I freeze, unsure what to do in the black, windowless room. When I hear Kayla call out, “What should we do, Mr. Black?” And his clipped reply, “Stay calm,” my mind instantly pictures her clinging to his arm and pressing her overabundant breasts against him.
I jump when Sebastian’s hand suddenly grips mine. His gruff “I’ve got you” whispered in my ear is all I need to let him lead me away. He tugs me along, his stride assured, like he knows exactly where he’s going in the darkness. As we head in the opposite direction of the podium, people are shuffling around, and a couple of curses rise above the din of anxious voices. Probably hitting their shins on the chairs. When the floor behind us vibrates, Sebastian tenses and quickly yanks me in front of him. Shadowing my back, he pushes me forward a few more feet, then leans around my shoulder to open a door to an equally dark hall.
“Why are we out here?” I ask as he quietly shuts the door behind us.
Sebastian texts a message to someone, then sets his phone on a nearby chair to light the darkened seating area. Leaning his shoulder against the door, he shrugs. “Until I know the power failure wasn’t engineered, you’re safer here.”
“You think someone did that on purpose?” The thought didn’t even occur to me.
“I’m not discounting the possibility.”
Silence descends between us, but when I hear Kayla’s voice inside, calling out in a loud-whisper, “Miss Lone? Mr. Black? Are you over here?” I can’t help but smirk a little. “You know, you really should put her out of her misery before the girl gets too wound up over you.”
He frowns. “Pardon?”
I wave toward the door. “That no fraternization addendum you signed. Poor Kayla’s going to be devastated she can’t have a piece of Mr. Black.”
The door makes a clicking sound as if someone’s about to come through it. Sebastian stiffens, then points to a door diagonally across the lobby area, saying in a low tone, “Go in there.”
“Really?”
When he scowls, I sigh and quickly walk across the area toward the door. Just as I open it, Sebastian’s right behind me, ushering me inside.
“Why are we in a supply closet?” I whisper as men’s voices rumble in the hallway discussing the possibility that the ice outside caused the power to fail.
Sebastian sets his lit up phone on the shelf next to a stack of tablecloths. “Once my guy confirms with the hotel staff that the storm did cause the power outage, we’ll head back to the ballroom. I want you away from people for now. The darkness makes you an easy target otherwise.”
When I nod my understanding, his tense shoulders relax and he rubs his jaw, giving me a contemplative look. “As for the addendum, it only applies to Natalia. Everyone else is open season.”
Natalia. Now he’s talking about me in formal third person. Annoyed, I fold my arms and snort. “How convenient for you, but I think it might be a good idea for you to keep Kayla’s wandering hands out of your pants while you’re working this week.”
An arrogant smile tilts his lips. “I’m an excellent multi-tasker. If you’d like references to put your mind at ease, I’ll be happy to provide them.”
Is he really suggesting he’ll give me a list of his conquests while on the job? “Well then, have at it,” I snap and brush past him, but just as I reach for the door handle, he clasps my other hand. “Would you like me to break the rules, Little Red?”
He’s close enough that his appealing smell wraps around me. I’m immobilized by his fingers intimately sliding between mine, lacing our hands together, but when his thumb slowly runs from the heel of my hand to the middle of my palm and then back up again, I close my eyes and swallow as he stokes the flames, building my desire through the sensitive spots along my skin.
Bending close, his deep voice is a rasp of pure carnal temptation next to my ear. “Do you want me to fraternize you senseless?”
Yes! No. Argh! Don’t give me a choice, Sebastian. I’m happiest when you take control and you damn well know it. I’m afraid to say the words, terrified to go down that path with him again. My feelings are too deeply rooted in wishes of forever with him. I don’t know if I’ll be able to pick myself up when he decides to move on.
Stepping fully against me, Sebastian presses his impressive erection along my rear, his voice a husky rasp. “As you can see, my pants are rather full at the moment. Not much room for anyone else.”
When I exhale a quiet gasp of relief, he releases my hand and grips my waist, his warm breath brushing my neck. “I’ve read Blindside, and the readers’ imaginations can’t possibly fathom the depth of the explosive chemistry between us.” His mouth traces up my neck and along my cheek, his low tone vibrating against my skin in an intimate caress. “You and I both know that real life is far more pleasurably satisfying than fiction will ever be.”
“Real life moments are fleeting. Fiction lasts forever,” I breathe out, trying to sound unaffected.
“And yet there were moments between us that felt like time was suspended,” he counters as he slides his hands to my hips, his possessive grip almost bruising. Tilting my pelvis so my back arches slightly, he wedges the length of his erection between my cheeks, his words guttural with want. “You have no idea how many times I’ve thought of your sweet ass turned up just like this.” He presses deeper so I feel his hard thickness from tip to base along my ass. “Your body’s perfectly aligned to mine, fucking made for me. It’s doing my head in just thinking about your sweet pussy dripping down my cock, begging me to take you like this.” He touches his lips to my hair, his voice hoarse with need while his hands glide to my thighs, my skirt hiking in his tense grip. “Tell me you want this as much as I do.”
My heart thumps and my breasts are so sensitive even my bra is chaffing them. I am a lump of clay, waiting to be molded by his skillful hands. When he touches me, I form to him perfectly. He makes me feel like priceless art: beautiful, coveted, and cherished. Like I’m the only woman for him, even though I know that isn’t true.
God, what happened to keeping my distance?
I try to maintain even breathing, but I’ve never throbbed so much in my life. As my chest rises and falls, my body trembles inside with the need for him to claim me all over again. But this time, I need him to want to keep me for good.
I put my hands over his on my thighs. “Sebastian—”
He spreads his fingers, locking them around mine, holding me in place, his tone on edge. “Anything other than yes is a lie.”
Sebastian’s phone starts ringing at the same time the florescent lights bloom to life in the closet.
“Unfuckingbelievable,” he grates out, dropping his head to my shoulder.
I let out a half-laugh, relieved by the reprieve. I’m honestly not sure who my biggest weakness is: Sebastian or myself. If he had pushed me, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to resist him. But I need to be strong. I laid it on the line for him earlier and he didn’t step-up beyond suggesting we hook up. Nothing has changed.
As soon as he picks up his phone, I open the door and slip out of the room to wait for him in the hall where everyone’s attention is focused on the people spilling from the ballroom.
Thankfully I don’t have to try and salvage the Q&A. Kayla’s already on top of it. Standing at the ballroom door, she’s speaking to all the reporters who’ve filled the hall. “We’re sorry the Q&A session was interrupted by the ice storm. Midtown Central thanks you all for coming, but Miss Lone has a signing to attend shortly, so that’ll be all the questions for today. There will be one more Q&A at the end of the tour. If you’d like to sign up to attend that one for any questions you didn’t get to ask, you can do that at the hotel’s front desk before you leave.”
I have to admit, the girl can run an event. Jared was right to assign me an assistant. If she’d just stop openly flirting with Sebastian, I could really appreciate her.
As the older reporter, Jim from Midtown News, passes me in the hall on his way out, he stops and eyes Sebastian, who’s watching me with one eye while he’s talking on the phone. “Is he your bodyguard?”
“Yes, why?”
“Keep him close.”
I furrow my brow, confused by his comment. “Why do you say that? It was just a power outage.”
He nods toward the ballroom. “Unless you pulled the podium down yourself, how did it end up on its side exactly where you were standing?” When my eyebrows elevate, he pats my shoulder and nods. “Watch your back, Miss Lone. You may have the makings for another novel yet.”