This day has ended on the best note. After visiting my mother’s grave for the first time and telling her how sorry I was that I never got to know her, I met my father and made plans to have dinner with him next week. And now I’m celebrating with the girls as I tap the salted rim of my margarita glass to Mina’s and then Cass’. “To Fridays and happy hour!”
“TGIF,” Mina says, then takes a sip of her drink. “So good. Man, I’ve missed this.”
I smile as I watch her chat with Cass about my roommate’s photography career. I knew these two would hit it off. Before I came tonight, Sebastian told me the conversation he had with Isabel. My heart aches as I look at his sister. She has no idea the sacrifice Sebastian is making for her, but at least she appreciates him dearly for everything she is aware of.
It’s a tough call—deciding not to tell his father over Mina’s happiness.
The truth may eventually be revealed over time if he and his father grow closer, but all I know is, the knowledge that Sebastian is choosing others’ happiness over his own makes me love him that much more.
When my purse buzzes in my lap, I pull out my phone.
“No men tonight,” Cass says, wrinkling her nose like the whole gender is the devil incarnate.
“If it’s my brother, he won’t stop until she at least acknowledges him,” Mina says, snorting.
Cass heaves an exaggerated sigh, waving permission. “Fine. Appease the man who adores you, then cut him off.”
Snickering at the two of them, I read Sebastian’s text.
PainInMyAss: Are you ever going to change my contact info?
Me: It’s perfect just the way it is.
PainInMyAss: While I admit to an endless fascination with that gorgeous ass of yours, something more personal perhaps.
Me: Maybe it should be PantyThief? Found your Talia stash today!
Even though I’m teasing him, I cried when I ran across them in a bureau drawer. He had kept every pair.
PainInMyAss: Those are Talia Trophies; hard earned and worth all that sweat. Of course I kept them.
I grin and while I’m changing his contact info, he sends a text with ideas for his new contact name.
Snorting at his outlandish suggestions, I send him a screen shot with his new name.
Me: Happy?
RainbowMaster: Exceedingly. How long does GNO last?
Me: Until it’s over.
RainbowMaster: Expect to be kidnapped after four hours.
Me: What happened to that infamous control, Mister Black?
RainbowMaster: I met you, Miss Red.
“Wha—what are you doing?” I mumble as Sebastian slides a soft sleep mask over my eyes, then lifts me out of bed. I’m still slightly drunk from the night out with the girls. Is it morning already? It feels like I just fell asleep.
“Shhh, go back to sleep.”
“The mask is a nice touch,” I snicker tiredly.
“You’ll see when we get there.”
“Ooh, where are we going?” I ask, my mind rousing a little at the idea of a trip.
“Don’t you dare wake up, not yet,” he says, his tone crisp. “And if you do, the mask stays on. Got it?”
As the elevator starts to descend, I salute him. “Yes, sir.”
“Smartass.”
I hear the smirk in his comment. “That’s me.” I start to grin but end up yawning, which makes him laugh outright.
I’m shivering by the time he sets me in the leather car seat. I welcome the warm blanket he quickly tucks around me, followed by a seat belt.
“I hope you packed everything. My purse?” I’m itching to take off my mask, but I don’t want to spoil his surprise.
“I’ve got it all covered.” The car dips as he gets in and shuts the door. He presses a kiss to my forehead and orders gruffly, “Go back to sleep, Little Red.”
The heaviness of sleep quickly rolls over me as the car begins to move, which makes me think he really did wake me not long after I fell asleep. Sneaky man.
Sebastian’s hand slides up my thigh bringing me fully awake. I’m lying on my back on something soft, my arms above my head. It feels like a bed. Did he bring me to my apartment? What other places could he just walk into carrying a masked sleeping woman without getting arrested? I start to pull off the mask, but soft bindings tighten around my wrists.
Just as I tug, he pushes my thighs apart and slides his tongue leisurely along my folds all the way up to my clit.
I instantly buck and gasp, surprised that he goes right for my most sensitive area so quickly. “Good morning?” I ask, intrigued.
“That it is,” he rumbles against my body, then moves his mouth to my inner thigh, pressing light kisses along it. “I’ve been thinking about ripples.”
“Ripples?” I arch my back, hoping he’ll kiss my sex just like that again. His mouth feels good, so warm and so very talented.
“Mmm, hmmm,” he says, his thumbs parting my sensitive skin.
I swear I can feel the heated burn of his piercing blue gaze inspecting me, wondering which place to hit next. He rests his hands on my hips and places a tender kiss just above my hairline. My stomach flexes and I feel moisture sliding south, preparing for him to nip and kiss and generally drive me crazy.
“If you hadn’t stumbled into my life that night all those years ago, I wouldn’t have given you that watch and may never have gone to live with my uncle. Having his positive support at such a critical time in my life shaped who I became. That’s one of the many reasons I love you, Talia.”
Before I can respond, he goes straight for my clit with fierce intensity that has me tugging hard on my bindings. I want to say something, but I’m too busy panting and pushing closer to his mouth to say a word.
