him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. “Yes, but only in a good way.”
He stared at her for a long moment, his expression softening. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he bowed his head with a slow shake. After planting his lips on her damp temple, he rolled to the side of the bed and stood with a grunt. Too exhausted to move, she watched the play of his muscles as he tugged on his clothes.
“You were going to say something,” she murmured. “What was it?”
He wandered into the bathroom. She giggled at the sound of running water. Craning her head, she watched him rub fresh deodorant under his arms and splash cooling torrents of water on his face. When he came back into the bedroom, their eyes locked. His mouth curved wit
h a languid smile.
“Now’s not the time, darling. You’ll find out soon enough. I promise.”
Leaning over her, he braced his hands against the mattress and captured a kiss. He caressed her cheek before he stood. “Suffice it to say I love you…very much.”
She couldn’t contain her contented grin. “I love you, too.”
Moments later, she pulled her pillow over her head to smother her laughter when Josh’s voice rose from below. His tone was incredulous, if not a little concerned.
“Jesus! You didn’t break her, did you?”
A muffled thump followed, along with Sebastian’s chilling cadence.
“I am going to break you if you don’t mind your own business. Focus your attention on work where it belongs.”
Taylor shook her head. Despite their romp and the tenderness he’d shown her, when it came to these men and their job, some things never changed.
VII.
Tension knotted his lean form until Sebastian thought he would shatter with the force of it. His teeth ached from the constant clench. He should have killed that son-of-a-bitch Todd when he’d had the chance. He swallowed against the burn in the back of his throat. Cluster fucks like this were a prime example of what mercy and second-guessing your instincts got you. A dull throb rose and branched beneath his temples. He could see Marx’s smug smile in his mind’s eye. His fists curled. Focus. Oh, he was focused all right. The fucking jack-o-lantern was going to die this time, and if Sebastian had his way, it was going to be agonizingly slow and satisfying.
Josh straightened in the seat next to him and Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as the location’s garage door started to inch up. His hand locked around the door handle. Everything in him wanted to coil and spring. Josh’s fingers curled around his forearm in a silent bid to get him to stay and sit tight. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He just wanted to get this night over with and go home. Frowning, he shook his head. No. What he wanted to do was hear Todd scream—to see pain contort the bastard’s scarred face and to watch the life slowly ebb from his eyes. That would be satisfying. The thought alone was almost enough to give him a hard on.
He waited until the Mustang rounded the corner before flipping the laptop open. Minutes ticked by as he used the cameras stationed on the streetlights to track their target’s location. A knowing smile curved his lips as the car came to a stop at a convenience store a few blocks away. It seemed their teammate still liked his booze. A soft click echoed through the Audi as he snapped the computer shut. Glancing at Josh, he nodded.
They parked two streets over and made quick work of doubling back. Keeping his gaze trained on their surroundings, Sebastian kept a lookout for both Mustang and nosey neighbors. Unfortunately, the second was all too common, but tonight everything looked clean. A small thrill ran through him as he heard the electronic key click and the distinct sound of a latch springing open on the other side. In less than ten seconds, they were in the house and home free.
The stench of stale cigarette smoke and beer assaulted him the moment they stepped inside. Grimacing, Sebastian wrinkled his nose. He fought the overwhelming urge to fling open a window just so he could breathe. Josh cursed as he tripped over an empty pizza box sprawled across the floor. Even in the shadows, he could see the outline of dirty laundry draped over nearly every surface. Beneath the stink of smoke and beer wafted a foul undercurrent of sweat. Bile singed the back of his throat.
“This place is disgusting,” Josh growled.
“Depression and a lack of discipline at its finest,” Sebastian mused, pinching a stained tee shirt between his gloved forefinger and thumb. Curling his lip, he flung it across the room. “If you ask me, we’re doing the poor guy a favor.”
Feeling his partner’s stare, he turned. “What?”
“Nothing,” Josh said. “It’s just with the cheerful way you said that…” he trailed off with a snort. “Sometimes you really are a sick son-of-a-bitch.”
Sebastian shrugged. They both turned at the sound of the garage door creaking slowly up into its rails. He couldn’t help but smile into the darkness. This was always one of his favorite parts: the element of surprise. There was a definite sense of power and control that came in that moment and seeing that first spark of fear ignite in someone’s eyes. He liked to watch the resignation creep over them as they realized death had come calling and they’d just lost the fight. Josh pressed back against the wall next to the side door. Despite the filth and questionable safety of doing so, Sebastian opted for taking a seat on the couch. Reclining, he spread his arms and draped them across the back.
