by Abby Green
‘Let me taste you...’
She wasn’t sure what he meant until he put his mouth on hers again and coaxed her to open up, let him in. Sebastio Rivas was an expert. He tipped up her jaw and there was no place she could hide. He explored her with a finesse and a thoroughness that made her dizzy.
Nothing she’d ever experienced could have prepared her for this sensual onslaught. Her legs were weak and she realised she was clutching at his shirt, as if that could stop her from sliding to his feet in a heap. Tentatively she explored him, nipping at his full lower lip, revelling in its fleshy firmness.
He tasted as good as he looked and she wanted more. A lot more. The sensations coursing through her body were overwhelming. She didn’t know how to handle it.
And that was when a sliver of cold reality returned to her brain. Reminding her of who she was. Who he was.
She spread her hands on his chest and used all her self-control to push. His mouth lifted from hers and Edie sucked in a shaky breath. She stepped back, out of his embrace, and immediately felt bereft and cold.
‘What are we doing?’ she asked, her tongue feeling too big for her mouth.
‘Proving that you want me.’
Something went cold inside Edie. He hadn’t actually said he wanted her. His eyes glittered and his cheeks were flushed, but that was no comfort. It was triumph. Not desire. She was horrified by how close he’d come to discovering all her deepest secrets and vulnerabilities. Her humiliating inexperience.
Striving to sound as cool and collected as she could, she said, ‘This is highly inappropriate. You’re my boss.’
He sounded totally nonchalant—as if he hadn’t just been setting her on fire and watching her burn. ‘Actually, technically, I’m not. You’re employed by a subsidiary company of Rivas Bank which has been set up to hire employees in England.’
‘I signed a contract to work for you.’
He inclined his head. ‘Not directly, no. You’re actually employed by Azul Incorporated—it’s named after an island I own off the coast of Argentina: Santa Azul.’
He owned an island. Of course he did.
The gulf between her and this man was laughable. Epic.
‘It’s still inappropriate,’ she said stiffly.
‘And you’ve never done anything inappropriate before?’
Edie’s chest tightened. No, she hadn’t—because she’d become ill just around the time that all her peers had been testing the boundaries between themselves and their parents. And, in any case, she knew she would never have been the rebellious type.
Her body felt over-sensitised and jittery. Unfulfilled.
And then she saw something alter in Sebastio’s demeanour, his expression closing off.
He said coolly, ‘Actually you’re right. You should go back to bed, Edie.’
Run along.
He might not have said those words, but that was what he meant. Edie couldn’t believe she’d subjected herself to this again. The arousal in her blood humiliated her. But she rejected the humiliation. Not again.
‘What is it? Do you get off on proving that women want you as a punishment for their transgressions?’
He frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’
Edie wished she’d just left the room when she had the chance. ‘You kissed me because you were angry... You wanted to humiliate me.’
Now his eyes glittered with something far more dangerous. ‘You think I kiss women I feel attracted to just to prove a point?’
Edie’s heart thudded against her breastbone. ‘You mean...?’ She couldn’t say it.
Sebastio’s face was stark. ‘That I want you? I thought that was patently obvious.’
Edie felt light-headed. ‘I thought you were angry with me.’
‘I was...but I still want you. I stopped because if I hadn’t we’d be making love on the desk right now, and I don’t know if you’re ready for that.’
Heat scorched Edie’s face.
Did he know how inexperienced she was? Was it that obvious?
She was way out of her depth here. And she was a hypocrite. She had to acknowledge that it would have been easier for her to hate Sebastio for humiliating her than deal with the fact that he really did want her.
He was right. She wasn’t ready for this.
She stepped back. ‘I’m going back to bed. This won’t happen again.’
She turned around to leave before she could expose herself any more.
But just before she escaped the room she thought she heard Sebastio’s silky voice saying, ‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that...’
Edie took the stairs to her room two at a time and told herself that by tomorrow morning Sebastio would have put what had happened down to a moment of madness brought on by heightened emotions. And there was no way she was going to expose herself by revealing how cataclysmic his kiss had been.
* * *
Sebastio stared into the empty space left behind when Edie had walked out. He could still see the flare of colour on her cheeks and the shocked expression in her eyes.
It had taken all his control to pull back. There’d been something in her response, though. Untutored. Naive. It had cut through the heat haze in his brain.
She wasn’t like the women he normally went for... He grimaced. Or had gone for. Most women, if they sensed his interest, would hurl themselves at him, but she’d held back. And he didn’t think it was game-playing—even though he knew he’d be a fool to underestimate any woman.
Sebastio had never underestimated a woman in his life. He’d learnt not to at the hands of his mother, who had used him as a pawn in the bitter feud with his father for years, until she’d realised that his father had long-ago washed his hands of an only son who refused to bend to his will.
And the first woman he’d slept with had taught him his first indelible lesson in choosing lovers when she’d said, ‘Women will want you because of your wealth and celebrity. The fact that you’re obscenely gorgeous only makes it a sweeter deal for them. Don’t ever forget that. As for romance and love? It doesn’t exist in our world, darling. Only success and survival.’