“Seb—Sebastian, stop. I can’t speak.”
When he lifts his head and kisses my other thigh, I gulp in air. “If you hadn’t given me that watch, I don’t know if I would’ve had the strength to keep looking forward. That night with you at the masked party was so unexpected, but I cherished it so much. I still do.”
“The kind of memory to last a lifetime,” he says, then moves up my body to kiss my breast.
I whimper when he sucks a nipple into his mouth and nips at it. I squirm against my bonds, wanting to touch him, while loving that I don’t know where his mouth will land on me next.
He kisses my throat at the same time that he slides two fingers inside me. When I moan and arch against him, he whispers in my ear, “I held onto that night, Talia. The pureness of it helped me when I thought I’d lose my fucking mind in a mostly colorless world.”
“Then why didn’t you do something when you found me, damn it!” I say, frustrated by his confession.
Withdrawing his hand, he lifts my thigh and my tears soak into the mask as he slowly slides inside me. I love it. I love the way we feel together.
“Every time, Talia,” he rasps. “I just can’t believe how good.”
“Why, Sebastian?”
He lowers the full weight of his body over mine, sliding as deep as he can go. “When I saw proof that you were engaged, I thought you were happy. I was still fucked up, not sure if or when all the color would leave my sight. I didn’t want to screw you up right along with me.”
“I hate that you made that decision for me. I hate—”
Sebastian kisses me, cutting off my anger. I welcome his mouth on mine, the thrust of his tongue showing me how much he loves me. I tug on the bindings and feel them suddenly slacken.
With a sob, I pull my hands free of the bindings and wrap my arms around his broad shoulders, kissing him with pent up frustration, sadness, and happiness. “I love you, Sebastian. I’ve loved you all my life.”
He clasps my face, his mouth barely touching mine. “I know that now, Talia,” he starts to say, then slides the mask off. “That’s why I brought you here.”
I blink until my vision comes back into focus. When I see a familiar set of windows, my gaze flies around the sparsely decorated room. It’s his old bedroom at the Hamptons house. The one Isabel sold. “How…did you do this? Did you rent the house?”
He slowly shakes his head. “It’s mine. Something special happened here and I wasn’t about to let someone else own this place.”
“You really bought it?”
He holds my gaze with a steady one. “I had a third party take care of it for me. Not even Mina knows I own it.”
“She’s going to be so excited!” I laugh happily and squeeze his neck, planting kisses along his jaw.
Sebastian grins and rolls his hips, hitting places that make me arch and moan. “I had a decorator take care of it, but whatever you don’t like we’ll switch out. For now…this weekend, we’re going to christen every room in this monstrosity.”
I lift my legs around his hips and smile. “How about we start with this one? I have a feeling it’ll always be my favorite room in the house.”
Sebastian pulls out, then thrusts deep inside me, and when I slide my fingers in his hair, he lowers his head close to mine, his voice husky with want in my ear. “I think you know now that I made love to you that night, Talia. You were special from the very beginning and you always will be.”
My heart is brimming with love for him. I kiss his throat and tease, “I think I need a repeat performance. You know, just to be sure you were actually making love to me.”
With a dark chuckle, he grips my thighs. Lifting them high along his sides, he begins to rock against me, a sexy smirk tilting his lips. “Are you sure you can rise to the challenge, Miss Red? Who do you think will last longer?”
He’s hitting me just right and making me want to howl. Shivers of delight race along my body; it’s taking everything not to lose it instantly. I rake my nails down his back and revel in the lustful hunger that flashes in his gorgeous eyes. “Who do you think, Mister Black? Life with you is like Kegels on steroids.” I flex my inner muscles as he starts to pull out and smile when he pauses and expels a harsh groan. “I’m a fighter, remember? Give me all you’ve got.”
Sebastian pulls out of me completely, a dangerous smile on his face. “Oh, it’s on, sweetheart.”
Before I can form a comeback, I’m on my stomach with my arms stretched over my head. Clasping my wrists with one hand, Sebastian’s warmth surrounds me, his voice seductive velvet in my ear. “Raise that sweet ass of yours. Now.”
I consider challenging him, but I’m intrigued so I hold my breath and lift my pelvis, waiting as he shoves a folded pillow under my hips.
“Spread your legs, Talia,” he says as his knee nudges mine apart.
I’m already panting as I comply. His deep voice just hits all the right notes for me.
Sebastian whispers all the ways he’s going to make me come as he slides inside me, but it’s the position that brings my body humming to life. Every time he pulls out and then eases back inside, his slow, unhurried motion sliding deep hits right on my g-spot.
The combination of his dirty mouth and his cock strumming my body like his own personal fine-tuned instrument turns my brain to mush. I can’t close my legs. I can’t buck or rock to drive him nuts. I can’t move. I’m completely at his relentless mercy. All I can do is feel the sensory build-up racing inside me in time to my thudding heart.
“I—I can’t take it, Sebastian.”
