Honor Bound (14 page)

Just then, Declan joined us and managed to hold Cole and Levi back so that I could keep moving. Unhindered. “He’s got this,” he said.

“Got what?” Cole asked. “Seriously, what the hell is going on?”

Declan placed a hand on each of his buddies’ shoulders and turned them back in the direction they had originally come from. “He’s going to save the damsel in distress.”

“Wait…what?” Levi looked over his shoulder in confusion.

“Just trust me on this one. It’s something he has to deal with on his own.”

Meanwhile I had to keep fighting my way through the crowd and was pissed that the guys had caused even the smallest of distractions.

Ali bobbed and weaved through the crowd like a pro, and then suddenly she bent down. I thought that she was gone, but off to the far right, I caught sight of her again. No one stopped me as I made my way through the crowd—as if it was an everyday occurrence for people to be chasing one another through a formal ballroom.

I finally reached the perimeter of the room, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. My breathing was a little ragged, and I scanned around for where she could have gone. Hands on my hips, heart racing, and I felt briefly like I had lost everything.

Then a small movement caught my eye. There was a curtain behind one of the long tables that was swaying even though no one was near it. And that was when I remembered the anteroom. Ali had shown it to me weeks ago as being some sort of retreat for people at the event. They hadn’t promoted it for use at this particular gathering, but if someone wanted to hide, it was the perfect place.

Casually, I made my way toward it so that I didn’t draw attention to myself and then slipped behind the curtain and found the door. As soon as I opened it, I was met with those amazing dark eyes that had haunted my dreams for weeks.

“Sebastian?” she gasped. “How…how did you find me?” She was sitting in a chair, holding one shoe in her hand, and massaging her foot with the other.

I could tell by the look on her face that she was uncomfortable, but I wasn’t sure if it was from my presence or her foot. I closed the door and discreetly locked it—in case she wanted to run again—and stepped closer. Her eyes went wide, and then she winced.

The foot.

Dropping on one knee in front of her, I gently pushed her hands away and began massaging her foot. “What happened?”

Her eyes closed briefly, and she let out a small moan before catching herself. “Stupid shoes,” she muttered and glared at the one she had dropped to the floor. “I don’t normally wear anything so high, but…” She shrugged.

“Shoes like that are made for walking, not running,” I managed to get a small smile out of her. Then my hands stilled. “Why were you running, Ali?” She tried to look away but my finger on her chin brought her eyes back to mine. “Why?”

“It was you, wasn’t it?” she asked quietly, her voice small and shaky. When I didn’t respond, she rephrased the question. “You’re the reason that they did that, aren’t you?”

I shrugged because it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to take credit for doing anything because it was a situation that shamed me—what my father and his company had done and how I had to stoop to their level to make it right. But one look at the tears brimming in Ali’s eyes, and I knew I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

She placed a hand over mine—the one that was now cupping her cheek. “Why? Why did you do it? After all the things that we said…that I said…why?”

Did she really need to ask? “Because I love you.”

Her eyes went wide again. “What?”

A small chuckle escaped before I could stop it. “Because I love you, Ali. Maybe even from the first moment I saw you.”

“You saw my butt hanging out a window first.” Her face was transforming with a joy that was almost palpable.

“Yeah, well, it’s a pretty spectacular butt.” I rose so that I could get closer. I leaned my forehead against hers and felt my entire world being righted. "This face,” I said as I caressed her cheek, “I fell in love with this face. Sometimes there’s nothing we can do to right wrongs or find justice. But sometimes there is. And, if I could do that for you, for both of us, then that’s what I needed to do.”

She shook her head and tried to pull away. “I never should have asked that of you. It was my battle…my personal…”

“It wasn’t just your battle. It was mine too. I know that I can’t take away all of the hurt and struggles of the last six years, but from this point on, I want us to look toward the future. No more looking back. Okay?”

A small smile played at her lips. “Okay.”

