Unhinged (8 page)

As we stood there,
motionless, neither of us said anything for a few heartbeats. My pulse was
racing and if it hadn’t been for Aaron’s warm hand on my back, I probably would
have forgotten where I was.

Sebastian peered over
my shoulder at Aaron and I thought I saw a flash of anger glitter in his
beautiful golden eyes, but it was gone as fast as it had come, leaving me to
think I was imagining things.

“Enjoy the party, Angel,”
Sebastian whispered, nodding his head at me, our eyes locking briefly.

He didn’t linger. He
continued walking right past me without looking back.

“Who was that?” Aaron
turned at the same time I did, so that he could follow Sebastian with his eyes.

“No one,” I murmured.

Mechanic, my ass.

Payton

Two hours into the
party, and I was wondering when the fun was going to start. I’d managed to
drink six flutes of champagne and was starting to feel the effects of the
alcohol, although that hadn’t helped to alleviate the nerves that were
attacking my insides. Aaron had forced me to eat some of the hors d’oeuvres,
which was probably the only reason I wasn’t flat on my face at this point.

My head was beginning
to hurt from looking around the room, trying to locate Sebastian at every turn.
Ever since our brief run-in, I hadn’t seen him again, but I could feel his
presence. I knew he was there somewhere.

“Care to dance?” Aaron
stopped me from taking another flute from a passing waiter.

I glared at him in
warning. That earned me a smile.

“No, I do not want to
dance,” I slurred, but he just took me in his arms and led me to the center of
the room.

“You’re drunk.”

“I am not,” I argued,
knowing full well that I was. I wasn’t much of a drinker, aside from a beer or
two every now and again. I didn’t even like champagne, yet tonight I’d been
drinking it like water.

“Whatever you say,
doll,” Aaron replied, pressing his hand to the back of my head and forcing my
face to rest against his chest. He was holding one of my hands and I slid my
other hand beneath his jacket, clutching his back. It probably looked intimate,
but I was trying to keep from sliding to the floor and letting sleep take over.
That, and being with Aaron made me feel safe.

He pressed his lips
against the top of my head as we danced around the room, the music soft and
slow. The lights had dimmed a short while ago and most of the couples had
migrated to the dance floor, too. As we moved, I closed my eyes, willing my
brain to stop spinning.

Aaron must have
realized the effect the dancing was having on my inebriated state because he
slowed even more, our feet barely moving.

“Who was the guy from
earlier?” Aaron asked, his voice low, soothing.

“I told you. No one.”

“Right. And I didn’t
believe you. That’s why I asked again. Who is he?”

“The mechanic,” I
informed him, hating the fact that the alcohol was making my lips flap when
they shouldn’t.

“Ahh. That explains it.”

“I don’t think he’s the
mechanic,” I admitted.

I could hear Aaron’s
gruff chuckle against my ear. I amused him. I knew I did.

I amused a lot of
people these days.

“Who do you think he
is?”

“No idea,” I told him,
digging my fingernails into his back. I really didn’t want to talk.

Aaron apparently took
the hint because we spent the next few minutes slow dancing until the music
disappeared. At first I thought I’d fallen asleep standing up, but then a voice
came over the sound system and the lights went out, pitching the room into
complete darkness.

An automated voice
started talking and several strobe lights began alternating to the bass that
kicked in. What happened next was straight out of a movie. Seriously, I was
pretty sure I’d seen it before in a movie. I don’t remember which one though.

I stayed close to Aaron
while the robotic voice rambled on about engines and cars and speed while a
series of lights drew designs along one of the walls. There were gasps and
clapping and then the lights came up to reveal a car sitting in the middle of
the room.

“Impressive,” Aaron
stated dryly. “I’m pretty sure that’s been done before.”

Another waiter
approached and while Aaron’s attention was snagged by the fancy sports car, I
grabbed another flute and downed it in one gulp.

I really didn’t like
champagne; tonight’s sampling only solidified that for me.

“You better slow down,”
Aaron stated firmly when he turned to look at me.

