Bound by Vengeance (3 page)

His soft chuckle carried through the small space, drawing the attention of a nearby browser and the shopkeeper alike. “That is a bit of an understatement, sweetheart,” he murmured, kissi
ng the tip of her nose.

She grinned as he gave the back of her neck an affectionate squeeze before letting go.

“I hear we’re supposed to get another five inches before the night is through.”

Taylor turned to regard the middle-aged man who’d edged up beside
them. His dark hair was swept over in a side part, and his face was rough and reddened with windburn and sun. Pale circles ringed his eyes. Taking note of his colorful parka, she pegged him as a skier. She offered up a polite smile, hoping it made up for the way Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as he studied the man.

“Is that so?” he asked.

“Yep, I heard it on the news this morning. I guess it’s one of the benefits of living in Flagstaff. Or a drawback depending on which way you want to look at it.”

Sebastian gav
e a curt nod. “Yes, I suppose so.”

Wrapping his fingers around hers, he led her further down the aisle. The man followed behind.

“So where are you two from? You just vacationing or are you here to stay?”

Taylor winced as the grip on her fingers tightened.
Peering over her shoulder, she wondered if the man was dense or just didn’t care that someone had tried to put a polite end to the discussion. She listened as a quiet sigh of resignation parted the silence.

“What difference does that make?” Sebastian asked
softly. He turned to confront the man with a curious tilt of his head.

Uncertainty flickered across the stranger’s weathered features. “It doesn’t make any difference, I suppose. I was just trying to make conversation.”

“Conversation,
right
,” he stated in a quiet drawl. Sebastian gestured to their surroundings with a sweep of his gloved hand. “Do you always follow strangers around and ask where they live? Or has something about us just piqued your interest to the point where you can’t resist?”

Paling, the
man stepped back. He muttered a brief apology and hurried for the door. Taylor sighed as the overhead bell chimed, swinging back and forth with his departure, and the shopkeeper cast a questioning glance in their direction.

“You didn’t have to be so mean,”
she whispered.

Sebastian’s forehead knitted, and he blinked with confusion. “I wasn’t mean, darling.”

“You just scared the hell out of that poor guy!”

“All I did was ask a question, Taylor,” he said, brushing away a lock of hair beneath her hat.

She shook her head at his purported innocence. “You have no idea just how intense and intimidating you can be?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted. She squirmed as he leaned over with a dimpled grin and nuzzled the side of her cheek. “But this wasn’t one of them. I’m ac
tually in a wonderful mood, thanks to you.”

She warmed, blushing as she felt the weight of the shopkeeper’s curious stare settle over them. As private as he was, in public or not, Sebastian never hesitated to show his affection. That was one of the many t
hings she loved the most about him. It wasn’t groping or lewd, just quiet and subtle.
For the most part
. Her color deepened as she remembered the night on the observation deck at the hotel. There hadn’t been anyone around, but she’d been too scared, too afraid, to just enjoy the moment and let go. Sebastian had been far from pleased. She could still remember the embarrassment —still feel the cool night air on her thighs and the pain of being so deeply impaled.

She flushed recalling the lecture that followed
:
“The next time I try to express my affection I don’t expect to be denied. Is that clear?”

It was funny how one word, one thought, could lead to another.

Taylor glanced up at the sweep of fingers across her cheek. Sebastian studied her face. His eyes were gentle but searching.

“Are you all right, darling?”

Nodding, she turned her head and kissed the cool, crisp leather covering his hand. “I guess I just got swept away inside my own head,” she admitted with a shy smile.

Taylor shivered, stomping the snow from her furry Kola boots as they ducked inside the vintage diner. Thick flakes dusted their hats and coats. Outside, both sun and the downtown sector had vanished behind a thick wall of dense grey and swirling white. Still shivering, she watched Sebastian rub his hands together and blow between them in an attempt to ward off the chill. He looked so adorable between the flush of excitement and the boyish shield of his hat. Sensing her attention, he glanced down and offered a dimpled smile above the soft charcoal wrap of his scarf. She leaned against him as he wound an arm around her waist and steered her toward an empty booth. The place was surprisingly vacant. Only a handful of other patrons sat scattered throughout the small establishment, most of them enjoying hot drinks at the counter.

Sitting down across from him, she tucked her purse beside her and pulled the rich aroma of coffee into her lungs. She glanced up at their waitress as the striking brunette brought them a pair of mugs and menus. The girl retu
rned her grin and blushed as Sebastian nodded in her direction.

“She thinks you’re cute,” Taylor whispered after the waitress had poured their coffee and promised to check back to get their orders soon.

His body jerked in a silent show of humor as he browsed the menu. “She doesn’t know me. I’m
scary
, remember?”

Flopping against the back of the booth, her laughter rang unchecked. The sound brought his gaze back up to hers and she reveled at the delighted sparkle shimmering in those pale depths.

“You have your moments,” she confessed. “But you can also be the sweetest, most adorable man on the face of the planet.”

A light pink flush settled across the tops of his cheeks as Sebastian fought to suppress a smile. “Only in your eyes, darling. Decide what you want
to eat.”

She arched a brow and leaned forward to brace her elbows on the worn Formica table. “Did you just
blush
?”

His shoulders shook with a quiet chortle that he tried to mask. “Read the menu, Taylor.”

Snickering beneath her breath, she glanced over the choices of burgers, sandwiches, soups, and salads. The standard small establishment spread made her think briefly of the diner at the truck stop and Irene. She wondered if they’d be packed on a day like today with truckers riding out the storm, or if it would be a ghost town. It was hard to say. Nibbling her bottom lip, she decided on a smoked turkey club. Sebastian looked a bit more undecided, if not downright worried. Covering her mouth, she tried to shield her amusement.

