Chapter Fourteen
Ava
I stay in my office the next three days, keeping contact with others to a bare minimum. I’m not trying to avoid anyone—not even Sebastian—but I’m buried in work. Right now, I have to attend a meeting of the board. Logan and Sebastian invited me, saying it’ll be great for me to get an overview of the company. I very much appreciate it, since clients usually don’t bother, leaving me to my own devices.
Sebastian is ruthless in the boardroom. He is fair and listens to everyone’s opinion, but he’s ruthless nonetheless. He commands everyone’s respect, and when he decides something, no one but Logan dares to contest it.
During the break, I chat with Pippa.
“Your brother is quite the iron-fisted boss.”
“Someone has to be,” Pippa comments.
“Sure. And he does it well. Usually, when bosses attempt to be strict, they come off as assholes. Sebastian comes off as someone who knows what he’s doing,” I finish with confidence.
Pippa scans me, pursing her lips and winking at me. I freeze and then take a gulp of burning-hot coffee, keeping my eyes on the floor. So I can’t even compliment him without someone realizing I’ve got the hots for him.
Her phone buzzes, and she gives me an apologetic glance. “I need to take this call.”
I nod, finishing my coffee by myself, then send Nadine a message.
Ava:
Sebastian is killing everyone in the boardroom, and I find it hot. How can it be? I hate when Dirk does it.
Her reply comes quickly and I smile reading it.
Nadine: That’s because Dirk’s a dick (hence his nickname). Sebastian, my dear, is a bona-fide alpha. It is irresistible, and trembling knees are totally appropriate.
After a few seconds, she sends a new message.
Can you film him and send me the video?
Heat surges in my cheeks.
Ava: Umm, you PERV. No
.
Nadine: Jeez, I didn’t ask for a video of the two of you doing it. He’ll be fully clothed (or if he holds meetings in the boardroom naked, tell me and I’ll come work for him, even if I have to sweep floors).
I type back as quickly as I can.
Ava: Sorry to disappoint, he’s fully clothed. You’re still not getting a video. I know you; you have X-Ray vision.
Nadine:
*Snort* R
emember our rule. If you do him, always use a condom. You have no idea who else he might be doing.
I don’t reply. After the break is over, we all take our seats in the meeting room, except for Sebastian, who paces near the window, lost in thought. He discards the suit jacket, remaining only in his shirt. As I admire his broad shoulders and toned body, I wish I had X-ray vision too.
***
After the meeting is over at eleven o’clock, I disappear into my office. It’s almost lunch when I receive an e-mail from Sebastian. The subject: Presentation Missing.
I frown. I’m not supposed to have the presentation ready until tomorrow. Even so, we agreed that I wouldn’t send him the presentation beforehand. I want to gauge everyone’s first reaction as I walk the marketing team through it tomorrow. I click the e-mail open. It contains one single line.
I can’t stop thinking about the kiss.
I bite my lip, staring at the screen. Part of me thought he wanted to forget the entire thing. Usually men run for the hills at the word marriage, even if it doesn’t concern them. But Sebastian didn’t kiss and run. I should’ve known he wouldn’t back away from a challenge. After all, he told me so himself.
I type back,
It was a good kiss.
The ping announcing a new e-mail sounds a second later.
Good? You’re hurting my pride
.
Grinning, I wait for one whole minute before writing him back.
It was great.
His reply comes in instantly.
Great enough to repeat it
?
Adrenaline fuels me. I’d forgotten how sizzling flirting feels.
It’s dangerous territory
.
This time it takes two whole minutes for his reply to land in my inbox. It feels like an hour.
Maybe I’m the dangerous brother
.
I lean back in my chair, contemplating the mess we’re in. Here he is, still wanting me.
Don’t be stupid, Ava. You can’t throw all you’ve worked for away for a fling
. My heart constricts, because I know this wouldn’t be a fling. Sebastian Bennett is too kind, too smart, and too perfect. Shaking my head, I go back to working on the presentation, losing myself in my work before long.