I didn’t argue. There
was no point. I just wanted to go home. I’d already been there for more than
two hours and Mr. Trovato hadn’t even greeted me, although I’d seen him at
least three times and I was pretty sure he’d seen me as well.

I don’t know if he was
purposely ignoring me or if it was just my imagination, but I was beginning to
get frustrated. As it was, the only person who’d spoken to me all night,
besides Aaron, was Aaliyah.

Sebastian didn’t count.

“We need to get you
some water.”

Water was good.

Aaron was escorting me
away from the crowd when a wave of nausea hit me. “I… I need to use the
restroom,” I told him hurriedly.

“I’ll take you,” he
replied softly, taking my arm.

“No,” I insisted,
pulling back from him. “I’ll… I’ll be right back.”

I needed some air and I
didn’t want Aaron following me in the event that I did get sick. I met his gaze
and waited until he nodded. His eyes met mine briefly, but then I took off for
the door. Out in the hall, the sound of my heels on the marble floor made my
ears ring, but then blessedly I was on the carpet. When I stumbled once,
sliding my hand along the wall to keep myself upright, I knew I’d had too much
to drink. As the stairs came into view, I suddenly wondered just how I was
going to safely make it down without falling on my face and rolling my way to
the first floor.

I stopped at the top
and peered down, taking a deep breath and trying to clear the fuzziness from my
head. I’d walked down plenty of stairs in my life. Surely I could handle a few
more.

A strong but gentle
hand gripped my arm and I looked up, expecting to see Aaron standing behind me.
My mouth fell open as I stared up into those glistening gold eyes that had
haunted my every thought since meeting him yesterday.

Sebastian didn’t say
anything, but he didn’t look away either. I could tell he was thinking about
something, and I suddenly hoped he wasn’t thinking about giving me a gentle
nudge down the stairs. But then he grinned and every thought in my brain leaked
right out.

Without saying a word,
he urged me closer to the stairs, his hand sliding down around my waist as he
held me close to him. With his reassuring grip on me, I managed to make it down
the stairs without an ungraceful face plant and the next thing I knew, he was
leading me out through a door at the back of the house, right onto a dimly lit
veranda.

I was pretty sure just
the patio area was bigger than my parents’ entire backyard.

I kept my thoughts to
myself as we continued to walk to a shadowy corner, away from a few people who
were milling about.

“Thank you,” I mumbled,
unable to look at him when we stopped walking. I took deep, steadying breaths,
willing myself under control. I was no longer queasy, but I was hot. The cool
breeze did little to ease the heat that coursed just beneath my skin, but I
shivered anyway.

“What are you thanking
me for?” Sebastian chuckled, the deep baritone of his voice sending a chill
dancing down my spine.

“For not letting me
fall to my death down the stairs.”

I placed my hands on
the concrete railing that wrapped around the veranda, breathing slowly as I
stared out into the darkness. The moon was out, casting a white glow on the
trees, the moonbeam bouncing off a pond in the distance. My head was spinning,
but I think it had more to do with the incredible scent of Sebastian’s cologne
than the alcohol.

Just as I had earlier,
I felt his presence more than I saw him. He was standing just to my right, a
step behind me which offered me a small measure of comfort. If he got too
close, I feared what I might do. My body had taken on a mind of its own,
ignoring all logical instruction from my brain. Being alone with Sebastian
wasn’t a good thing, at least not where my common sense was concerned.

I don’t know how long
we stood there, but I didn’t move, didn’t look at him. For some reason, I was
scared to make a sound, not wanting him to leave. I knew he was still there
beside me because I could smell him, hear his steady breathing.

I shivered when a gust
of wind whipped behind the house, wrapping my arms around myself. But even if I
froze to death, I didn’t want to walk away. I don’t know what it was about
Sebastian, but I was drawn to him. Ever since we met yesterday, I’d thought
about him endlessly. And now he was standing here, the silence between us
surprisingly comforting, but at the same time unnerving.