“It will be fine,” she whispered
. “I promise. It’s just like Cervillo’s, only a little bit cheaper.”

He looked up and grinned at the memory of their first date. “I’d almost forgotten about that place.”

Taylor gaped at him and rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. “Come on, now. The food wasn’t
that
god-awful that you had to try and erase it from your memory.”

His head fell back with a genuine bark of laughter. “If you say so.”

She crumpled up a Sweet-N-Low packet and tossed it at him. “You are such a food snob!”

He laughed even harder. Hi
s grin faded as the waitress approached to take their orders. When she disappeared back into the kitchen, his eyes locked with Taylor’s. Leaning across the table, he motioned for her to do the same.

“Come here,” he ordered, his voice husky and low.

Tamping down a shiver of apprehension, she questioned the wisdom of chucking a sugar packet and met him halfway. His stoic expression made her heart hammer. Her breath caught as he wrapped a hand around the back of her head. She almost sagged with relief when his face broke into a boyish grin. He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and settled back into his seat with a wink.

“Behave yourself, baby.”

Taylor’s cheeks warmed with the soft admonishment. She lowered her lashes in a demure sweep and ducked behind the menu to hide her smile. “Yes, Sebastian. I love you.”

“Mm. I love you too, sweetheart. More than anything.”

They ate a light lunch and passed another half hour just sipping coffee and talking. She couldn’t remember ever feeling happier or more content. Her stomach and heart were both full. Best of all, Sebastian seemed so relaxed and at ease. Sometimes, it was amazing what just a few hours away from the stress of work could do for his mood. His phone hadn’t even gone off once since he’d been home. Not so much as a single text had interrupted their time together. Trailing her forefinger around the rim of her mug, she wondered if he’d shut it off. Could he do that? Somehow, she doubted it. Sighing, she pushed the thoughts aside and glanced up to find him staring. A pensive expression played on his face. Despite the sorrowful undercurrent of his expression, his lips curled were curled with a ghost of a smile. At a loss to make heads or tails of the situation, Taylor flashed him a curious look.

“What?”

He shook his head. “I was just thinking and enjoying the moment.”

“What’re you thinking about?”

“How much I’ve enjoyed being with you,” he admitted quietly. “How wonderful the past five months have been. I don’t know how I ever managed to survive without you.”

“You seem
ed to be doing okay,” she teased, trying to keep the mood light.

Sebastian nodded. “Yes, but it wasn’t this. It was nothing like this. My entire world consisted of work. Now it consists of you. Everything else is just secondary.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Her face tightened with worry. She bit her lip when he remained focused on the table, refusing to look her way.

“No, darling. I would never change a thing about you.” He shook his head again, as if searching for the right thing to say. Tracing a burn ring emb
lazoned into the speckled pattern on the tabletop, he sighed. “Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder what my life would have been like if I’d stayed with the FBI. What
I
would have been like.” His shoulders lifted in a depreciating shrug as he twisted the mug between his fingers. “But that was never their intention, and I might not have met you. So, in the end, this is what was meant to be. I don’t regret anything about our life together, Taylor. Not for one minute. Coming across you in the woods that day was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Reaching across the table, Taylor caressed the top of his hand. “Yeah,” she agreed softly. “Me, too. Even if Josh did shove a shotgun against my face.”

Sebastian gave a humorless snort. “And to think he is considered the nicer of us two.” His dark golden brows twisted with thought for a moment, then lowered. “Where does that put me?”

She frowned, wincing at his self-inflicted barb. “Seb…please don’t. You’re a good man.”

“Don’t patronize me, Taylor. I know what I am.”

Shifting in the booth, he motioned the waitress over and pulled out his wallet. She watched as he dropped a twenty and a ten on the plastic tray and told the girl to keep the change. Taylor shook her head. He just didn’t get it. He didn’t see the things
she did. She’d busted her hump in a place like this, and there were days she would have killed to get a fourteen-dollar tip on a sixteen-dollar bill. The gratitude on the waitress’s face said much the same. Thanking him profusely, the girl hurried behind the counter.

“That was so generous of you,” she said once they were alone again. “That’s probably more money than she’ll see after waiting on five tables.”

His face flushed with his uncomfortable shrug. “I have it to spare. Are you ready to get out of here?”

“Not yet. Just listen to me for a second, please?”

Frowning, he nodded and met her stare across the table.

“You saved my life that day, Sebastian. Since then, you’ve given me everything that I could’ve ever possibly dreamed of and more. You love me with
a fierceness, passion, and honesty that I’ve never known. Yes, you can be scary at times, and what you do for a living terrifies me, but I love you. The man I know is sweet, and generous, and strong, but he also has this boyish grin and these amazing moments of vulnerability that make my heart ache. He’s not a monster. Don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise.”

He blew out a shaky breath. His entire face softened for a moment. Blinking, his mouth flattened into a grim press and he gave a slow shake of h
is head. His eyes locked with hers, and his lips curved with a gentle smile as he reached across the table to cup her cheek.

“You’re going to have to keep reminding me of that,” he murmured, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb. “Those things you see are
n’t what they want or expect me to be, baby. You know that.”

“I know.”

“Regardless, I’m a lucky man. A lucky man whose butt is starting to go numb from these plastic seats. Let’s get out of here.”

Giggling
at his comment and brief bid of humor, she turned to grab her purse from beside the window and froze. Grey locked with jaded hazel and her breath caught. Time hung suspended as she stared at the familiar face peering back at her. Hurt and displeasure stamped her uncle’s grizzled features. He looked like he’d aged an entire decade since she’d last seen him. Unable to move, unable to speak, she forced a strained swallow.