Taylor grinned as the little girl gifted her with a bright smile and cheerful wave. Giggling, she spun on her heel and bounded down the hall. Still watching after the beaming ball of energy, Sebastian chortled and raked his hands through his hair.
“She’s so cute. Can we keep her?”
He stared at her for a long minute. Throwing his head back, he laughed. “No. In fact,” he said, crossing the room to cradle her hips against his, “we should probably get you on something before we end up with six of our own.”
“I’m already on the shot. My uncle didn’t want me getting knocked up in high school, and despite my objections, he didn’t believe I was keeping myself intact.”
She moaned as he bent to kiss the side of her neck. His lips lingered warm and soft against her skin. Despite herself, she felt her body respond with a low forceful throb.
“Mm
, but you did,” he growled. His teeth snared her earlobe in a gentle nibble, and Taylor squirmed, her knees threatening to buckle beneath his administrations. “When do you need to go back?”
“
January. Would it be so bad though? To have some of our own someday? I mean not now, but…” She trailed off as his hand settled against her throat. Her breath caught, her heart starting a slow hammer, but he merely tipped her chin up with his fingers as he kissed a slow path across her neck and along the line of her jaw. His groan threatened to set her insides on fire.
“No, baby,” he murmured. “I’d love to have a kid or two someday down the road.” He cupped her ass with his free hand, grinding her against the front of him. “I’d love making them even more,” he added with a sinister chuckle. “
What is this anyway? Are you making plans for our future already?”
Taylor colored and shook her head.
“Uhm, no…I just…”
He laughed and
covered her mouth with a rough kiss. Pulling back, Sebastian winked. “Relax, sweetheart. I like it. Now go get dressed. As much as I would love to throw you on that bed, the kids will start rioting soon if we don’t feed them.”
Cooking was no easy feat. Even though the kitchen was huge, Sebastian found reasons to brush up against her on several occasions. It was just a subtle reminder of him, the way he felt, and the things he was capable of doing. Biting her lip, she concentrated on flipping the blueberry pancakes as he pressed against her. He rested his chin on her shoulder, hands on her hips, swaying them gently against his. The kids sat scattered on the floor in the great room while they played a board game. It was the kind of morning, and in many ways, the type of life she’d always dreamed of having.
A small frown darkened her face as she thought of her parents. Were these the kind of simple pleasures she’d missed out on growing up? If her father hadn’t run off, and her mother had kept her, would she have witnessed two loving adults lingering in the kitchen preparing meals together while she played? The thought made her sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Sebastian whispered.
She turned her head slightly to find him studying her face. “I was just wondering what my life would have been like if I’d had a family like yours.”
His husky laugh vibrated in her ear. “Count yourself lucky, darling. I didn’t have this either growing up.”
“Your parents sound like they loved each other very much.”
“They did,” he said, still swaying lightly behind her. “They were very much involved with each other, but my father was a man who believed children should rarely be seen and never heard. We were more of an inconvenience in his eyes than a blessing—a fact he liked to reinforce often with his fists.”
Her heart broke at the image of him as a little boy with wide green eyes and messy curls being beaten and afraid. Snagging her lip between her teeth, she blinked against the tears that threatened to fall. Sebastian rested his forehead against her temple for a long moment.
“Hey, it’s okay. It was a long time ago. We had our good times. He was just a
very difficult man to please.”
“Did he beat your sister, too?”
Sebastian shook his head. “Not really, no. He tended to dote on her. My father was hard on me because he expected more and only wanted the best for his son. He made me tough, and I wouldn’t be where I am if not for him. I didn’t tell you this stuff to make you feel bad. You just need to understand, nobody’s home life is perfect. We all have our secrets and our sorrows, baby.”
They both jarred as
Mia crashed into them, wrapping her arms around her uncle’s legs. Relinquishing his hold on Taylor, he scooped the toddler up, letting her peer onto the counter at the griddle. She looked between the two of them for a moment, her cherubic face growing serious.
