Roxanne's Redemption (7 page)

“
Have
you live
d
in California all your life?”

She muttered something about persistent
men
and
h
e pressed his lips together to keep from laughing
as he
waited to see
if she would answer.

He
smiled when she sighed. “No
.
I moved back here three months ago.”

“Why?”
h
e asked
,
knowing he shouldn’t
.
D
eep down he knew asking her questions when she wasn’t ready would give her an excuse
to stay away,
and that
was
the last thing he wanted her to do.

“Person
al reasons,
”
she mumbled.

He
w
ouldn’t ask for any explanation
yet
.

“How long
h
as
Ashley been trying to get in your pants?”
s
he asked
,
her eyes twinkling
.
H
e smiled
at that and wondered if she thought he didn't realize she was changing the subject
.

“
Three months
.
”

She snickered.
“
So
for
three months
you’ve been telling her no
,
while
trying to avoid her so she
knows
you're serious
.”

“Yes.”

“Did you
ever
think
that maybe she was in love with you
?”

He tried
not
to flinch
as
his head swam, making his vision blurry
. As corny as it might sound
he didn't care, but
the only
woman
he wanted falling for him
was
Roxanne. “No. Did she tell you that?”

Why can’t I say what I really want to say? Am I that messed up?

Roxanne
shook her head.

He was just about to ask another question, but the waiter arrived
with their main course
more
quick
ly
than Sebastian
had expected
, so he
decided to wait
.

They turned their attention to the food for some time before Sebastian broke the silence.
“How old are you?”
he asked.

She arched a brow
and
he
thought
for a moment
she wasn’t going to answer
.
H
e was
wrong
.
“I’m twenty-four. How old are you?”

“
I’m thirty-
four.”

She nodded, but
didn't comment
and
he
wonder
ed
if she thought he was too old to be dating her
.
H
e
wan
ted
to ask but the waiter arrived
with their desserts
so
he decided to leave the question for
another time
.
At the end of their meal,
Sebastian
helped Roxanne out of her
chair
.
H
e tried not to
beat his chest like a caveman
when she didn't
pull
her hand out of his.

When they reached the
ir
car
s
, she opened
her
driver’s side
,
and placed her jacket and purse on the passenger seat. He caught her staring at his mouth
,
a second before she cleared her throat and looked away. He was ready for her and as soon as she turned to face him again, Sebastian captured her mouth in a rough desperate kiss.
His tongue swept inside her mouth as he explored and stroked every inch
.
H
e wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his body
.
W
hen she stiffened
,
he knew she
could feel
his erection. He could and would
ha
ve kissed her all night, but he ended it when
a passerby
shouted for them to get a room. They were breathing hard when she stepped away. His gaze never wavered from her swollen lips.

“Goodnight, Sebastian.
”

With that she got in her car and drove away. Double damn! It would be a miracle
if she still continued to help him
. He got in his car
and
drove
off
,
thinking
about t
he cold shower that awaited him
.

* * * *

Ashley
unclenched her hands when her nails bit painfully into her palm
. In the ele
vator earlier, she’
d thought Sebastian was lying to her
about his date with that woman.
The
kiss they
had
just
shared was anything but friendly. If it was
,
then they should win
an
Emmy
and change careers.

She shook her head.

Lust or no l
ust
,
Sebastian Ferguson was hers.
S
he saw him first
.
If
he
didn't
dump
that bitch quick
ly
,
then
bad things were going to happen
.

* * * *

Roxanne pulled into her driveway
.
S
he turned the ignition off, picked up her jacket
,
purse,
and
walked to
ward
the house
.
Once
she
was
inside, she set the alarm
then went upstairs
.
I
n her bedroom she stripped out of her clothes
and
dumped them in the hamper.

I
n the bathroom, she washed off her
makeup
and brushed her teeth
.
She
thought about the kiss she
had
shared with Sebastian and shivered. He was more dangerous than she
’d
thought
. How was she to keep her heart from getting involved? What would she do if it happened?
Roxanne didn't want to fall for him
,
especially since
their relationship
was
n’t
real
.

Heck, real or not
,
she didn't want or need a man in her life. She was happy being single for the rest of her life. Wasn’t she? If not
,
she could always go buy a cat or some
other pet to keep her company
.

She
wanted to tell him tomorrow that she couldn’t do it anymore, but she
would
never break
a
promise
.
But with her hea
r
t in danger of
getting
involved, she really wanted to
.

Back in her bedroom
,
she put on her pajamas
,
promis
ing
herself she would
n’t think about that kiss again and
fell asleep immediately after lying down
.

Chapter S
even

When the alarm sounded, Roxanne groaned before sliding out of the bed. About an hour later, she was getting her belongings from the passenger seat of her car, when a Porsche 911 Carrera S pulled up beside her.
She sighed in relief when she saw Nick. The elevator doors had just begun closing when Sebastian appeared. She gulped when she caught him staring at her mouth
.

“Sebastian, you might own the whole damn building, but
get
you
r ass in the elevator before it starts moving,
then
you
can un
dress Roxanne with your eyes.”

Roxanne
laughed softly when
Sebastian blush
ed
.

“Hold that door,” a female voice
called out
as Sebastian was about to step inside
.
H
e
flinched
and
Nick laugh
ed.
Immediately
,
Roxanne
realized who it was
.

Sebastian stepped back as Ashley stepped inside wearing
a dress fit only to wear anywhere but work
. Sebastian
followed her into the elevator
.
Roxanne watched as Nick looked at Sebastian’s expression and smirked. As the doors closed
,
Ashley turned to
Sebastian.

“How was your date last night?”
she asked
through
clearly
gritted teeth
.

Suddenly they
all
focused their attention on
Ashley.
Sebastian turned to look at Roxanne with heat in his eyes
before answering.
“My date was amazing.”

Nick smirked
.

Ashley sneered then
muttered, “It was just a kiss,
”
before she stepped out.

Roxanne
’s
mind whirled with questions.

Nick's smirk
and Sebastian’s heated look
vanished
and w
ere
replace
d
with
wide eyes and gaping mouths
.
Roxanne shook her head and
chewed on
her lip
as
she tried to remember if she
’d
s
een
Ashley
at the restaurant
last night, but
she
came up blank.

“Come on.
”
Sebastian’s
voice
along
with
his hand on the small of her back pulled Roxanne out of her
thoughts.
She
looked around
,
just now
realizing
the elevator had stopped
on
Sebastian’s floor. She
let
Sebastian
guide
her
to his office with
Nick following
behind. Sebastian opened the door and held it f
or her and Nick to
enter,
then
he closed it
behind them
.

Nick sat
on
the couch
and
watch
ed
Sebastian as he
paced.
Roxanne
sat in the chair in front of Sebastian’s desk
and watch
ed
him
too
. Finally
,
when his pacing
led to nothing but agitation
, Nick
spoke.
“What’s the last thing you did after your date
last night
?”

“We kissed in the
restaurant’s parking
lot,
”
Sebastian said with a smile as if remembering.

“
Damn.
If Ashley knows that, then she followed one of you to the restaurant and waited
until both of you left.
”