Chapter 14
Sebastian called Sandra. “Have you heard from Mia?” he asked her abruptly as soon as she answered the phone.
“Good morning
to you too—”
“I don’t have time for this,
Sandra!” he snapped at her. “I'm trying to get a hold of
her and she isn't answering her phone. She's half an hour late and
that isn't like her.”
Sandra paused as she realized that he was worried. “She said something about picking up your dry cleaning before coming to the office.”
“And I told her that she should stop doing that!” he said impatiently. It was the morning after the function and he'd left her apartment early because he had a breakfast meeting. He'd gone back to the manor to shower and change and called his driver to pick him up because he had to be out of office most of the day and didn't have time to be driving all over the place. He'd come back from breakfast to see her office empty and had felt a jump in his pulse. He was so used to seeing her when he came in that it had become a source of comfort for him. “Thanks, I'm going to keep trying her.”
He tried her again and got her voicemail. “I'm going to have to send the cavalry out for you, Mia.” His voice was light but he was worried. “Please call and let me know you're okay.”
He frowned as he hung up the phone. If she wasn't back in another twenty minutes he was going to look for her.
*****
Meanwhile a few blocks away from the office building Mia was slowly waking up to the sounds of people talking. She shook her head slightly to clear it and felt pain in the back of her neck. Memories flooded her as she realized that someone had slammed into the back of her vehicle. She moaned softly as she opened the door and got out.
“Miss, are you okay?” A middle-aged man asked her as she stepped out. “Should we call an ambulance?”
“No. I'm fine.” She walked around to look at the damage to her car and stifled a groan. The bumper was crushed and her taillights smashed. The car responsible for the accident was parked behind hers. An agitated woman came forward, a slight cut on her forehead and her blonde hair streaming wildly about her face. “I'm so sorry!” she said hoarsely as she looked at the damage. “I took my eyes off the road for a second to check on my son in the back and I ran into you. Are you okay?”
“I think so,” she nodded. “What about your son?”
“He's fine,”
she said shakily. She extended a slim hand. “My name is Giselle
Stevens.”
“Mia Gooden,” she said automatically.
“I don’t think we have to involve the cops and I work
right up in that building.” She pointed to the towering glass
building that was visible from where they were standing. The crowd
had dispersed and left only them. “We could exchange
information for insurance purposes.”
“Thank you,”
Giselle said gratefully as she handed her a card. Mia skimmed it
briefly. “You're a doctor.”
“An intern and a single mother, which explains my lack of co-ordination,” she said with a slight smile. “My son is only two years old and my husband died four months ago. I'm still trying to cope.”
“That’s pretty rough,” Mia said sympathetically.
“Are you sure you're okay?” The woman’s light blue eyes sized her up. “You could have a concussion and you're pregnant.”
“How did you—” Mia shook her head. “You're a doctor so of course you would notice. I'm fine, really. If I feel anything I'll go to the hospital.” She glanced at her watch and saw to her shock that it was almost nine-thirty. Sebastian was going to freak out! “I'll be in touch.”
*****
“Where the hell were you?” Sebastian burst out as soon as she entered the outer office. He'd just been about to put his jacket on and go looking for her.
“Good morning to you too,” she said dryly as she walked past him to go and put away the clothes she'd picked up from the dry cleaners.
“Where were you?” he demanded as he came in behind her.
“I was involved in a small car accident—”
She broke off as he
grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. That was when he noticed
the bump on her forehead. “Jesus Mia!” his eyes scoured
her face. “I'm calling a doctor—”
“I'm
fine. Stop fussing.” She pulled away from him and as he was
reaching for his phone he saw when she swayed. He got to her just in
time for her to crumple into his arms.
*****
He overreacted. He couldn't help it as the woman he loved crumpled into his arms and wasn't moving! Mia was strong and he'd never seen her shown any signs of weaknesses as long as he'd known her. But now she'd fainted and there was a bruise on her forehead and she'd been in an accident! He started to move her but resisted the urge at the last minute. He reached for his phone and dialed 911 and then called his sister. “Get in here!” he told her tersely before hanging up.
“Sebastian why have you—” She topped as she saw Mia lying inert in his arms. “Oh my God! What happened?”