“Are you two gonna get ma
rried?”
Taylor almost dropped the plastic spatula she’d been gripping as Sebastian released a deep laugh.
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she quickly returned her attention to the pancakes in an attempt to mask it. Dear God. Kids had a way of blurting out some of the most unexpected things. Thinking of her uncle, Taylor smothered a giggle. If he had any inkling what was going on here, he would have asked the same thing. Only instead of an angelic smile, he would have posed it with a sneer and a lecture about what happened to cattle when they gave the milk away for free. She never did quite understand that analogy. It wasn’t as if the cows had any choice in the matter.
“Uh...
” Sebastian cleared his throat. “Well, maybe someday, pumpkin. But for right now, all you need to know is she makes your Uncle Sebby a very happy man. Let’s grab you a plate and some sausage. The pancakes should be coming right up.”
Taylor giggled as he shot her an apologetic look, though his eyes still sparkled with good humor. Hearing his suggestion, the boys barreled into the kitchen and he put them to work setting the round table in the breakfast nook. Morning room, she reminded herself. She shook her head. Whatever it was, it was bright and sunny and afforded a gorgeous view of the lush grounds and rocky landscaping. Much to her delight, a few wayward flakes of snow were drifting from the sky.
Sebastian saw this as well and smiled, pointing it out to the kids. Soon, they’d covered the windows with tiny handprints and the outlines of their scrunched noses.
Breakfast went by slowly.
Mia seemed more interested in prodding the blueberries than eating them, and the conversation revolved around Santa and what each child wanted for Christmas. Taylor couldn’t help but marvel at her lover’s boyish smile and the way his sage eyes danced when he talked to the kids. He even reached out several times to ruffle Christian’s hair with a soft admonishment to eat more and talk less so he could grow up to be big and strong. Much to her surprise, they all took part in cleaning the table afterward, without the slightest bit of prompting. Even the littlest wobbled into the kitchen, her plate tilting precariously in her tiny hands.
Upstairs thundered as the boys raced through the house to get dressed and gather their things. She set to rinsing the plates and loading the dishwasher while Sebastian attempted to brush out
Mia’s tangled curls. He threw his hands up in the air and set the brush aside after her third howl, and she swore she saw a flicker of relief cross his face when the doorbell rang.
She’d just finished wiping the table and counters down when Monique strolled in with Josh in tow. The blonde looked just as beautiful as the day before. The cold had painted rosy patterns on the high ridges of her cheeks and the crisp scent of sunshine and fresh air rolled
off her. Smiling, she glanced around and affectionately stroked the top of her daughter’s head.
“I hope they weren’t too much trouble,” she said.
“No! Not at all. In fact, I asked Sebastian if we could keep little Cindy Lou Who earlier,” Taylor admitted with a giggle.
Monique stared at her for a long moment, her green eyes wide and blinking. Tilting her head, she wet her lips and seemed to regain her composure, though she did lift a tawny brow in response. “How did Seb
astian take that?”
“I took it just fine,” he said softly.
Monique startled. Her hand fluttered to her chest, and she let out a shaky laugh as she dropped her chin to her chest. “I didn’t hear you come back in.”
“Obviously,” he said, reclining a hip against the counter as he folded his arms.
Taylor glanced between the two of them, wondering what she was missing. Josh cleared his throat and attempted to lighten the mood as he sniffed the air.
“Something smells great,” he said.
“We have some leftover pancakes and sausage. If you would like, I can fix you up a plate,” she offered.
“No, but thank you. We ate on the way here.
How were the boys?”
“We hardly saw them. They pretty much kept to themselves.” Taylor peeked back over at Monique. The blonde was silent and seemed preoccupied with the patterns in the stone floor. Glancing at Sebastian, she could easily understand why. Though his face was passive, his eyes bore into his sister with an intensity that made Taylor shiver. Her brow furrowed.
