Unbelievable (12 page)

So this was wanting, and in wanting, she hurt with her need for him. She’d never guessed that it would be so strong, so overpowering. She had to bite her lips to keep from whimpering again, this time in impatience.

It seemed to take a long, torturous time before the skirt hung open above her knees. Sebastian lifted the material to the side and stood there surveying her thighs, parted around his hips and hanging over the edge of the table. Still looking at her uncovered legs, he reseated himself, and now her thighs opened even wider to bridge his upper body, fitting beneath his arms. Brandi knew he could see her plain cotton panties in the open V of her legs. Just once, his fingers contracted on her soft thighs, then relaxed.

But when he looked at her, there was nothing relaxed in his expression. His eyes blazed with heat and desire. “I want to make certain you’re enjoying this, Brandi.”

“I am.” She swallowed, then because she couldn’t stand a minute more of this, she said, “Make love to me, Sebastian.”

His expression tightened, but he shook his head. “Not yet.” He was silent a moment before he asked, “Do you know how to measure your own desire, Brandi? Do you know what happens to your body when you’re turned on?”

His gaze was intent, and she stared back dumbly, then shook her head. “I only know I want you. Now.”

“But it might not be enough.” His hands coasted over her thighs, then stilled. She closed her eyes with a sigh, but opened them again when he said, “Honey, look at me.”

His cheeks were flushed darkly and his eyes were heavy lidded. He looked so sexy and compelling, she reached for him. “Sebastian.”

His curse was low and strained, and he avoided her kiss. “I don’t want to hurt you, babe.”

“You won’t. Sebastian, please.”

“Brandi…I have to make sure you’re with me before we go any further.” His gaze held hers, fierce and intent, while one hand slid further up her thigh. Brandi gasped.

“Is it easier with me looking at you, or would you rather close your eyes?”

She couldn’t help but give a strained smile. “Why don’t you close your eyes?”

“Because I want to see you.” There was a heavy throb of desire in his tone, ridding her of any humor. She could only see Sebastian, only feel Sebastian. His fingers inched closer and closer up the inside of her leg.

Brandi held his stare, unable to look away. And then his nostrils flared and his palm cupped her and he said softly, “Ah.” Sensual satisfaction spread over his features, darkening his eyes, sharpening the line of his jaw. “You are ready for me, aren’t you?”

The low growl of his voice sank into her, just as his fingers probed, sliding over her soft panties now dampened with her excitement. The realization that she was wet—and he was touching her—caused her to tighten her thighs. But Sebastian was there, his hard body unyielding.

He stared into her eyes, watching her every movement, her every expression. “Don’t shy away from me now, babe. Stay with me.”

“I don’t think…”

“You don’t have to think. Just feel.” His fingers worked under the edge of her panties, and slowly, so slowly she panted, one finger parted her and pushed deep.

Brandi cried out. Without her permission, her eyes closed and her head tipped back. She would have gladly
sprawled on the table except that once again, Sebastian caught her and kept her upright.

“You feel so good, babe. So hot and wet, just the way I want you.” His finger teased, pushing in and then out again. Brandi clutched at him, only marginally aware that he now stood before her, holding her close and kissing her face, her ears, her throat. He loomed over her, and there was a moment’s alarm, but then he stepped back the tiniest bit and at the same time pressed a second finger deep.

Her body seemed to be suffering some great tension, growing tighter and tighter. It unnerved her, but she didn’t want it to stop. With an arm behind her, Sebastian arched her body. He bent and again took a nipple into the heat of his mouth. Brandi cried. She felt the tears on her cheeks, tasted them at the corners of her mouth. Her hips moved rhythmically against his hand, and even though it embarrassed her, she couldn’t stop herself from doing it. She didn’t feel like herself, didn’t feel in any way familiar.

Sebastian encouraged her, slipping his fingers a bit higher and finding a spot with his rough thumb that made her choke on a scream of pleasure.

“Yes, right there, babe. A little more, okay? Just a little more, Brandi.”

She clutched him, her eyes squeezed shut tight, her thighs practically wrapped around him.

“A little more…”

Brandi groaned as a wave of intense pleasure broke over her. Sebastian groaned with her, his arm tight as he murmured and reassured and continued the magic touches. “Yeah, honey, that’s right. Come for me. You’re mine now, Brandi. All mine.”