“The ambulance
is on its way.” He tried to slap her gently on the cheek to
wake her up but it didn't work and he tried not to panic. “She
was in an accident. That’s all I got from her before she passed
out.” He bent his head to hers and placed his forehead on hers
before lifting his head. “I'm afraid to move her.”
“You
shouldn’t.” Sandra came over and bent towards him.
Suddenly there was movement at the open door and the EMTs rushed in. He apprised them of her condition and stepped back to give them room.
“She has a bump on the back of her head, probably what caused the concussion. We're going to take her to the hospital,” The EMT told him.
“I'm riding with her,” Sebastian said grimly as he waited for them to put her on the gurney.
“Please call me,” Sandra called out to him as they left. By this time the entire office was aware of the situation and tried not to stare as their boss left with his assistant, his hand gripping hers tightly.
*****
She woke up as soon as the ambulance started to move. Sebastian, who was sitting next to her, almost sagged in relief. “Mia.” His voice was husky as he took her hand in his and closed his eyes.
“What happened?” she whispered with a slight frown.
“You fainted,” he supplied.
“You lost consciousness, Ms. Gooden,” the EMT told her with a little smile as she adjusted the tubes. “Mr. Bell told us that you were pregnant so we just want to run you to the hospital for them to do a full work-up and make sure you and the baby are okay.”
“I feel fine.” She struggled to get up but had to lie back down.
“Please stay still,” she was advised.
“I saw the car.” Sebastian’s hand tightened on hers. “What happened?”
She told him.
He put his head on
their clasped hands and breathed through his teeth. “You scared
me.” He told her raggedly. “You crumpled in my arms and I
thought—”
“I'm sorry.”
“You should be,” he said shakily as he kissed her knuckles. “I lost years of my life.”
“Then you can
just imagine what I lost when you were in that coma,” she told
him quietly. He stared at her for a moment and realized that he
hadn't thought of that. He nodded and kissed her knuckles again.
“I
guess we're in no way even.”
“Not by a long shot.”
*****
“Will you stop pacing?” Sandra said impatiently as he walked from one end of the large sumptuous living room to the other end with a drink in his hand. They'd kept Mia at the hospital for several hours, checking her and making sure that she as well as the baby were okay. They'd released her in the late afternoon. He'd cancelled his appointments for the day because he'd refused to leave her. And he'd brought her back to the manor and put her in bed even though it was only six.
Sandra had come home a few minutes ago and had instructed the chef to delay dinner for a few minutes. “She's going to be fine, they both are.”
“I know.” He downed the drink and went to pour some more. “Instruct one of the maids to bring something up for both of us. I'm eating in the bedroom with her.”
“I will.” She stared at him for a moment. “What’s bothering you?”
“I want to
marry her.” He said abruptly as he leaned against the mantle
and stared into his liquor. “Now. I want to put my ring on her
finger and marry her now.”
“So what’s stopping
you?” Sandra asked with a delighted smile.
“She thinks
I'm not ready.” He finished the drink. “Maybe I'm not.”
“Because of Dad,” she said quietly. She was older than he was but he'd felt it the hardest because he'd had to be the man of the house and that had taken a lot out of him. “You're not him, Sebastian.”
“How do you know?” he asked her roughly. “He was in love with Mother, she told us that, remember? She said that they'd had a love that she thought was going to last. Until he left her for another woman and left us as well. Why did he do that?”
“He was,”
she said reflectively, causing him to look at her. “They used
to do things together. I remember creeping into their rooms when I
had a bad dream and he would be holding her in his arms while they
watched television and when they were sitting at the table they would
always smile at each other.”
“So what went wrong?”
he asked tersely.
“I never heard them argue,” she said thoughtfully.
“What?”
“Think about
it, Sebastian. We never heard them argue, ever.”
“They
were in love—”
“That doesn't matter. You and Mia
argue a lot.”
He thought about it and smiled grimly. “That’s
because she's so damned stubborn.”
“Your relationship isn't perfect. She doesn't allow you to get away with anything and is honest with you no matter what.”
“That’s true,” he said slowly. “Although it's damned inconvenient sometimes.”
“Those women
you used to go out with agreed with everything you said even if it
meant going against what they believed.”
“What’s
your point?”
“Mother agreed with Dad every single time, no matter what. You look like him so you can imagine what that meant. She was always trying to please him because she looked like me.”