“Have you had enough?” he rasps, his own voice strained, almost hoarse.
“Yes! Just let me come—” I scream out as he slams deep once more, but then he rolls me over onto my back and is sliding inside me in a powerful rush of primal possession.
Burying his nose in my throat, he shakes, his body tense as he groans deeply, then he hitches his hips at just the right angle and slams into me with one more aggressive thrust. I’m lost in the moment, screaming as my climax consumes me faster than it ever has. Sebastian’s hold on my hair is as tight as his hand on my ass while he rocks into me, and utters a guttural rumble of pleasure through his own orgasm.
As our pounding hearts batter each other’s chest, he lifts his head, a wry smile on his face. “I think we both lost that one, Little Red.”
I grin and pull him close, inhaling his amazing smell. “I’d call that a major win-win.”
The next morning, I tug on Sebastian’s T-shirt and walk downstairs to find him sitting in a soft leather cushion chair in front of the bank of French doors that lead out to the patio and small private beach beyond. I smile at the sunrise just coming up over the horizon, its yellow beams reflecting off the water, and slide my fingers in his hair. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I thought you might be worn out after hitting half the rooms in this place.” Shirtless and wearing a pair of soft black lounge pants, he clasps my hand and flashes a cocky smile, tugging me into his lap. He nods to the folded paper in my hand, and his eyebrows shoot up. “What’s that?”
I exhale a shaky breath and open it for him to read. “It’s a contract. For us. I um, didn’t put an expiration date on it, but I thought maybe—”
“How long have you had this?” he asks, frowning.
I squirm under his direct stare. “It’s been in my purse for a week.”
“And you’re just now showing it to me?”
He’s angry? I lift my shoulders. “I didn’t want to make assumpt—”
Sebastian yanks the paper out of my hand and tosses it behind us. As I watch it land with a soft whisper, sliding across the Tuscan flooring, he slips a ring on my left hand.
“Marry me, Little Red.”
I stare at the gorgeous quarter-inch wide platinum band. Its smooth polished surface is slightly concave with a band of sparkling red stones residing in the channel created by the curved design. “I didn’t know if you believed in marriage,” I say as I touch the stones, my throat tight with emotion.
His brow furrows. “I said that I’m never going to let you go, and I meant it. When I bought this house, I couldn’t let go of an amazing memory, but I really bought it for us, Talia. I don’t claim I’ll be easy to live with…And fair warning, I’m going to be a pain-in-the-ass about some Tribune work assignments—you’ll take backup on riskier cases so I don’t lose my mind with worry—but I want you to share your life with me.”
I open my mouth to speak, but glance back down at the ring when the band of red stones moves under my finger. Sebastian gives a wry smile and lifts my hand to turn the sparkling band all the way around inside the channel. “These are red diamonds. The rarest, just like you.” His gaze meets mine. “I’ll always be dominant, Talia. I won’t apologize for that, but I wanted you to know that marriage to me means together, but independent.”
I glance down at the ring, moved by such deep sentiment. “So that’s why the red band moves?”
He slowly nods. “I’ll protect you, but I’ll never smother you.”
I inhale a deep breath and blink rapidly so I don’t start sobbing. He just makes me melt. Touching his jaw, I smile. “I love that you chose red diamonds instead of traditional ones. But if they are the rarest, maybe I should wear a replica and put this one in a vault—”
“No, you’ll only wear the real deal. You’re worth every penny, Talia. Every last one.”
Humbled, I grasp his left hand and trace his ring finger. “Will your ring have black diamonds?” When he starts to scowl, I raise an eyebrow. “Real men aren’t afraid of diamonds, Sebastian.”
He grunts. “How about black platinum?”
I sigh and shake my head. “You’re such a man. Fine, but I get to pick the design.” Lifting my hand, I take off the ring and hold it out to him.
“What are you doing?” he says, scowling.
“Giving it back until the wedding.”
Sebastian takes the ring and slides it back on my finger. “Hell no, I’m not waiting for that. This means you’re mine. I want every man around you to know it, every last one. When we finally get married, it’ll just be a formality as far as I’m concerned.”
I hold up the ring, loving the way the early morning light catches on the diamonds. “Well, there is the whole legal aspect if you want me to take your last name.”
“Hmm, good point. We’ll have to set a date very soon.” He rubs his overnight beard, contemplating. “Tomorrow works for me.”
My jaw literally drops. “We can’t do that.”
“We can do whatever we want. That’s the great thing about being adults.”
“But our friends and families…”
He clasps my face, bright blue eyes peering deeply into mine. “This is about starting our family, Talia. They don’t get a say-so in that.”
I smile at the spot of brown in his left eye. When he’s intense like this, it really stands out against the blue. I adore that bit of imperfection about him so much. “Our family. I love the sound of that.”
“Good, because with me is where you’ll always belong,” he says, kissing my forehead. Settling me against his chest, he wraps his arms around me. “Now let’s watch the sunrise and don’t skimp on any colors. I want the full, 120 box of crayons version.”