She heard the soft words, but they didn’t make sense. And they didn’t alarm her. Not while her world exploded, not while Sebastian held her so close she felt a part of him. And even afterward, when her heartbeat started to slow and her mind reassembled itself, she didn’t have a chance to think about the claim of possession he’d made.

Sebastian swept all coherent thought aside by leaning back to smile gently at her, and then asking, “Would you like to tie me down now?”

T
HE GROWING ACHE
in his arms couldn’t be ignored much longer, but he truly hated to disturb her. Brandi slept soundly, sprawled out over his bare chest, one leg over his hips, her breath fanning his right nipple.

It was a wonder he’d survived.

He grinned, thinking of how enthusiastically she’d participated once she’d had him secured to the bed. All inhibitions had left her and she’d gone about torturing him thoroughly with her curiosity of his body and how it worked.

She now knew firsthand what made him tick, because she’d had him ticking for hours. He had no secrets from her, and that suited him just fine. Even the touchy subject of the condom—and how to put it on him—hadn’t slowed her for long. He’d given instructions, and she’d followed them.

She’d made love to him with the most novel approach, unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Because not only did she discover his body, but her own, as well. And he’d been able to watch every small nuance cross her beautiful features. Wonder and excitement had been there as often as shyness and reserve.

But as much as he’d enjoyed himself, he really
wished she’d remembered to untie him before falling asleep. Once again, she’d merely passed out, and this time her sleep was undisturbed by bad dreams. Sebastian had even managed to doze for a few minutes here and there. But now he was beyond stiff, starving for food, and getting a little cold since the fire had died down and the rain had stopped, leaving an ominous chill in the air.

He lifted his head to look down at Brandi’s body. In the late-afternoon light coming through the window, she looked gorgeous. She still wore her shirt, but the skirt and panties were gone. She had a beautiful backside, perfect in shape and texture. The sight of that cute bottom had come close to sending him over the edge several times. He’d wanted to touch her, to squeeze that soft resilient flesh, but by his own suggestion, he’d been helpless to move. It wasn’t an experience he wanted to repeat with any other woman. But for Brandi, he’d do it again in a heartbeat.
After
he’d eaten and gotten the circulation back in his arms.

He was just about to say her name, hoping to wake her gently, to soothe her through her unavoidable embarrassment, when a loud knock sounded on the front door. Alarm raced through him. “Brandi? Come on, babe, wake up.”

She stirred sleepily. “Hmm?”

Sebastian nudged her with his hips, trying to rouse her. “Damn it, Brandi! Wake up. Someone’s at the door.”

She lifted her head. “Someone’s here?”

She looked totally befuddled and still half-asleep. “Untie me, Brandi.”

Rather than doing as he suggested, she sat up, then slipped her slim legs over the side of the bed. She looked around, located her skirt, and started to pull it on.

“Brandi?” His heart thudded heavily as she fastened her skirt. “Untie me.”

“Just a minute. Let me see who’s at the door first.”

“No!” But even as he said it, she started out of the bedroom.
“Brandi!”

She stuck her head back in long enough to say, “Shh,” then was gone again.

Sebastian heard the door open, could hear soft voices, but he couldn’t make out what they said. After what felt like an eternity, Brandi returned. She carried a small slip of paper in her hand and she deliberately avoided his eyes.

“It was the front desk. Shay’s been trying to get in touch with me. I gather from what the clerk said, she’s driving them nuts and she’s not happy that we don’t have a phone.”

He tugged at his bonds. “I don’t want a damn phone.”

“Me, either. But I suppose I should call her back. Otherwise she’s liable to land on our doorstep, just to make certain everything’s okay. You know how Shay is.”

He lifted his head as far as he could to glare at her. “Don’t even think about going to the office without untying me first.”

“Oh.” She blushed, just as he knew she would. “I wouldn’t have done that.” Then her gaze made note of his exposed body, and she didn’t say anything else, didn’t make a move to untie him.

“Brandi?”

“Hmm?”

“I loved every second we spent in this bed, but my arms are starting to get a little stiff now.”

“Oh!” She rushed up to the headboard and sat next to his chest. The mattress dipped and he rolled slightly toward her, his body bumping her hip. He inhaled her clean, womanly scent—now mixed with his scent and the scent of sex. The ways this woman affected him! He liked it, but it also scared him half to death.