Todd muttered to himself as he pushed the door open. He barely made it inside before his instincts kicked in, and he glanced around. Josh’s revolver burrowed against the side of the man’s head. The crash of breaking glass and the slow gurgle of beer chugging out of splintered bottles echoed in the hall. Sebastian grinned as their eyes locked through the shadows.
“Hello, Todd,” he greeted softly.
“Fuck.”
“How eloquent of you.” He stood and folded his hands behind his back.
Josh shoved their former teammate forward with a snarl. Prowling across the room in leisurely strides, Sebastian approached their target and tilted his head.
“I was expecting a slightly more cheerful response. Given your recent photo shoot, I was under the impression you missed me.”
“You’re fucking insane.” Todd tried to sound brave, but the accusation bordered on a whine.
Sebastian regarded him with an affectionate smile. Reaching out, he stroked his gloved fingers across the man’s scarred cheek. The blond tried to flinch away, but Josh’s gun and unyielding hold on his arm brought his efforts up short. A low pitiful noise emanated from the base of his throat. He knew all too well what was coming. His knees wobbled as his eyes darted to Sebastian’s.
“Please, Baas,” he begged. “Just make it quick.”
“Quick? No,” he said softly with a slight shake of his head. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that.”
“You might have a chance if you give him what he wants up front. Be smart about this. Those pictures you took at the warehouse, where are they?” Josh pressed, shoving the barrel of his revolver even deeper.
“Kitchen…in the kitchen drawer next to the fridge. They’re inside the phone book. Jesus, man, what are you guys going to do?”
Sebastian ignored him and strode into the other room. He tamped down a snarl of frustration as his boots stuck to the linoleum floor. Eyes narrowed, he yanked open the drawer in question and rummaged through a stack of crumpled papers until he found the thick book buried beneath. He thumbed through it. Sure enough, several prints fluttered to the floor. Glancing the first one over, he made a mental note to search for the negatives later. The second caused him to slam the drawer shut so hard the wood splintered. A loud clatter echoed through the room as the facing hit the floor.
“Baas?” Concern rode on Josh’s voice.
The muscles in his cheeks tightened with a rigid twitch. His chest heaved. Squatting down, he peeled the glossy image off the floor and stared. Blood roared in his ears and his heart hammered a million miles a minute as he studied the angle. Lifting his fingers to his mouth, he slammed his eyes shut. Given the upwards slant of the shot, there was no way the picture was taken from anywhere but his yard. His yard…where the dark fatigues of the security patrolling his house could clearly be seen in the background. The harsh pant of his breath filled the room. Shaking his head, he forced himself to scan through the rest: Taylor’s face peering out their bedroom window, Taylor through the bay windows facing into the kitchen, another showing the limestone sprawl of Monique’s house, and a candid of his sister leaving somewhere with Josh. He remembered the clothes. It was the night they headed to his place to help with the blowout. His stomach clenched.
“Sebastian?” Josh called after him again.
Gathering the pictures up, he strode back into the darkened living room. Even through
the shadows, he could see the twisted smile playing on Todd’s face. His jaw knotted.
“See,” the man whispered. “Two can play at that game.”
“What the fuck is he talking about?”
A deafening crack exploded through the room. The force of the blow sent Todd and Josh reeling. Sebastian’s shoulders heaved as he shook the pain out of his knuckles. Their teammate slowly straightened and spit a thick glob of blood onto the floor. Crimson painted his crazed leer.
“Waste your time with me,” he said, laughing. “Or don’t. Either way, you lose. That’s the sad thing about it, isn’t it, Baas? We just know too fucking much, don’t we? What do you think is happening right now? Sad thing is, you can’t even place a call to home to see how that hot little number of yours is doing. If you do, someone, somewhere will place you here.”
“Shut your mouth,” Josh growled.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t forget to leave his smoking hot baby sister out of that equation either. You know…the one you’re fucking. Got to love that play. I can hurt you both with that one.”
Sebastian bit back his rage and nodded, careful to keep his expression neutral. “Perhaps. It was a brilliant scheme. I’ll give you that. How’d you pull it off?”
“It was easy. My brother knows someone who works for that security team. Simple thing really, snapping off a few pictures.”
A slow smile curved Sebastian’s fa
ce.
“Baas…” Tension and worry rode Josh’s voice.
“It’s okay,” he soothed in a raspy whisper. Cocking his head, he regarded Todd. The slow shake he gave almost spoke of pity. “You really do think you are clever. That’s the sad thing about this situation. It almost makes me feel sorry for you.”
“What are you talking about?” Confusion stamped the man’s broad features.
Sinister Kisses (The SKALS Series) Page 26
