Bound by Vengeance (2 page)

“This isn’t about me being possessive. Last night, Josh and I confronted To
dd. As careful as we’ve been, he still managed to infiltrate the security team. It was one man, but you need to understand that anyone can be bought. Getting friendly with them not only lowers their guard, but yours as well. You can’t trust anyone, baby. As innocent as you are in all of this, the easiest way to get to me is through the people I love, and you top that short list. I’m sure Josh is having this same conversation with Monique. The son-of-a-bitch had pictures of you both taken from within the security parameters. You can’t let your guard down, Taylor.”

She paled. Todd, the man whose face he’d carved up like the Joker’s on Christmas Eve. Her bottom lip trembled and her gaze darted nervously to the window, tracking their security team.

“If this guy took pictures, he was close enough he could’ve…”

Sebastian leaned across the table and cupped her cheek. “Shh, baby. You’re safe now. I’ve dealt with it, and we’ve made some changes to tighten things up. You have to trust me. I will always protect you.
I will always do what needs done.”

Taylor nodded against his palm, holding his gaze. “I know, Sebastian. Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

“You don’t need to thank me for that. I love you. I will always take care of you.”

Tears threatened as she
swallowed against the lump in her throat. He would. She knew that, and that was exactly why she didn’t feel as innocent as he claimed. The entire situation was her fault. Sebastian had flipped his lid when Todd had touched her. The conversation and the events that followed still haunted her. There had been so much screaming…so much blood. The sight of Todd’s face afterwards was one she would never forget, no matter how hard she tried. It was no wonder the guy was angry.
Had been
, her mind corrected. He wasn’t anything anymore. She shivered.

“What’s wrong?” Sebastian murmured. Leaning down, he studied her face, his eyes probing hers. “Talk to me.”

Her entire body shuddered with the shaky breath she drew. “It’s just…I…this is all my fault.”

His head cocked sli
ghtly to the side. Confusion and concern warred for control on his brow. “What’s your fault, Taylor?”

“If he hadn’t touched me…” She trailed off with a mute shake of her head.

“Is that what you think?”

He stood at her miserable nod. Rounding the table, Se
bastian cupped her face and tilted it up to his.

“No, baby,” he whispered. “Todd knew better. He’s the one who kept pushing. He disrespected me, in my home, in front of my team. That alone should have sealed his fate, but I was feeling generous. He’s the
one who chose not to fall back into line. None of this was your fault, baby. It was mine. I ignored my instincts. I showed mercy and let him live, and this is what it got me.”

“That’s
my fault, too,” she whispered. “You stopped that night because of me. That’s what you told me.”

He sighed. Sebastian’s fingers tightened around her chin. His face hardened, and he gave a firm shake of his head. “Taylor, listen to me. I want you to stop. Do
n’t borrow trouble. If you need to take the blame for something around here, you will.”

She leaned back and offered a wistful smile. It was the best she could manage. The last few days had been so hard, so long. She was worn-out and reeling, but as tired a
s she was, she knew it had to be nothing compared to the exhaustion and strain Sebastian was feeling. He worked so hard and already carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. The last thing she wanted to do was add to that burden.

“I’m sorry,” she m
urmured. “I just love you so much. I hate feeling like I might have done something to add to your stress.”

“You didn’t, darling,” Sebastian assured her. “When are you going to believe that you are the only thing that makes me happy?”

This time, her smile was genuine. Stepping closer, he situated himself between her thighs. His strong hands gripped the sides of her legs and tugged her closer to the edge of the stool. A quiet rumble rose from his chest as he rolled his hips against hers. He lifted her with ease, and she wound her legs around his waist. Taylor whimpered as he fisted her hair, drawing her head back while he left a searing trail of kisses up the side of her neck. Her lips parted in a moan as he nipped the sensitive spot behind her ear. She rocked against the straining ridge of his zipper, loving the firmness and friction. Sebastian groaned against her throat, his grip on her sable locks tightening. Taylor fought to catch her breath and haul in her raging libido.

“What about your breakfast?” she a
sked, threading her fingers through his curls.

“Right now, the only thing I want is you.”

The husky need in his voice was sexy as hell. Grinding against the thick bulge of his erection, she tensed and tamped down a shudder as a pure jolt of pleasure threatened to send her over the edge. Sebastian’s low groan vibrated through her, and Taylor bit her lip with a keening whine.

“Try and hold it, baby,” he breathed against her ear. “Wait for me.”

Knowing her hold was tenuous at best, he carried her into the recessed hallway between the half bath and the door to the laundry room. Taylor trembled with the strain as her body threatened to betray her. Setting her on her feet, Sebastian jerked her leggings and the lacy, red scrap of her panties down in a fluid yank. He undid the button on his jeans, one hand tugging his low-slung briefs down as the other reached for her. Within seconds, he’d lifted her up and impaled her. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders, nails biting into his skin, at the delicious feel of his body stretching and filling her full. He eased back with a moan and drove deep.

The room spun. Her bliss bordered on delirium. He ground deeper, his hips gyrating ever so slightly in a sensual roll. All sense of control gave way, and she bit back a scream a
s her body shattered with release. Sebastian stiffened, his breath coming in sharp pants as he stilled and reveled in her climax. A fathomless growl tore from his lips as he lost the fight. The fingers on one hand gripped her thigh with bruising force while his other locked in her hair. Still riding the tumultuous waves of ecstasy, Taylor’s cries grew louder as he pounded into her with wild abandon. Slamming into her a final time, Sebastian tensed and the house thundered with his bellow.

She squirmed, writh
ing on his thick shaft as he emptied himself inside her. The movements drew winded gasps from him, and the passionate hold on her hair grew to one of warning. Her eyes locked with his as Sebastian gave a slow shake of his head.