At one o’clock Sebastian bursts into my office, looking furious.
“I’m the CEO, you can’t ignore my e-mails.” He makes the assistant passing outside my door jump.
“Oh, did you send me more e-mails?” I check my in-box quickly, and discover that he did send me another e-mail, in which he asked me if we could grab lunch together. “I don’t have time—”
“I won’t hear any excuses.”
“Sebastian, I really want to get this presentation done.”
“I’m the CEO; you have to listen to me. This is nonnegotiable. Come on, grab your things.”
“You’re bossy,” I say. In an attempt to stand up to him, I fold my arms over my chest; but I can’t deny it, I cower a tad under his unwavering gaze.
“And you like it.” His fake frown melts into a grin.
“Maybe,” I admit, starting to rise from the chair. I do it with exquisite slowness, torturing him. “Are you the bossy brother?”
“You’re about to find out. Let’s go.”
“This needs to be quick, Sebastian. I mean it.”
“Duly noted.”
Picking up my bag, I ask him, “Where are we going today?”
***
Sebastian brings me to a beach for our lunch break. After finishing our tacos, we walk along the shore.
“This is nice.” I admire the light waves caressing the shore.
“I knew you’d like it.”
“I love the ocean. Lucky me that I’ve been sent mostly to coastal locations in the last year.” I peer out to the sea, watching the water reflect the sunlight.
“I didn’t want to offend you with the ruby that night,” Sebastian says. “I honestly wanted you to have it because you were so taken with it when you saw it. I wasn’t expecting anything in return.”
“I figured that out. You shouldn’t hand out rubies like that, Sebastian. People might take advantage of you.”
He smiles sadly. “Most do.”
“Then stop doing it. You don’t need to shower a woman with gifts to get her to date you. Or if you have to, she’s not worth it.”
“I want you. I can make these the best four damned months of our lives, Ava. In bed and outside it.” Inching closer to me, he cups my right cheek in one hand. My face flames at his caress, and I suck in a breath when the fingers of his other hand trace my collarbone. The heat in his eyes mirrors the promise in his voice, prompting a frisson of need low in my abdomen. There goes my breath again. “But you said you need time, so I’ll give it to you.”
“Thank you.”
I observe longingly the people jogging on the shore. I really should start running again. It’s a routine I’ve formed in the past year, go to bed early, wake up early, and go for an hour-long run before work. All I’ve done since arriving is eat and drool at the thought of this impossibly sexy man.
“How often do you come here?” I ask him.
“You want the truth?”
“Yep.”
“The last time I went to the beach was when my youngest sister graduated high school. They threw a beach party; she got drunk and called me to take her home. That was a few years ago.”
“Why come now?”
He comes to a stop, watching me closely. “You make me miss things I didn’t even know I missed.”
“Like what?”
“Jogging on the beach.”
I gasp. “How do you know I was thinking about that?”
“I can read your mind,” he says cockily. From the way his eyes linger on my lips, my drooling and daydreaming did not go unnoticed. To make matters worse, I catch myself biting at my lip. That’s the effect this man has on me.
“I’m in big trouble.”
“You are, and because I want to add more trouble to that, I’ll tell you what I was thinking about.” His eyebrows arch slightly as he focuses his green eyes on me.
“I’m listening.” My voice comes out a breathy mess.
“You and me, panting and sweating. . .” He says nothing more, instead leaning his muscular torso down to me. Two can play at this game. I’m going to make him say it.
“What would we be doing that brings us to that state?”
He wiggles his eyebrows. “Jogging together.”
The surprise of his words brings on a hysterical round of laughter.
“Why, you were thinking about something else?” Sebastian’s laughing too.
“I thought you said you could read my mind.” I force myself to breathe deeply to calm down.
“You have a very dirty mind. I know the perfect beach for jogging.” His stance is laid-back, but his tone is challenging.