And nothing Sebastio had since experienced had done much to change his view.
Except for Victor and Maya...
An image of them laughing and dancing at their wedding was vivid, and sharp enough to slice right through Sebastio. He’d destroyed their rare happiness...their lives.
Edie reminded him of Maya. She had the same kind of open and happy demeanour. Not cynical.
A memory flashed back: Maya laughing at him from the back of the car and saying, ‘Victor might think you’re a lost cause, but I don’t. I think there’s hope for everyone—even you, Sebastio. Some day you’ll meet a woman and she won’t fall at your feet in adoration. She’ll melt that cynical ice box you call a heart...’
He’d looked at her in the rearview mirror, catching her sparkling brown eyes, and he’d said, ‘Never going to happen, Maya.’
And that was when the world had exploded into a million pieces. Just as he’d been in the middle of affirming his own cynicism to a woman who had exuded nothing but joy and love and openess. He’d killed her. And her baby.
Sebastio broke out of his reverie and his eyes fell on the computer screen, frozen on the image of his haggard face after the accident. He reached over and turned it off, brutally pushing down more memories threatening to resurface.
He was astounded to feel a slight tremor in his hand. He picked up his glass again and downed the remains of his whisky in one go, relishing the burn down his throat. As if it might eclipse the tangled mix of recrimination and desire in his body. It didn’t.
All the more reason why he shouldn’t pursue Edie.
Sebastio went back into his own study and poured himself another shot of whisky. As he downed it he willed away the potent taste
of Edie in his mouth, and the provocative memory of her slender curves pressed against his body. The way her hands had clutched at him so fiercely. And the way she’d opened for him so sweetly.
He cursed. Because all he could think about now was how she might open other parts of herself to him, and how it might feel to sink into that silky embrace and lose himself for ever.
CHAPTER FOUR
TWO DAYS LATER Edie was feeling edgy. She’d sent Jimmy home and done a quick last-minute check of the grand reception room, where an informal drinks party was taking place that evening.
Sebastio had been in the city for the past two days and nights, but she’d just caught a glimpse of him through the window, emerging from the back of a Jeep. He was dressed in a suit and looking dark and gorgeous against the falling dusk.
And she still couldn’t believe he’d kissed her. It felt like a dream.
Matteo appeared in the doorway and Edie flushed to be caught ogling.
‘Mr Rivas has sent something to your room for you, Edie.’
‘Thank you, Matteo.’
Edie finished her quick check just as the catering staff started to appear for their own preparations.
When she went into her room she saw two boxes sitting on the end of her bed. They were glossy and black. She approached them warily, opening the bigger one first.
It was a dress—satin and teal-green. When she lifted it out of the tissue paper a little sigh of appreciation escaped her mouth. It was a cocktail wrap-dress. Casual, but sexy. It fell to just below the knee and had a peek-a-boo slit in the back panel.
It was so beautiful. It almost slid out of her hands to the floor it was so slinky. Teal was a colour she’d never have had the nerve to wear.
When she looked in the other box she found nude-coloured strappy high-heeled sandals.
And then she noticed the envelope. She pulled out a thick piece of paper and saw the scrawled writing.
I’d like you to accept my invitation to the drinks party this evening, Edie.
SR
Edie looked at the note for a long time, as if his handwriting might give her a clue as to what he was up to.
Was this part of a strategy? Seduce her with beautiful clothes that made her sigh and fulfilled her fantasies before telling her he wanted her again? Or kissing her again?
Edie’s heart-rate picked up just at the thought. If he kissed her she wouldn’t stand a chance. Her brave parting words that it wouldn’t happen again would be proved as nothing more than hot air.
Why are you resisting this? asked a voice.
Because, she answered herself, she’d developed a strong sense of self-preservation since she’d faced life or death, and everything in her told her that Sebastio Rivas would destroy her if she let him get too close.
But it would be worth it, whispered a wicked voice.
Would it, though? Sebastio had no idea how inexperienced she was, and she wasn’t about to expose herself any more than she already had. He was hardened, worldly and unmistakably cynical, and she knew enough about his life now to see why.
A man like him wouldn’t be gentle or considerate. He didn’t really care about Edie. He would take what he wanted and leave her to pick up the pieces.
And yet she couldn’t stop an awful feeling of yearning. To go to the party...pretend for a moment that she was like those people. Feel Sebastio’s eyes on her...imagine she was the kind of woman who could step up to him and match him.
For a heady moment she allowed herself to imagine a scenario in which she boldly went up to Sebastio and told him she wanted him. In which she allowed him to take her innocence.
Why didn’t she take what he was offering? Wouldn’t it help her move on with her life?
No, Edie told herself, pushing away the illicit daydream. She wasn’t ready to bare herself to him and risk his ridicule when he discovered how innocent she was. How truly gauche.
And yet, despite her best intentions, Edie couldn’t put the dress down. She went over to the mirror in the dressing room and held it up in front of her body. The teal made her eyes and hair pop dramatically. She could already imagine how it would feel, sliding over her body, and her skin prickled with anticipation.