She’d opened to him more today than any woman he’d ever known. At the same time, she’d needed his inability to move, to react to her, in order for her to feel so free. Protective instincts mixed with raw lust could do any man in, but Sebastian was sensitive to women’s issues—and to this one small woman in particular.

She finally freed his right hand and he lowered his arm to let it rest lightly over her thigh and around her waist. She leaned over him, her small, perfect breasts only inches from his nose while she tackled the other knot. He’d pulled fiercely against those bindings earlier, needing the pain to counteract his need to hold her. Brandi had been over him, on him, her face taut with pleasure as she worked awkwardly toward her release, and he hadn’t been able to help her, to touch her. Watching her helplessly had been its own form of devilish foreplay. He’d shouted with his own pleasure, but Brandi had been too wrapped up in reaching her peak to do more than gasp.

Thinking about it was getting him aroused again. Luckily she hadn’t noticed, because that might have ruined all the headway he’d made.
How
he could get aroused again was beyond him. He’d always been a
very sexual man with strong appetites, but he’d never been insatiable. Of course, he’d never known anyone like Brandi.

The knots were probably much tighter now than they’d been when Brandi had tied them, thanks to his struggles.

“I’ve almost got it.”

Sebastian smiled. He could hear the concern in her tone, concern for him. He liked that, too. When the knot was undone, Brandi sat back to smile at him. Sebastian stared at her, not moving one iota, then whispered, “Come here.”

Without even thinking about it, she leaned down and kissed him. Sebastian knew she didn’t note the significance of the kiss, but he did. They were in a bed, he was free to move, and still she’d come to him.

He’d never played sex games before, but damned if he didn’t like it with Brandi.

Still not moving his arms, he opened his mouth, inviting her inside, but she leaned back with a grin. “Oh, no you don’t. I didn’t untie you only to tie you up again. I have to go the registration desk and see what Shay wants.” She smoothed her hand over his chest, her expression soft and warm. “Do you want to come with me?”

He slowly flexed his arms, then bit back a groan. “Yeah, I want to go. Can you wait for me to take a shower?”

“Sure. I have to tidy myself up anyway.”

He’d hoped she would offer to shower with him, but she was back to looking shy again. Sitting up beside her, he shifted his shoulders, deliberately crowding against her, seeing how much leeway she’d give him now that they were lovers.

Evidently not much. Brandi shot to her feet, her
hands twisting in her skirt. She started moving toward the door, her grin slipping just a bit. Sebastian caught her hand. “Why don’t you change, and we’ll try to find someplace nice for dinner. Maybe even a little dancing.”

Brandi blinked at him, her nervousness forgotten, just as he’d wanted. “Dinner and dancing? Are you offering to take me to a nightclub?”

“Sure, why not?” He felt a little ill saying it, the thought of the expense and the waste and the time with strangers not really to his liking. But he wanted Brandi happy, and he didn’t want her dwelling on what they’d done all day. Not until bedtime rolled around again—when he hoped very much to sleep with her. Not just to have sex, but to sleep, holding her in his arms all night in a comfortable bed, waking with her snuggled close beside him.

Earlier, he’d told her she was his now. She hadn’t acknowledged those words, either to deny or accept them. It had been a tactical error on his part, pushing her too fast toward an emotional intimacy she didn’t yet feel. But luckily, she hadn’t seemed to hear his declaration, which had bordered on possessive.

She looked confused now. “Do you like to dance?”

He shrugged. “I think I’d like dancing with you.”

Of her own volition, she stepped up close to him and hugged his naked body tight. Startled, it took Sebastian a moment to carefully return her embrace. With his mouth touching the top of her head, he asked, “Is that a yes or a no?”

“I don’t know how to dance.”

That damn tenderness hit him again, almost suffocating, and he closed his eyes. Of course she hadn’t
done much dancing. She’d been a wallflower, overshadowed by Shay as a teen, then withdrawn from men completely since the rape. There were likely many things she’d never done, and suddenly, he wanted to do them all with her. The cost be damned, because the waste of the money didn’t seem like a waste if it made her happy.

“Then we’ll definitely go. Trust me, you’ll be a natural.” He kissed her crown, inhaling her scent and feeling her hair tickle his nose. He loved her hair—the soft, wild curls, the rich dark color. He framed her face with his hands, letting his fingers tangle in those curls, then turned her face up to his. He kissed her gently, trying to ignore the lingering wariness in her eyes.