“Yeah,” Josh said with a snort. “They tend to do that. Is everyone ready to go then? I’m sure Baas is eager to have you all to himself and get the hellions out of his hair.”
“I think so.” She glanced over at Sebastian for reassurance, but his attention remained fixated on Monique. “I’ll…uhm…I’ll help you grab their things,” she suggested, suddenly eager to escape the kitchen.
She followed Josh up the stairs, all too aware of the quiet murmur of voices rising from below. Once they reached the hall, she caught up to him and followed him into the boy’s room to grab their bags.
“Can I ask you something?”
He glanced over at her and shrugged, slinging both duffels over his shoulder. His blue stare bore into her for a long moment before he sighed.
“You could, but you probably shouldn’t. Look, the best advice I can give you is the same thing
Baas is telling Monique. Stay out of it. Those two have a complicated relationship at best and the last thing you want to do is stick your nose into the middle of a family squabble.”
“But that’s what I don’t understand,” Taylor said, trailing after him as he strode for
Mia’s room. “She didn’t do or say anything wrong. Why’s he so upset?”
Groaning, Josh tilt
ed his head back and brought it back down with a frustrated shake. “Maybe you haven’t figured this out by now, but you will. Sebastian can be very…intense. He likes things done his way and anything off course from that is just going to piss him off.”
Her face twisted with doubt. “He’s pissed off over a question?”
Josh snorted. “He’s pissed because he wants to be. That’s all the reason he needs. You want my advice? Stay out of it, and when we leave, do whatever you have to do to make the man happy. End of discussion.”
Wrinkling her forehead, Taylor
gave a slow shake of her head. As much as she wanted to deny it, or insist he must be missing something, a lot of Josh said made sense. Last night, and even the night before, Sebastian had been terrifying in his moments of displeasure. There was always something darkly dangerous seething just below the surface with him. Before, she’d thought it was just part of his allure, something that came from knowing part of what he did, and who he could be on the job. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Apprehension shuddered through her, and she glanced up as Josh patted her arm. For the first time, his face bore something soft and close to compassion.
“It doesn’t matter how you got yourself into this,
kiddo. There’s no getting out.”
Somehow, she managed to follow him back downstairs. Her knees felt weak and despite the basking warmth of the house, she was cold. Shivering, she tugged
Mia’s bag off her shoulder and set it near Monique’s feet. The blonde offered her a tremulous smile, though her eyes were slightly watery and red. A somber pall still hung over the room, but much to her surprise, Sebastian’s sister turned to him and gave him a brief hug.
“I love you,” she stated softly. “Thank you for keeping the kids.”
“I love you too, Monique.” Releasing her, his gaze shifted to Josh. He offered his partner an amicable nod. “Later, Reevers.”
“Later,
Baas. Take good care of him, Taylor.”
Pressing her lips together, she nodded.
Sebastian showed them all out. Eager for distraction, she grabbed a bottle of Windex from under the sink and sprayed the windows down, erasing the sticky handprints and smears. She closed her eyes, blowing out a long breath as she heard the front door close. A few seconds later, a strong arm snaked around her waist. Some of the tension and fear fled her as Sebastian took the cleaning supplies from her hand and turned her to face him. She couldn’t help but grin at the lazy smile dangling from his lips.
“Free at last,” he murmured, setting the things down on the table with one hand while tugging her closer with the other.
“They weren’t so bad.”
“No. They weren’t, but Josh is right. I want you all to myself for a while.” His voice dropped to a husky whisper that left no doubt
s as to what he had in mind.
Taylor moaned as he scooped her up, dragging her thighs over his hips. She trembled with pleasure as he ground the straining ridge of his erection
against her, the friction and pressure sending raw jolts right through her. Tightening her hold around his neck, she kissed him deeply, drawing a low groan from the base of his throat. His tongue continued to duel with hers as he carried her over to the couch. The cool leather cushions caved beneath her with a soft hiss. She almost whimpered, mourning the loss of contact when Sebastian tugged her arms free and stood.