I take the bait. “Fine, let’s go on Saturday.”
A look of immense satisfaction crosses his feature as he says, “It’s a date.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ava
On Saturday, I arrive at the beach a full hour earlier than my scheduled jogging session with Sebastian. He tried to insist on picking me up, but I won the argument. Well, won isn’t the right word, because there’s no winning against him when he puts his mind to something. We compromised. I agreed to let him drive me back to the apartment after the run.
The truth is that I wanted to have a whole hour to myself. The last three weeks were so full of Sebastian. If I’m not seeing him at the office, I’m thinking about him. He consumes my thoughts every waking moment. Every sleeping moment too, I might add.
After I’m done stretching, I break into a light run on the sand. How did I get out of shape so fast? I stop often, clutching my left side, panting. When I can’t move anymore, I grasp mentally for any motivational crap about sports and health and all that jazz. I am sidetracked by the sight of the mouthwatering donuts the couple lying on the sand a few feet away from me is eating. I sigh, forcing my legs to carry me forward. I know better than to break into a run again, so I advance with quick steps. I’m meeting Sebastian at the other end of the beach, and there are still a bazillion miles until I get there.
Except for the couple with the donuts, the beach is deserted, so I don’t have anything to distract me from the miles I still have to walk.
“Morning, beautiful.”
A jolt shakes me, and I turn around. A short, balding man in his late forties—or possibly fifties—stands behind me. He wears jogging attire, but by the sleazy look he gives me, I can tell he’s not here for jogging.
“Err, do I know you?” I don’t bother to sound interested.
“You do now.” He says the words with all the confidence in the world, as though it’s the best pick-up line. “I’m Ray, what’s your name?”
“None of your business.” I turn around, intending to put as much distance between us. He catches up with me.
“You’re right. I was trying to be polite. I live in one of those blocks.” He points vaguely to some skyscrapers in the distance. “We could go there for a quick fuck.”
My jaw drops. Is he serious? I’ve never heard such a lame-ass pick-up line, and I live in New York.
I force my voice to sound calm, even though I’d like nothing better than to smash this idiot’s nose. “No thanks, I’m going to pass.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t play hard to get. You came here looking for it. Do you want to get paid, is that it?”
This actually makes me stop. “What?” I bark at him.
“Flaunting your tits like that on the beach.”
“I came for a run.” Clenching my fists, I glare at him. I’m wearing tight jogging pants and a bra.
“Sure you did.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” I stomp my foot, placing my hands on my hips.
“You need some convincing.”
“No. Please leave.”
“She said no,” someone booms from behind me. Relief washes over me at the sound of the familiar voice. Sebastian. Knowing that Sebastian’s here makes me feel safe. “Leave or you won’t ever be able to walk again when I’m done with you.”
Ray’s about two heads shorter than Sebastian; he’s no match for him. He must realize this too, because his smirk fades as he eyes Sebastian. “Get out of our sight before I call the cops,” Sebastian says.
Sebastian doesn’t take his eyes off Ray until he’s at a considerable distance from us. He turns to me, laying his hands on my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. I blink away tears.
“Are you okay?” Worry laces his voice.
“Yeah, just mad.”
“He’s an asshole, forget him.”
“I’m mad at myself. I could’ve dressed differently.”
“Ava Lindt, listen to me. You have the right to dress any way you want. Even if you walked around naked, it wouldn’t give him the right to treat you like that.”
When I don’t react, he pulls me into a hug. I lose myself in his strong arms, inhaling his scent. His shower gel must contain mint, because the subtle smell invades my nostrils. It calms me further. I was ready to take Ray on my own. I took some judo classes while I had an assignment in Japan, so I know basic defense techniques. But, God, does it feel good to have someone stand up and protect me. After I wiggle out of his embrace, his eyes probe me.
“I’m okay. Thanks for rescuing me.”
“Do you want to call this off? We can run another day.”
“Let’s have a donut,” I say unexpectedly.