“Don’t move,” he panted in a
breathless whisper.

After a few seconds, he gently eased her down. Taylor’s cheeks burned with embarrassment as his laughter followed her awkward scramble to the bathroom. The end of his tee shirt snapped playfully across the back of her thighs and she pa
used, peering over her shoulder at him in question.

“You’re making a mess,” he explained, the corners of his eyes crinkling with his smile.

The press of cool travertine stone beneath his feet soothed his overheated body. Making his way back into the kitch
en, Sebastian grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. He downed half of it and caught his breath before polishing off the rest. His temperature ebbed as both mind and body gradually came back down from their euphoric high. A brief smile flickered across his face with the thought. He never did drugs—never even experimented with them as a kid. His instincts warned he’d hate the lack of control, no matter how fleeting. But Taylor, she was a different story. She offered the most incredible thrill. He couldn’t get enough. Even now, with his body still tingling, his mind wandered to their next encounter. He wondered where it would be, what they would do…

Sighing, he pitched the empty bottle into the trash. The woman had him in knots.

He needed to stay busy. With that in mind, he moved to clear the table in the morning room. As delicious as breakfast had been, his appetite was lacking. Seeing those surveillance pictures of Taylor and his sister had hit him like a gut shot. It wasn’t what could have been that haunted him, though Todd had suffered long and hard for those notions as well. It was what could still be. The bastard’s brother was still out there. Still on the loose, and still doing God knew what. Steven Laychee was not a stupid man—reckless, perhaps, but not dumb. Not even average. He was a former member of the Special Forces, with solid ties to several paramilitary groups. The guy was a loose cannon, and the weapons they’d been stashing in the warehouse indicated he was about to blow…but where?

Ra
king a hand through his hair, Sebastian shifted his attention outside. His eyes narrowed as he tracked the security team patrolling the grounds. The muscles in his jaw tightened with rigid fury. The infiltrating son-of-a-bitch had been tied to Laychee. It had been his idea, his call. Todd swore no one else had seen any of the pictures. He and his brother were supposed to do an exchange this afternoon. Another brutal round of torture and a heavy dose of sodium pentothal had assured them he spoke the truth, but the dark shadows of doubt remained. Steven might have requested some of his own, just as an extra precaution. He would have. When staking out a target, one could never be too thorough.

Sebastian sloughed a hand over his face and squeezed his mouth in th
ought. Pictures or not, Laychee knew his vulnerable points—as few as they were. Taylor, Monique, Mia…

He shook his head, trying to dispel the rise of panic. Josh would protect his sister, and it wasn’t just loyalty motivating his partner. Loyalties could b
reak at any time. Love was different, and though Josh had never come out and said it to his face, Sebastian had no doubt that man loved Monique with everything he had. That love was why he asked Josh to look after her in the first place.

Focus
.

He tried, b
ut he couldn’t. His thoughts were a jumbled mess. Sebastian grunted. At the moment, his
life
was a mess. There was a crazed lunatic out there with a hunger for blood. If having his brother’s face carved up like a jack-o-lantern was enough to spark a fire under Laychee’s ass, finding out he was dead was going to light the fuse. Things were going to get bad, and to make matters worse, he now had the added stress of not being able to trust the security team he’d put in place.

He slammed his fist on the table
with a heated curse. The plates on the serving tray rattled with the force.

“Seb?”

He whirled at the sound of Taylor’s voice. The soft, sultry sound jerked him from his maddened haze. Worry lined her beautiful face, and those amazing grey eyes darkened with a hint of fear. His chest ached. Forcing a smile to his lips, he opened his arms to her.

“Everything’s okay, baby,” he murmured, burying his face in her hair when she stepped into his embrace.

The comforting scent of warm vanilla and cashmere washed over him. He sighed with pleasure as the aroma engulfed him and Taylor rubbed her hands up and down his lower back. The tense hammer of his heart slowed. He needed her—needed this. Drawing strength and serenity from the moment, he pushed thoughts of work aside. His attention refocused on Taylor. Backing up to one of the stools, he sat down and pulled her into his lap. He twined his fingers through hers and kissed each one before lifting his eyes to hers.

“You’ve been cooped up inside this house for days. I have a little bit of time off. What do you say to us slipping away for a bit and enjoying the afternoon?”

A gorgeous grin lit her face. “Really?”

Sebastian brushed the warm silk of her neck with his lips
. She always smelled like heaven. “You’re such a cheeky little minx,” he whispered in her ear. He couldn’t help but love the way she squirmed. “I never say anything I don’t mean.”

Chapter 2 ~

The quaint little store held the rich smell of old parchment and used books. It was the kind of place she could lose herself in for hours. Every shelf held the promise of hidden treasures, and she trailed her fingers lovingly over the spines. They’d stumbled upon it by chance while roaming the downtown streets. At first, Sebastian had been skeptical, and suggested a larger retail chain where the selection was bigger and the books weren’t used, but he’d caved under her pleading and the excited clutch of her hands. It was hard to say if his interest was genuine or not, but he quietly perused the shelf beside her. If nothing else, the small shop offered a welcome reprieve from the biting wind and cold.

Taylor frowned as she glanced outside. The snow had started to pick up by the time she’d loaded the dishwasher and gott
en dressed, but now it was coming down in driving sheets. Ever watchful, Sebastian tracked her stare and followed it out the front windows. Turning his attention back to her, he lifted one end of her fluffy knit scarf. His sage eyes sparkled as he gave the plush fabric a twirl and batted her chin with the soft material.

“Stop worrying about the weather and pick out some books,” he said, leaning over to rest his forehead against hers. “I’m not you, darling. I can drive in the snow.”

She colored at his playful wink. “I can drive in it,” she stated defensively. “Just not well.”