“Good.” I felt that it was important that we clear that up before I did what I’d really wanted to do. And that was to kiss her. I craved her more than I craved my next breath, and before either of us could speak again, my lips claimed hers.

It wasn’t meant to be sweet. It wasn’t meant to be seductive. It was meant to claim. She was mine. I never wanted her to doubt that again. She was everything to me, and I poured all that I was into the kiss. Luckily she was right there with me because, before I knew it, she had completely wrapped herself around me.

“There’s a lock on the door,” she whispered against my lips.

“Already locked.” I gently bit her neck and then her shoulder. “Did I mention how beautiful you look in this dress?” She shook her head. I continued to nip and lick and kiss my way from her shoulder to her collar bone and down to where the fabric was skimming the swell of her breasts. “You do. Absolutely stunning. You take my breath away.”

Ali made a sound like a purr. “You look pretty amazing in that tux, too.”

I raised my head and stared down into her beautiful face. “You think so?”

She nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

“You know what I think?” I asked, and she shook her head. “I think that we’d both look—and feel—pretty damn good out of this fancy attire. What do you say?” I was more than ready to lift her in my arms and make good on every erotic thought running through my head.

“I say let’s make a gracious exit and go back to your hotel. I want you all to myself for the rest of the night. I’d hate for anyone to find us in here.”

“Sweetheart, we can go back to my hotel if that’s what you really want. but I’m telling you now, that I want you for myself for much longer than tonight.”

She smiled the sweetest smile I had ever seen in my life. “Then what are we waiting for?”

Ali

Sebastian had a very nice apartment.

Now that he was through with the Gentry job, he was living in his own place downtown again, instead of that hotel. I’d been coming over a lot in the last couple of months, since my place offered absolutely no privacy.

I hadn’t moved out yet, though. My family still needed me. Dad had gotten one of the jobs with the new Maxwell project, and he was doing pretty well in AA, but it was still early days, and I wanted to stick around to support him so he didn’t fall off the wagon. Tyler was doing a little better, since he didn’t want to get kicked out of the house entirely, but he wasn’t anywhere close to dependable. And it still took a lot of work to draw Rosie out of her shell. They all still needed me.

But things were finally on the right path. With my dad’s new job, we weren’t always hurting for money. And, whenever I was at home, it didn’t feel like the weight of the world was pushing me down.

It was still nice to spend the night at Sebastian’s, though. For one thing, he had a big, fancy, jetted tub that he never used.

He was working late—meeting with the guys about business plans—so I’d headed over to his place after I finished up an appointment with Cheryl.

I’d stopped to buy some stuff for dinner, and I had a grand time fixing salad, pasta, and grilled chicken in Sebastian’s high-end kitchen.

I was just pouring myself a glass of wine when my phone beeped with a text.

It was Sebastian.
Running late. Won’t be home for dinner. Sorry
.

I sighed as I looked at my dinner and was tempted to be annoyed. But I made myself be reasonable. He didn’t know I was fixing something nice for dinner. Getting their security firm off the ground was a lot of work, and he was usually good about making time for me.

One late night working wasn’t reason enough to get pissy about.

I was about to reply when my phone beeped again with another text.

Love you
.

I laughed softly as I stared down at the words.

He might be big and strong and masculine and impressive and come from more money than I’d ever dreamed of.

But he was such a sweet man at heart.

Okay. You’ll miss out on the dinner I made you. It’s delicious
.

Damn. Save some.

If I’m feeling generous.

I can be generous too, you know.

Don’t I know it.

Feeling resigned but generally happy, I ate some of the dinner and then put the rest in the refrigerator for Sebastian to warm up.

When I was done, I turned on music, poured another glass of wine, and went to soak in the jetted tub.

It was a very nice bath.

Feeling relaxed afterwards, I put on a pair of pajamas that Sebastian had bought me—as a spontaneous present last week—and got into his big bed to read until he got home.

I’m not sure how long I read. I don’t think it was very long. The next thing I was conscious of was someone taking my ereader off my stomach, where it had ended up when I fell asleep.

