Delecto - Games of Mastery (part 1) (18 page)

No matter
what happened with Amanda and myself, I was going to take Abigail
on, and become her patron. I was going to find out
everything
I
could about her,
and scour the world for pioneering treatments and equipment for
her. I didn't know if she'd ever become mobile, in any sense. To be
able to walk, talk, feel or even smile, but my God, I was damn well
going to give her every chance in the world to bloom.

My glassy eyes
briefly caught Amanda's and she glanced away quickly, fussing
around her sister.

I didn't care
that she saw how upset I was. I was fucking upset. Period.

I took a long
deep breath and summoned up a smile for Abigail. Her eyes lit up
and twinkled.

She was sweet
and beautiful and she deserved so much more than being imprisoned
in her mind.

My stomach
lurched all over the place. I could see he was so moved. It was the
same expression on his face that he had when he was playing the
piano. His eyes were full with emotion. He caught my eye for a
moment and I looked away, trying not to fluster. In all honesty I'd
been in a state of fluster since he arrived. The way he swooped in
on me, hugging me tight, catching me unawares, almost gave me a
heart attack of pleasure. I'd been thinking about him, daydreaming
about him kissing me, and at that very second, he was suddenly
there, for real. I nearly passed out with shock when his arm
slipped round my waist. Of course, I was my usual snappy self with
him. It was all a front, my form of self protection.

Although I was
annoyed at Dad interfering and getting on his side, it had taken
away my guilt, to a degree. I was placed in this situation. It
wasn't of my choosing. I was secretly looking forward to going out
tonight and staying in Sudbury. And I was glad Sebastian had met
Abigail. Now he'd seen her, he could appreciate what I faced, what
we all faced in this family, every day of our lives. Hopefully that
would make him think twice about what he was doing with me.

I stood up.

“
Seb,
would you take Abi out to the living room? She likes to sit by the
window and look outside.”

“
Sure,
what do I have to do.”

“
Pick her
up and carry her through. She has a special chair
there.”

He slipped his
muscular arms under her knees and around her back, picking her up
like she weighed no more than a bag of feathers. I was so touched
as he dropped a brief little kiss on her head. I was sure Abi was
in love already. He followed me through to her living room chair
and gently placed her down on it. I strapped her arms and legs so
she didn't roll off, and positioned her head so she could look
outside. Her eyes flared at me and she “hah'd” at me. It was an
indignant 'no' sound. I smiled to myself as I turned the chair
round and repositioned her head toward Sebastian, instinctively
knowing what she'd prefer to look at. She was female, and I guess
gulls and pigeons weren't quite so fascinating, when she could gaze
upon a sight like Sebastian.

And I had to
agree, he looked shit hot today. His dress shirt and black silk bow
tie were doing things to me. As was his gorgeous masculine scent,
which I'd just taken a heaving lungful of.

“
What
shall I wear?”

“
Any
black dress will do. Short or long, whatever you like,” he
replied.

I didn't have a
lot of choice, but I did have two evening dresses of my mother's.
They were beautiful keepsakes which hung in the back of my closet.
I'd like to wear one of those. I didn't ever go out anywhere to
wear that kind of thing, usually.

“
Do I
need to be very done up?”

“
That's
up to you. But in my opinion women can never be too glamorous.” His
meaning was clear and he grinned at me, as he ran his eyes up and
down me and moistened his lips with his tongue. I could see the
thoughts racing through his head and I couldn't stop my returning
smile. I found I loved being mentally undressed. By him.

I forgot Abi's
presence for a moment. “Okay, I'll give you my best shot at
glamor.”

“
I can
hardly wait to see it,” he replied in a very husky tone, which made
it's way through me fast, straight through to my sex.

Abi hissed
excitedly. “You'd like to see me looking glamorous, wouldn't you,
Abi?” I asked her, smiling, and she responded with another excited
hiss.