“Sandra—”
“I'm
not saying that to put myself down, darling. I knew from the start
that you had the looks and the brains and I was a far second. And I
learned to live with it,” she told him gently. “The point
I'm making is that Dad used his looks and charms against her and it
cost her everything. She thought she was lucky that a man like that
could be with her and he used that against her. Mia will never let
you get away with something like that, and besides, she's no doormat.
Or wanting in the looks department. She can pretty much get any man
she wants.”
“But I want only one.” The voice came from the doorway and brother and sister turned towards her.
He put down his glass and walked towards her swiftly. “You're not supposed to be out of bed,” he said gruffly as he scooped her into his arms.
“I was hungry
and I wondered where you were.” She looked over his shoulder at
Sandra. “If you'll excuse us?”
“Of course,”
Sandra said with a smile in her voice. “I'll send something up
right away.”
*****
“I don’t need more time,” he told her quietly as he handed her a napkin to wipe her mouth. She'd pretty much eaten everything on her plate and some of the meal on his. She'd spent the time calling Uncle Beres to let him know that she was okay and promised to go and see him soon.
“And bring that young man of yours. I think it's time we met,” he had told her.
“What?” she asked him as she leaned back against the pillows and he moved the tray away.
“You said I need time to decide whether or not I want to marry you. I don’t need time.” He was still in the clothes he'd wore that morning and she'd seen how anxious he was at the hospital while they'd waited. When they'd reached the manor he'd taken off her clothes himself and slipped the nightgown over her head and made sure the pillows were fluffed before she rested her head on them.
“Sebastian—”
He
stopped her by placing a finger on her lips. “I know that I
want to spend the rest of my life with you and my kid. Marry me,
Mia.”
“I was about to
say before you shushed me that I don’t need time either,”
she said with a gentle smile. “I want to spend the rest of my
life with you as well. And I have no fear that you're going to leave
me for another woman. You know why?”
“Why?” he
asked with a smile.
“Because I'm not your mother. I'm a super strong black woman who has been in love with you for years and is not above committing murder,” she told him offhandedly.
His eyebrows lifted at that and a smile curved his lips. “Murder?”
“Hmm.” She ran her fingers up the arm next to her body and sighed at the play of muscles there. “First degree, pre-meditated murder, darling. She told him smoothly. “Not only you but the woman caught in the triangle. I will eliminate the competition as well as you.”
He stared at her for
a moment and then said seriously, “That would leave our kid to
be raised by my sister,” he murmured. “She's never been a
mother.”
“She might do a very good job, you never
know,” she said, biting back a laugh.
“But we don’t want to find out like that, right?” His grey eyes twinkled as he looked down at her.
“Not that
way.”
“Murder, huh?”
“Hmm.” She
nodded.
“What are we
talking about? Touching or just looking?”
She considered for
a moment. “Looking is something I have to think about. Maybe
denying you sex for a week or two, but touching is definitely
punishable by death.”
“So I can't
look then because I would be denied sex and you know how I hate to be
denied making love to you. You know how I like to sink my dick so
deep inside you that I touch the core of you. You know how I like to
suck on those nipples until they're almost raw and how much I love
plunging my tongue inside your mouth. Screwing you and watching your
face as you come all over my dick is something that I would not want
to be denied of.”
Mia felt her breath catch inside her
throat as she looked at him. His face had gone intense and there was
the familiar light glittering in his grey eyes as he stared down at
her. “What are you doing?” she whispered hoarsely.
“Just making
sure I understand the rules.” He took out his aching penis,
holding it between his fingers. Mia stared at the reddened tip of it,
fascinated, before looking at him.
“We can’t,”
she moaned.
“I know I'm
supposed to make sure you rest and I'm going to do exactly that.”
He knelt on the bed and took off his clothes, throwing them onto the
carpeted floor. “Just lay there while I do the work,” his
breath was harsh as he stared down at her. He came between her legs
and eased into her slowly, his teeth gritted. “Just slow and
easy,” he proved it by moving into her slowly, pulling out when
she would have increased the pace. “Let me do the work.”
“I
can’t,” she moaned as she opened her legs wider.
“You can baby,” he whispered as he held her hips and guided the movements.