Sebastian was grinning down at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“You went to bed early,” he said. He still wore his clothes, and his eyes were very soft.

“I was just reading.”

“Didn’t seem to be much reading getting done.”

“That was an accident. What time is it?”

“Nine-thirty.”

“Oh. I did go to bed early. I guess I was tired.”

“You’ve been working too hard.”

“I have not. You’re the one who worked until after nine.”

“You can hide it all you want. I know how hard you’ve been working.”

“How did the meeting go?” I asked.

“Good. We’ve got some really good plans for the future. I think things are really going to take off.”

“I’m glad. You guys have been working so hard at it. I’m sure it’s going to pay off.”

He didn’t answer. Just sat on the edge of the bed and gazed down at me.

“What?” I asked at last, strangely self-conscious at the look in his eyes.

“Nothing. Just wondering what I ever did to deserve you.”

“That’s a ridiculous question. And I could ask you the same thing, you know.”

“Well, I know what
you
did.” His mouth lifted with a teasing smirk.

“What did I do?”

He leaned down to kiss me softly on the lips. “You showed your luscious little ass more times than I could resist. All those times I caught you sneaking around, offering me such a view. How could I not fall in love?”

I giggled helplessly and pulled him down on top of me. We kissed for a minute, tender and leisurely. He held his weight off me with his forearms.

“You’ve been drinking beer,” I said, when he pulled up slightly. “I thought you were having a business meeting.”

“We were. Nothing wrong with combining beer and business.” He gave me a lopsided grin.

I shook with amusement but tried to give him a stern glare. “I’m not sure if those guys are a good influence on you.”

“They’re good guys. They’re my friends.”

My amusement faded. “I know they are. I’m glad. You can have a beer with them whenever you want, as long as I’m not second-place.

“You,” he said with a husky note in his voice, “could never be second-place.”

He rolled us over so I was sprawled on top of him. He added, “Not when you wear such very sexy pajamas.”

Just so you know, the pajamas weren’t really sexy. They were pink and made of soft knit pants and a tank-top.

The top boasted a big velvet heart and the words, “I’m a real sweetheart.”

“They aren’t sexy. Sexy would be a black lace teddy or something.”

He frowned. “They make teddy-bears in black lace. That’s a little creepy.”

I raised myself up so I was straddling his hips, laughing at his obvious confusion. “Not a teddy-bear. A
teddy
. You know what a teddy is, don’t you. They’re those lingerie things that look kind of like bathing suits.”

His expression dawned with enlightenment. “Ah. How was I supposed to know what those things are called? You can wear one of those if you want, but I like your pajamas better.”

He was such a sweet, sweet man. My heart full of emotion, I leaned down to press kisses all over his mouth and face. “I like the pajamas better too. I should get you matching ones.”

He slid his hands down my back until he was cupping my bottom. “Not pink, I hope.”

“Yes, pink. And they’ll have a big heart on them too. It will say, ‘I’m an even bigger sweetheart.’”

He was getting hard. I could feel his body tightening beneath him, even as he chuckled at the image. “You wouldn’t really do that to me, would you?”

I rubbed against his growing erection. “It depends. If you’re really good, I might reconsider.”

He smiled hotly. “How good do you want me to be?”

I edged my hands under his t-shirt and stroked his firm chest. “You’ll have to be very, very, very good.”

“Very, very, very good it is.”

I knew that look in his eyes, and I shivered in response to it.

He pulled me down to kiss me again, and this time the kiss was long, and deep, and arousing. I was rocking over him, rubbing myself against his erection, when he finally released me.

“Well, that was pretty good,” I panted.

He reached up to cup my breasts in both of his hands. “Tell me the truth,” he murmured, twirling my nipples with his thumbs. “It was better than pretty good.”

I gasped as pleasure shot down from his touch. I arched helplessly into his hands. “Okay. It might be
very
good.”

He kept it up until I was practically squirming. Then he pulled me back down into a kiss.

I was too turned on now to be very coordinated, so I just clutched at him as his tongue delved into my mouth.