“
Better
not disappoint the little lady.” He chuckled. “And take as long as
you like. I'll keep Abi company.”

Something
crossed my mind. Something which Abi would love.

“
Oh, Seb,
I have a keyboard...maybe you could
play Abi something?”

“
I'd love
to.” His face lit up with the prospect.

I disappeared
into my room to get my ten-year-old musical keyboard. I got it for
Christmas, the year before my parents divorced. I'd never been able
to throw it away, although I'd rarely played it much. I'm not
particularly talented with musical instruments. But Abi would love
this. I was full of excitement for her as I returned and set it up,
plugging the lead in to the electric socket.

I went back to
the kitchen for our coffees, and finally sat beside him to drink
it. He put the keyboard on his knees with a wry look in my
direction. He played around with a few buttons, sipping his drink
and grinning to himself as the strange, pathetically tinny,
synthetic sounds, reverberated through the air.

“
This is
as far from a Petrof as your Honda is from my Jaguar, but I guess
it does the job,” he said.

We both
laughed.

Dad appeared
though his bedroom door, looking very smart casual, coming to stand
before us. The air around us was swamped with Hugo Boss. I felt
he'd overloaded a little, he always did when he met Lucy.

“
I see
you're being very well looked after, Sebastian,” Dad said with a
grin, eying the keyboard with an amused expression. “I'm off to
collect Lucy, so I'll be an hour, I guess. See you all
later.”

We murmured our
goodbyes as he disappeared through the door in a cheerful mood.

“
Who's
Lucy?” Sebastian asked.

“
She's my
dad's long suffering girlfriend.” He chuckled at my description.
“Long suffering and long distance. She's cabin crew for Air Canada,
and intelligent
enough
not to
live with him.”

“
Maybe
your dad hasn't asked her yet,” he pointed out,
reasonably.

”
Oh yeah,
he has. She told me. I get on very well with Lucy. I know she loves
my dad, as long as he comes in small doses.”

He raised his
eyebrows at me in a dirty smirk. I gave him a mock thump for being
obviously smutty about my dad, but I couldn't help but smile. His
eyes met mine in a warm connection. It was a new feeling, one I was
not sure I should be having. It was friendly and I was enjoying
myself with him. It had been more than pleasant having him here and
from Abi's point of view, it was doing her the world of good. Her
eyes were animated and brighter than ever. He was looking and
smiling at her constantly, in between sips of coffee.

He tinkered
with the keys and buttons, amusing little expressions of surprise
and exclamations arising as strange sounds appeared from my ancient
piece of equipment.

“
Okay, I
think I'm set to let rip,” he put his cup down and his fingers ran
up and down the scales in a soft whoosh of sound. A beautiful
shiver ran up my spine in response, remembering what happened last
night when he played. Then a blush rose on my face as I remembered
what happened afterward. The feel of his fingers inside me, so hard
and so needed. But the blush on my face faded as he began to play.
Even though the quality of sound was obviously far inferior to his
Petrof, I was instantly spellbound. His eyes flicked up and down to
Abi who had closed hers tightly shut. Her mouth was moving in such
a way as I'd never seen before. It looked like she was smiling. And
Abi couldn't smile. The notes filled the air in a haunting
sound.

“
What is
that called?” I murmured, as all the hair raised on my arms, and
the back of my neck, in reaction.

“
At the
Ivy Gate.”

“
It's so
beautiful. I really love it,” I breathed.

I sat there,
engrossed, swamped with emotion as Abi's face literally beamed into
life before me. Her eyes flickered behind her closed lids.
Sebastian was a study of concentration and passion. His expression
changed subtly as he progressed though the song.

How can he
hold all this in his memory? How many more songs like this does he
know?

I was thinking,
many, many more, and I couldn't contemplate how he did it. My mind
was reeling with the experience. Everything he did was so
passionately expressed. His roses, his appearance, his home, his
sexuality. I was drowning in him from every goddamn direction. And
his music was making me swim deeper and deeper into him.