“We’ll do up the town tonight, so wear something sexy.”

Laughter replaced the wariness in her beautiful blue eyes. “I don’t own anything sexy and you know it.”

“Then we’ll have to buy you something.” Of all the gifts she’d bought, she hadn’t purchased anything for herself. She’d only been thinking of the children at the shelter, and he liked that awareness in her. With all she’d been through in her life, she still had room to feel concern for others. She was such a giving, caring woman, it would be all too easy to fall in love with her.

But that thought didn’t distress him. He felt good, very good. He’d pick her out a dress more beautiful than anything she’d ever had.

“Sebastian, I don’t think…”

He interrupted her, unwilling to listen to arguments. He hadn’t felt this enthusiastic about spending money since… Never.

“We’ve got a lot to do, once you’ve called Shay. Shopping first, then food, then dancing.” He turned her before she could offer more protests, then gave her a light swat on the bottom. “Get going, woman. I’m starved.”

S
EBASTIAN STOOD BY
impatiently while Brandi went through another round of assurances with Shay. She’d been on the phone five minutes now, and from what he could tell from her side of the conversation, Shay wanted a blow-by-blow report of what had gone on, needing to know if she’d made a mistake by rushing Brandi off with a man.

That nettled him. Damn it, he wasn’t just any man. Shay knew he had a special sensitivity for women, and she trusted him with many of the situations at the safe houses. So why was she putting Brandi through the fifth degree?

“I promise, Shay, I’m having fun. Honest.” Brandi’s eyes slanted toward Sebastian, filled with apology and a tinge of embarrassment. “No, it’s…it’s not like that. He’s been…well…”

Sebastian couldn’t stop himself. He reached out and plucked the phone from Brandi’s hand. She tried to snatch it back, but he held it out of her reach—an easy thing to do given her small stature.

As he put the phone to his ear, drowning out Brandi’s muttered complaints, he heard Shay say, “Just remember that he is a man, honey, more man than most. And whether you know it or not, you’re a very pretty woman. Don’t expect him to keep his distance for the whole trip.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes, feeling both annoyance and chagrin. “I’d say she was beautiful, not just pretty,
and damn sexy, as well. She can handle any man on her own—even me.”

A moment of silence, then: “Sebastian.”

“Shay,” he replied sweetly.

“I, uh…”

“Warning your sister away from me? And after you donated me to her so nicely. A birthday present, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. You were…for her birthday.” Then she said in a rush, “I just wanted to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake.”

He softened, hearing the fretful tone of Shay’s voice. He knew she meant well, despite her meddling. Taking charge and running things was simply a part of her. She wouldn’t know how to be any other way. “There’s no mistake. You trust me, remember.”

“Yeah, I trust you. It’s just…”

“We’ve covered it, Shay. Things are fine, and we’re having a good time. Both of us.” He looked at Brandi and saw her face had gone red. She looked ready to kill him.

He grinned. “I gotta go, Shay. Brandi is anxious to get on with our date.” She swung at him, but he ducked and she missed. Chuckling, he said, “If Brandi needs anything, she’ll call you. Bye.”

“Don’t hang—” the receiver hit the cradle and Brandi frowned “—up.”

“You don’t need her filling you with nonsense.”
Or warning you away from me.
“And you don’t need her advice. I think we’re doing just fine on our own.”

She glared at him, but after a moment of him grinning back, her frown smoothed out and she threw her hands up in the air. “All right, I give up. I can’t really stay mad anyway, not when I’m secretly glad to be off the phone. But don’t ever do that again.”

Her frown was back to being fierce, so he quickly apologized. “I was an arrogant jerk. It won’t happen again.”

She shook her head, then smiled. “I wouldn’t go quite that far. Arrogant, but not a jerk. But you were too high-handed.”

“You looked embarrassed.”

“Um, Shay being insistent is sometimes hard to talk around.”

“Next time, just tell her to butt out.” He touched her cheek. “Especially when she’s questioning your love life.”

Brandi laughed. “Are you kidding? With Shay, that would be as good as admitting there was something going on, and she’d have kept me on the phone forever prying for details. Mostly because I’ve never
had
a love life.”

Sebastian took her arm and steered her toward the exit. Very quietly, he asked, “Is there something going on?”