I squeaked in surprise when I felt his hand slip under the waistband of my pajamas and start to stroke my warm, wet arousal.

“Okay,” I gasped, trying to lift myself up above him but completely incapable of it. I was stretched out on top of him with his hand down my pants. “Maybe that’s
very, very
good.”

“There’s one more
very
to go.” He stroked my hair back from my face with his free hand, his touch oddly tender.

I panted against his shoulder while his fingers worked between my legs, until my body started to shake as the erotic pressure built.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he murmured. “You can come for me.”

I stifled the sound of my release against his shirt, but I was still moaning softly as I came down, my whole body softening deliciously.

“How was that?” he asked, a smile in his voice as he finally pulled out his hand.

“Very. Very. Very. Good.”

He laughed again and rolled us both over. “That’s what I thought.”

My heart was full and my body was pliant as he kissed me again, this time from above. I clawed at his shirt, trying to pull it off, until he lifted up enough to grab it and pull it off himself

Then he took off my pajamas and kissed me again. He was really turned on. I could feel it in the tension of his body and the way his erection rubbed against me.

I loved how much he wanted me, like he could never get enough.

“I love you,” I gasped, when our lips finally parted.

“That’s good to know.” He was busy taking off the rest of his clothes now, but he shot a warm look up to my face. “Because I’m pretty damned crazy about you.”

I smiled at him sappily until he was naked. Then he moved over me again, settling between my legs. I bent my knees as he slowly slid himself inside me.

We both groaned in pleasure when he’d penetrated me fully. He leaned down to kiss me again, slowly rocking into me.

I met and matched his motion as we fell into a leisurely rhythm, kissing at the same time.

After a few minutes, I felt his body start to tighten and his rhythm accelerate. His need was starting to take over.

The kiss broke apart, and I arched my neck, gasping, “I love this. I love you.”

He grunted something that sounded like he loved me too, but his motion had turned fast, primitive. When he got to this point, he could never really talk much.

Soon, my grunts were matching his as the pleasure built again, and I cried out as an orgasm claimed me, rippling the sensations through my body.

He’d obviously been holding out for me because he let out a rough sound as his body froze and then released.

We were kissing again, clumsily, as the pleasure slowly faded.

Finally, our mouths parted, and I wrapped him in a tight hug.

He rolled us over onto our sides, his sated shaft slipping out of me with the move.

We smiled at each other as we caught our breath, both clearly pleased with the interlude.

Then he finally said, “I’m hungry.”

“You’re the one who worked through dinner.”

“Did you save me any?”

“Yeah. It’s in the refrigerator.” I stretched and reached for my tank top, which was hanging off the edge of the bed. “Go warm it up, if you want. I need to clean up, anyway.”

So I went to the bathroom and he went to the kitchen, and then I went to join him as he ate at the kitchen counter.

We went to bed afterwards and talked for about an hour, about the plans for the security business and about my newly emerging career plans.

All in all, it was a very good night.

***

I had an evening class the following day that ended at eight o’clock.

With the Maxwell scholarship, I could finally afford to go to college, rather than just take one online class every now and then. I’d decided to commit to finishing my degree as soon as possible, since I eventually wanted to go to grad school and didn’t want to be in my forties when I could finally get a job at a museum, which was what I still wanted to do.

It was hard—to work full-time and go to school at the same time, plus still helping out with my family. But at least I could see a light at the end of it, a life that I really wanted, that I could be good at.

This particular class—Algebra for the Liberal Arts—was not exactly within my field of interest. It was part of the General Education requirements, though, so I had to take it. A two and a half hour block every Wednesday night wasn’t what I’d call a good time, but I figured it was better to get it over with early.

That evening, as always, by the time the class was over, I was in a math-induced stupor.

I looked at the syllabus as the professor was finally wrapping up, and I counted out seven more weeks left of this class.

I could do it, if it meant I could finally graduate from college. So far, I was averaging a B, which I figured was pretty good.