“Excuse me, darling,” he stated softly.
Confused, Taylor trailed after him as he headed for the kitchen. She paused in the entryway as a haughty looking redhead rounded on Sebastian, disapproval riding her pinched features. Cradling her pregnant belly, she pressed closer to the rugged looking man beside her.
“What i
s going on?” he asked, drawing the attention of their guests.
Several of his teammates had arrived earlier
. A hushed silence fell over the group as they looked between the two. Taylor bit her cheek, her breath catching as an undeniable tension gripped the room.
“Don’t start on me, Sebastian,” the redhead quipped.
“This is my home, Natalie.
I will do as I please.”
“And Christian is my son. I’
m pregnant. The last thing I need is some crazed heathen plowing into me and hurting the baby. You’d think you’d do a better job of keeping these brats under wraps seeing how much you like being in control of things.”
H
er heart sank as Josh glanced her way. The look on his face warned if she didn’t do something soon, the situation would get ugly in a hurry. Clapping her hands together, Taylor tried to grab the room’s attention.
“Okay! I think dinner is about done.
Why doesn’t everyone grab a drink and head into the dining room so we can get the meal underway? That should get the kids settled down, at least for a little while.”
Her
face flushed as the redhead’s aqua eyes swung her way. They were as cold and pale as ice.
“I’m sorry. Who are you again?” she asked with an indignant sniff.
“That’s Taylor. She’s with me, and you will treat her with respect,” Sebastian said, stepping closer to the woman. “I will only tell you this once.”
“You
don’t get to tell me anything,” she retorted, threading her arm through the silent, but muscular, man’s at her side. “This may be your house, but you’re not my husband.”
Sebastian snorted. “Consider yourself lucky.”
“Believe me, I do. I never would’ve married your half-brother if he was anything like you.”
His gaze shifted to the man in question.
Taylor chewed her lip, regarding the slight similarities between them. The other man was much wider, his features broader and less refined. His dark hair was straight, lacking the lightness and curl both Sebastian and Monique boasted.
Sebastian’s
jaw knotted, and when he spoke, his voice was a strained rasp. “Lucian, please tell your wife to stop causing a scene and go take a seat before I lose my patience.”
“Come on, honey,” the big man mumbled, wrapping his arm around her waist.
“Let’s just have a good time and enjoy ourselves.”
Monique rolled her eyes as the two of them left the room.
The shimmering aspen gown she wore hugged her willowy frame in all the right places, and Taylor couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of envy. The woman was beyond beautiful. She forced a smile as the blonde draped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her head close in a playful hug.
“Welcome to our family.”
Dinner was tense. A somber silence hung in the air filled only by the scrape of silverware and the occasional cough. Her chest ached with disappointment and the bitter sense of failure. This wasn’t the meal she’d had planned. In her version, there had been laughter and conversation that flowed as freely as the wine. She stared at the dancing flicker of the candles nestled in the poinsettia centerpiece, her dinner going cold and untouched. Flattening her lips in a grim press, Taylor forced a swallow and blinked against the tears threatening to build in her eyes. Her head snapped up as a light hand settled over hers beneath the table, and Sebastian gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. The apologetic smile he offered only made her heart hurt more.
“Please try to eat, baby,”
he whispered.
Forcing the best smile she could muster, Taylor scrunched her nose and lifted her fork. The soft lilt of the children’s voices filtered from the kitchen. They’d been set up at their own table, and far from the tension, they chattered happily among themselves. For that much, she was grateful. At least someone was having a good time. Across from her, Natalie tapped a nail against the lacquered cherry table. The glossy wood mirrored her talon
-like hand, and Taylor squirmed against the padded velvet cushions on her seat as the woman’s eyes bore into her.
“So tell me, Tracy, how exactly did you and Sebastian meet?”
Her head snapped up and she offered an uncertain smile. “It’s Taylor,” she corrected. “And I think it would be best if he told that story.”
The redhead’s gaze narrowed slightly at her laugh. “I should have known. Let me guess
. He won’t let you speak for yourself.”
Cocking her head, she stared at the woman with a mixture of confusion and annoyance. “I’m talking aren’t I?”
Monique giggled from the other end of the table. A few of the men, including Josh gave a humored snort. Natalie set down her fork, her tongue pushing past her thin ruby lips to wet them.
“You’re a sassy one, huh? Well enjoy that
spunk while you can, sweetheart, because it won’t last. Not with him.”
“Honey.” Lucian’s deep voice was low and pleading.
“What?” she snapped. “Oh wait, I know! I’m supposed to walk on eggshells because God forbid something makes Sebastian unhappy. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to sit here and bite my tongue. She seems like a nice girl, and she deserves to know she’s opening her legs for a monster.”
“Excuse me?” Taylor exclaimed, dropping her fork. “How dare you?”
“Taylor,” Sebastian warned quietly, though his gaze never wavered. It remained locked on his sister-in-law, something lethal and menacing brewing in its pale depths.
“I’m not going to sit here and let her talk about you like that!”
“How can you stick up for him?” Natalie’s voice raised several decibels.
Her
husband shifted, his broad face contorting with discomfort.
“Leave her alone.”
Everyone glanced at the normally reserved blonde at the end of the table with no small measure of surprise.
“
Oh shut up, Monique!” Natalie snapped. “You’re no better. The way you kowtow to your brother is disgusting. You’re even worse than she is. You went ahead and married one of them, and now you’re spreading your thighs for another one!”
“One of what?” Taylor asked, knitting her brow. She
paled, head whipping to the side, as a low snarl rose from the man beside her. It didn’t matter anyway; the woman ignored her question and kept on talking, even over Sebastian’s warning to shut up.