She cursed Sebastio. But then how could he know how tempting something like this was for someone like her, who had experienced what she had? He must have given hundreds of dresses to hundreds of women.
A sense of fatality washed over her. She knew she didn’t have the strength to resist.
Without thinking too deeply about her motives, Edie had a shower and afterwards put on her underwear and tried on the dress. It fit her like a second skin, emphasising curves she hadn’t even known she had.
The vee at the front of the dress, where it wrapped around her, dipped down far enough to show more pale skin than Edie had ever shown before.
She pulled the material back to look at the familiar scar just under her right collarbone. It was where the chemo had been administered during her lengthy treatment. It had faded into a fairly innocuous red line, belying the pain and trauma it represented.
Edie quickly pulled the dress over it, not wanting to think about that now.
She noticed that it had got dark outside. She went over to the window and, much like the other evening, saw sleek expensive cars pulling into the courtyard, beautiful people emerging.
Edie’s hand tightened on the curtain. What harm would there be if she went to the party? Sebastio was too sophisticated to take her presence as a tacit sign of acquiescence. No doubt he was just toying with her because it amused him. He might want her, but he wasn’t about to stake a claim on her in front of his peers!
* * *
Sebastio was trying to focus on the conversation he was having with one of Britain’s largest hedge fund managers but couldn’t stop looking at the door to the room where he was hosting the drinks reception.
Would she come?
He’d spent the last two days enduring a series of intense meetings in the city and he’d been uncharacteristically distracted. He couldn’t get that kiss with Edie out of his head. It had only stoked his growing hunger.
On a whim, he’d instructed one of his assistants to buy a dress for Edie for the party. Giving in to a fantasy to see her dressed in silk and satin before he’d even decided to invite her to the party. He was losing it.
He felt a prickle of awareness skate over his skin and looked over at the door for the umpteenth time. She was there. His heart skipped a beat. The candlelight made her dress look like liquid silk where it clung to her body. He could see the faint outline of her nipples under the thin material and it was more provocative than the sheerest dress he’d ever seen on a woman.
Her legs were slender and shapely, her feet delicate in the high heels. She looked fresh and beautiful enough to make his blood roar. She also looked endearingly uncertain, hovering in the doorway. And that sent something else entirely through him—something far more dangerous than desire. Because it was emotion.
‘Who is that?’
The voice of the man beside him barely impinged on Sebastio’s rapidly overheating brain. He said curtly, ‘Excuse me.’
He could already see heads swivelling, hear whispers. One man near the door looked as if he was about to approach Edie because she was looking so hesitant, but Sebastio strode towards her, sending silent signals to that man and others to back off. He hadn’t rugby-tackled anyone in years, but he felt his muscles bunching now, as if in preparation to throw someone aside if they got in his way.
Her hair was a bright shining cap of auburn, and Sebastio realised that in her elegant simplicity she immediately made every other woman in the room look overdone.
He reached her and suddenly felt at an uncharacteristic loss for words.
She gestured to the dress. ‘Thank you, but you shouldn’t have. I’ll pay you back
—or clean it so you can return it.’
He dismissed that with a flick of his hand and said, ‘It’s yours. Please—join us.’
She stepped over the threshold and it felt like a victory for Sebastio. As if he could sense how close she’d been to not coming.
He’d kissed her and told her he wanted her and yet she’d walked away, telling him it wouldn’t happen again. But she was here now. And he still wanted her. It beat through his body like an unstoppable wave of need.
He put a hand to her back, to guide her through the throng, and felt the merest sliver of bare silky skin through the gap in the back of the dress. His brain went white-hot. She tensed under his hand but he propelled her forward, afraid she might still turn tail and run.
He had a vision of sliding his hand all the way in through that tantalising gap and reaching around to cup the pert swell of one—
‘Champagne, sir?’
The interruption by the waiter wasn’t welcome, but it was necessary. Sebastio took his hand off Edie’s back and took two glasses from the tray, handing her one before directing her to a quiet corner.
He tipped his glass to hers. ‘Salud.’
She echoed him, and he watched as she took a sip of the sparkling wine, her nose wrinkling slightly. He’d imagined her like this, against this backdrop, but his imagination had fallen far short of her sheer elegance and classic beauty. Her short hair highlighted her stunning bone structure and the delicate line of her neck and shoulders.
She looked at him and a slight blush was staining her cheeks. She lifted her hand. ‘What...? Have I got something on my face?’
He shook his head, marvelling at her lack of awareness even as a far more cynical part of him suspected she had to be playing a part. He’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her right now. There were faint warning bells in his head, telling him she must be manipulating him, but he ignored them.
‘You’re very beautiful,’ he said.
She blushed in earnest now. If she was acting then she deserved an award. ‘I’m not really...but thank you.’
Edie wanted to squirm under Sebastio’s intense regard. No man had ever looked at her so closely. She was still trying to get her bearings as the very sleek and beautiful guests around her chatted and sipped expensive wine.