As he ended the
melody, the final note stirred me as it echoed in my ears. It took
my soul clean away with it.

It was over far
too quickly. I floated up from my submerged ecstasy and to the
surface of the real world.

I gulped and
swallowed some much needed air.

His sudden
smile lit up my day. “It's one of my favorites pieces. Very
atmospheric, don't you think?”

“
Yes,
very,”
I
croaked. I finished
my coffee to moisten my dry throat. “I'm going to get ready now,
perhaps you can play some more. Abi seems to be enjoying it so
much, look at her...”

Her eyes were
still shut and it seemed she had gone somewhere blissful in her
head.

I didn't think
she'd ever want him to leave.

And I was
starting to feel the same way.

I stood in my
room, surveying my look of high glamor.

My
mother's long black dress fitted me so well. It was sleeveless and
had a low V back. I'd had to dispense with my bra. My breasts were
a little wobbly inside the dress, but as they moved against the
fabric it was a nice feeling. A sensual one. The split up the side,
from ankle to mid thigh provided a glimpse of the pale skin of my
leg.
I
wondered if I should
wear hose, but then thought, no, I was wearing thin strapped
evening sandals. Bare legs looked better. I examined my newly
painted pearly white toe and finger nails. Everything was neat and
sweet. My hair was down, but arranged in a side parting with a
little backcombing at the front, so that it stood up and out in a
movie queen style.

My makeup was
sultry. Smoky dark eyes. Deep red lips.

My sparkling,
long drop earrings twinkled against the contrast of my black hair
and highlighted my pale skin.

As a final
touch, I dusted some more translucent face powder across my nose,
chin and forehead to keep shine at bay. Then I applied a good dose
of perfume.

As I turned
toward the door, ready to make my grand and hopefully glamorous
entrance, I hesitated.

I hoped he
liked what he saw.

P
ausing for a moment with my hand on
the door handle, I took a deep breath. My heart fluttering in my
chest with nerves.

Why did I care
so much what he thought of me?

My thoughts
wandered off for a moment.

I wasn't sure
where I was going with him, or even if I should. My instincts said
yes, my inner demons said no. But I was ignoring my negative demons
for now. I was going with my intuition and I'd see where Sebastian
led me. I was going to place a little trust in him and hoped I was
right to do so. His effect on me, on Abi and even on my father has
been too profound to ignore. We were all intrigued. We liked what
we knew so far, and what we could see of this man, superficially.
Only time and a deeper understanding would tell if our feelings
were justified.

Was this ever
going to be more than a few weeks of passion? I really didn't
know.

But what I did
know, was what was coming this weekend was likely to rock my body
and soul. But hot sex wasn't all I was looking for. What I needed
was someone to share my feelings with. Someone who understood and
who wanted to help me cope with things. Someone like Calvin. I
needed that just as much as I needed earth shattering touches on my
body.

Did Sebastian
possess that strength of character? Was he that selfless? Was he
driven by more than passion?

I wondered what
the real Sebastian was like inside? He seemed so lonely.
Purposefully lonely.

I'd like to
know the reason for that. Whatever it or they were. His inner
issues.

I stopped my
mind meandering, focusing on the here and now.

I opened the
door and walked through, my head held high, in an attempt to appear
not only glamorous but also confident.

“
Oh now look at you,
Amanda..
.” he said, in a deep and husky
tone, rising from his chair and coming toward me. “You look simply
stunning. Turn round, let me see...”

I twirled as
requested.

My heart
skipped a beat at the look in his eyes. Real desire stared back at
me. He pulled me close and hugged me to him, burying his face in my
neck. “Mm mm, far too good for a charity dinner. Let's go back to
Sudbury instead,” he whispered in my ear.

I giggled and
poked him in the chest. I could see Abi staring at us over his
shoulder. I felt guilty being overly tactile in front of her, and
pushed him away, gently.