He shifted, and I
thought for a second that he was going to walk away, but then his jacket was
resting on my shoulders, my senses overwhelmed by him. I closed my eyes as I
inhaled, letting the rich, musky scent of his cologne seep into me while the
residual warmth from his body heat enveloped me. I suddenly wished his arms
were around me.

But I knew that was
crazy talking.

Several minutes passed.
I could hear a few people talking, a woman laughing. The music was muted
outside, but I could still make out the slow, jazzy tune.

“Feeling better yet?”
Sebastian’s arm brushed against me as he moved closer to the rail, setting his
empty beer bottle on the top.

“Much,” I said a little
too quickly, turning to face him.

Whether it was the
alcohol or my own desire, I wanted to question him, to find out what that
niggling was in the back of my mind. “Are you really a mechanic?” I asked
bluntly, gripping his jacket closer to my body.

Sebastian took one step
toward me. I took one step back, but my butt hit the concrete railing,
effectively halting my getaway.

“I’m a mechanic,” he
stated, his voice low, seductive. He was looking into my eyes as though he
could see right through me, as if he knew what I was thinking.

If he knew, I’d be
mortified because right at that moment, I was thinking about kissing him.
Wondering what his lips would feel like against mine, and if I would be able to
taste beer on his tongue.

Sebastian’s finger came
up and traced a line down my cheek. I leaned into his touch, unable to resist.
“What is it about you, Angel?” Sebastian asked, but I sensed that the question
was rhetorical so I didn’t answer.

I allowed my gaze to
drop to his lips, willing him to move just an inch closer.

He did and our lips
grazed one another’s, his breath warm against my mouth. My eyes closed and I
prayed he would kiss me, that he would do something to suppress the ache that
had taken up residence between my thighs.

I’d never wanted a man
the way I wanted Sebastian.

Never.

“Your boyfriend’s
probably looking for you.” His voice was much lower than before, darker. I
could practically sense the hunger in his tone.

I opened my eyes,
drawing away from him slightly so I could see his face. My pulse was pounding
furiously, my breath coming in rapid gasps. I wanted to say something, but the
words didn’t come.

So as I stood there
memorizing the swell of his bottom lip and the ring that decorated it, the
slight crook of his nose, the dark, thick lashes that framed his incredibly
beautiful eyes, I didn’t tell him that he was wrong. Aaron wasn’t my boyfriend.
I wasn’t even the right gender for Aaron, but for some reason, I didn’t want to
correct Sebastian’s assumption. I didn’t know anything about him, other than he
wasn’t who he said he was. Sure, maybe he was a mechanic, but the fact that he
was at a party, dressed to the nines in what I could only assume
wasn’t
a rented tuxedo, looking every bit like a man who had money and wasn’t put off
by it, told me he hadn’t been entirely truthful.

I didn’t need that in
my life. For whatever reason, Sebastian had felt the need to lead me on, to
make me believe otherwise and although my body was set to slow boil when he was
around, it wasn’t in my best interest to acknowledge it. He was a bad boy. One
I should run away from, not run toward.

And I was smarter than
that.

Sebastian broke away,
peering over his shoulder and I turned to see Aaron coming toward us.

“There you are,” Aaron
said softly, his eyes pinning Sebastian in place.

Aaron rarely looked
angry, but as he glared at Sebastian, I could feel his ire. Why was he so
pissed?

Without saying
anything, Aaron worked his jacket off, pulled Sebastian’s from my shoulders and
handed it back to him before wrapping me in his warmth. He didn’t say a word to
Sebastian though and that was what made the moment so awkward.

“Let me take you home,”
Aaron suggested, putting his arm around me and pulling me against his side. I
was tempted to push him away, to ask him what his problem was, but I was too
shaken to do so.

“Good to see you,
Payton.” Sebastian’s voice was still soft and seductive, almost as though he
was keeping a secret from Aaron. “I look forward to seeing you again.”

Oh, hell.

This was one of those
testosterone contests. Who had the bigger balls and all that nonsense. I didn’t
respond, just nodded and leaned into Aaron a little.

When Aaron led me away
from Sebastian, I was tempted to look back at him, wanting to know what he was
thinking.