Delaney
My breakfast date with Chelsea and Brook had helped my mood some, but not much. I’d been in a funk since my night of fantastic sex with scumbag Sebastian. I’d had many naughty dreams inspired by that night. Apparently, my subconscious didn’t realize Sebastian was a lying bastard to be avoided at all costs.
It wasn’t just my slutty subconscious that made this hard for me. I’d really liked Sebastian, and he’d seemed like a nice guy. I kept coming back to that one thought. After a few days, I began to wonder if maybe I’d misinterpreted his conversation. I’d have moments where I was tempted to call him to ask for an explanation. Those were the moments when I gave myself a much needed mental bitch slap. I’d follow that up with a stern lecture to my subconscious nympho, reminding her we could live without Sebastian’s big dick. We could live without erotic spankings and pancakes. There had to be a support group for this sort of thing.
Since I’d blocked his number, I had no way of knowing if Sebastian had even tried to call me. It was always possible he’d gotten what he wanted and decided it wasn’t worth it to try for more. Brook and Chelsea were already trying to convince me I should start dating other guys. They’d even suggested helping me set up a profile on a dating site. They were right about not all guys being bad, but I was beginning to wonder if I was a magnet for cheaters.
Ever since I’d woken up that day, I’d been unable to get thoughts of Sebastian out of my mind, and it was making it impossible to write. Chelsea had called me asking if I wanted to go shopping for a new stroller with her and Haley, but I’d decided to head over to Lake Chabot for a quick run instead. So far, I’d just been strolling around at a leisurely pace as my mind wandered. I was surprised and annoyed when I heard a familiar voice call my name.
“Delaney!”
“Fuck me,” I muttered, starting to jog as if I hadn’t heard him. The scumbag didn’t seem to get the hint and began to jog beside me.
“How have you been?” he asked with a grin as if nothing was wrong.
“Great,” I replied with a tight smile.
“Aren’t you going to ask how I’ve been?” he asked, which is when I caught the edge of anger in his voice.
“How are you, Sebastian?” I asked testily as I slowed down to a walk. Clearly, he wasn’t going to leave me alone, and I didn’t want to sound too out of breath.
“I’m pissed,” he replied. “I had a great date with a beautiful woman last weekend, and she blocked my number rather than talking to me about why she didn’t want to see me again. In short, she acted like a child.”
I’d tried really hard to just let things go, but this was too much. How dare he try to make me feel guilty when he was the dirty cheater? I stopped, placed my hands on my hips, and glared at him. “What would your girlfriend have thought of that? Do you think she feels I should listen to your excuses?”
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” he insisted.
“You are such a liar,” I accused. “I heard you on the phone at my house. What would Tori think of you screwing other women? You do remember Tori, right? The woman you love? That sounds like a girlfriend to me. Or is she your wife? Did you lie when you told me you aren’t married?”
“Tori is my sister,” he ground out. “Had you talked to me instead of shutting me out, you’d know this.”
I snorted, but said nothing.
“This isn’t a good place to talk,” Sebastian remarked as he looked around the crowded park.
“I’m not sure there’s anything to talk about,” I said with a haughty flip of my pony tail.
Something in Sebastian’s smile warned me I was pushing him too far, but I didn’t seem capable of stopping. “Why don’t you just go back to your girlfriend?”
My phone had buzzed earlier in my walk, and I finally decided to use it as an excuse to end my conversation with Sebastian. Maybe if I ignored him, he’d get the hint and leave. Looking down I saw a text string from Chelsea and six missed calls. I decided I had to be rubbing off on her.
CHELS: OMG! Pick up your damn phone!
CHELS: Luke says Tori is Sebastian’s sister. He was talking to his sister and then his four-year-old niece.
CHELS: He’s on his way to find you.
CHELS: Sebastian seemed really pissed.
CHELS: Please tell me you got my message before you called Sebastian a liar or worse.
I decided to reply to Chelsea before admitting how wrong I’d been to Sebastian.
ME: I didn’t get the message before I called him a liar.
Looking over at Sebastian, his lips were pressed into a firm line. “Was that Chelsea?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. It really did sound like you were talking to a girlfriend.”
“I’m sure it did,” he replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“You’re mad,” I remarked.
“Among other things,” he admitted. His eyes dipped to my mouth before quickly meeting mine again. There was definitely anger in his smoky stare, but there was also a lot of heat. I’d written about a man turning a woman on with just a look, but before meeting Sebastian, I’d never experienced the phenomenon. I had to fight the urge to squirm.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
Sebastian didn’t reply; he simply prowled toward me. I immediately took a step back, not sure why my fight-or-flight reaction had been triggered. I wasn’t really afraid of Sebastian. Turned on but not afraid.
“I wouldn’t recommend running, Delaney,” he warned quietly.
“I’m not running,” I insisted.
“You were thinking about it,” he argued when he was standing directly in front of me. “I think we should move this somewhere I don’t have to worry about you running from me.”
Before I could say a word, Sebastian bent forward and tossed me over his shoulder. I let out a little screech and smacked his back.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“Taking you home,” he replied. “If you like, you can pretend you’re being abducted by a pirate king.”
“Sebastian!” I screeched. “You can’t just carry me out of a park.”
“Actually, I can,” he insisted. “What’s it going to be? Pirate king? Billionaire taking you to his exclusive sex club?”
My mouth hung open. Never in a million years would I have guessed my day would take such an unexpected turn.