“
How can you possibly defend someone who tortures people for a living? Doesn’t it matter that this monster and his crew have brutalized and killed women—picked off innocent children just to make people break? Sebastian is not a man. He’s a heartless beast!”
Taylor jumped as
he slammed his hands against the table and surged to his feet. The table rocked dangerously, jarred by the hard muscles of his thighs. Leaning forward, he braced his palms against the gleaming wood, his gaze filled with a glint as cold and deadly as a snake’s. The muscles beneath his eyes twitched, and his nostrils flared as he inched further across the table.
“Get
out
of my house.”
His hushed, soft tone sent a
slight tremble through Natalie. It was a stark contrast to the shivers wracking Taylor from the inside out. She clamped her eyes shut, not wanting to see the pure, unadulterated rage contorting Sebastian’s face. Never had she seen anyone look more savage or cruel. Icy fear crept through her veins. She tensed, cringing as the sound of a chair scraping against the floor flooded the room.
“My pleasure,” the woman bit back.
“I’d prefer not to watch you preside over the rest of us like some ruthless king. You are the worst kind of monster there is!”
“Keep talking and I will show you just how
ruthless of a monster I can be. Get her out of here, Lucian.
Now
.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,
” the redhead snapped. “But I swear to God you will never see my kids or your brother again. Thank God he only has half your blood. I won’t have my family subjec-”
Sebastian sprung. His lean corded body struck with the speed of lightening, his movements just as lethal. The room erupted in chaos. Several men leapt to their feet
, scrambling in an attempt to catch him. Josh headed the efforts as Sebastian pinned the woman to the wall by her throat. His forearm flattened against her neck; his head cocked, and his body trembled with rage. It took two large men and the feeble efforts of her husband, to rip him away.
“You will never see them again!” Natalie screamed, her face purpling with fury.
She stumbled as Josh pushed her
and thrust his hands between them in an attempt to hold Sebastian at bay.
“Stop talking and get
the fuck out!” he yelled, turning to brace both his palms against Sebastian’s shoulders.
Spinning on her heel,
the redhead strode for the door with a harsh bark for her husband to grab their son and follow. Taylor’s heart hammered in her throat as she watched Sebastian tense. Only the soothing pleas of Josh’s voice and the determined press of the man’s hands against his chest kept him at bay. He still shook, his fists curling and uncurling in time with the muscles twitching in his cheek. It wasn’t until the front door slammed that the fight started to flee him.
“I’m
sorry,” Lucian apologized. He directed the statement at the room, but his pleading expression was aimed at his brother. “There’s nothing I can do. If I don’t go along, she’ll take the kids away from me.”
Sebastian shook his head. “Just
leave.”
His entire body sagged, and
Taylor watched the gravity of the situation wash over him when his brother returned from the other room with a bewildered child in tow. Tucked in the plump folds of his goose down coat, the little boy glanced around with tears in his eyes. All traces of anger fled Sebastian’s face in an instant. It twisted, bearing the effects of crippling pain. Pressing his fingertips against his eyes, he squeezed. Still fighting for control, he sniffed and crouched down in front of his nephew. Without a word, he pulled the boy in, enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. His body shook with visible strain as he pressed his forehead against the child’s cheek.
“I love you, buddy,” he choked. “No matter what, you have to promise me you will never forget that, okay?”
“I don’t want to go,” Christian whimpered, still trying to cling to him as Sebastian rocked to his feet.
“I know. I don’t want you to go either, but your mom’s not feeling well and
she has to take good care of your baby sister. You get to sleep early so Santa can come.” He ruffled the boy’s silky hair. “I’ll send your presents from us home.”
“I want to stay here with you…”
“Aw, little man,” Sebastian released a sorrowful laugh and gathered the child in another tight hug. “I love you. Remember that for me and be a good boy, okay?”
Tears rolled down Taylor’
s cheeks as Sebastian turned away. She wanted to throw things, to scream, to do anything—anything in her power to erase his pain and make them stay. In the end, all she could do was watch them leave, knowing they had just ripped out a huge part of his heart and taken it with them. Monique sniffled at the other end of the table, her slender body shaking as she fought to hold her emotions in. The blonde glanced up with misery and pleading in her eyes as Josh laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, his big fingers giving it an affectionate squeeze. Numbing silence still gripped the table even after Sebastian took his seat. Taylor prayed it would all just end.
“I apologize,” he stated softly. “For everythin
g. Please let me know if I can warm your plates.”
“Fuck that,” Josh said with a snort. “I’m starving. Let’s eat.”
A loud round of laughter exploded from the table as his teammates nodded their heads in agreement. For the first time since dinner began, the tension lifted and conversation started to flow.
After clearing the table, Taylor rinsed the dishes and loaded the dishwasher with Monique. Between the two of
them, the work went fast, and at times, it even bordered on fun. Her mind was distracted though, her thoughts never straying from Sebastian. The moment they finished she made a quick round, giving refills where necessary, before padding through the house in search of him. She found him in the foyer, a half empty bottle of whiskey dangling from his hand as he stared at the tree. Frowning, she crept up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He pressed against her. For a moment, they just enjoyed the stillness and the comfort of being near.
Sebastian lifted the bottle and took a long swig. She couldn’t help but giggle against his back as he shuddered with a growl of discomfort. Wrapping his fingers around her wrist, he lifted his other arm and tugged her around to the front of him. Her eyes searched his face, hating the
raw pain still etched there. Reaching up, she stroked his chiseled features. There was no need for words. Even if there had been, there was nothing she could say. This was something he had to process and deal with in his own time, in his own way. Instead, she leaned up and claimed his mouth in a tender kiss. His arms wound around her, squeezing her tight as his lips moved against hers with acceptance and hunger. Several long minutes passed before he pulled back.