Reckless With Their Hearts (9 page)

“What’s wrong, babe?” He asked, going back to her.

“Is this it?” She swallowed hard and finally raised her eyes to meet his boldly. “Are we a one-time thing? Or…” She broke off and looked away again, her courage deserting her. “I don’t want this to be over. Even if Garth doesn’t approve I still want to be with you.” The last came out a whisper, but he heard her.

His heart contracted and he pulled her up onto her knees and into his arms. His lips caressed her neck and he delighted in her shivers. “This is only the beginning for us, Eve. And I don’t care if my father likes it or not. You mean too much to me for me to throw it away over his disapproval.”

Her arms tightened around him. “I love you, Bastian.” She whispered.

--

When they walked into the house a little over an hour later it was to find Garth in his office. But he wasn’t alone. Eve was surprised to see three formally dressed men standing by the large desk. They reminded her of the president’s secret service the way they were dressed…And were those guns under their jackets?

Her first thought was that these men were with the FBI and they wanted to speak to her about the robbery. But on closer inspection she noticed that they had an almost exotic look about them. The slight tilting of their dark chocolate eyes; the olive tone to their complexion. For some reason her grandfather’s Christmas card came to mind and she gripped Sebastian’s hand tighter.

Garth caught her eye and inclined his head grimly. Anger began to simmer in her veins. “What’s going on?” She demanded.

One of the men, the larger of the three stepped forward. He was above average in the looks department, with his chiseled features and well-muscled physique. She was sure he had plenty of admires. His voice when he spoke was laced with a strong accent that she thought was a mixture of French and something else. “
Mademoiselle
Patel?”

Eve raised a brow at him. “Yes. I am Evelyn Patel. Who are you?”

“My name is Benoit Beranger. I and my colleagues are part of His Majesty King Jean Pierre Michon’s Royal Guard. He has sent us at the request of your grandfather, Warren Travers. News of your recent ordeal has reached my king and he along with your grandfather feels that, until such time as they deem you are safe, you will have your own personal guards.” He spoke with such eloquence and command that she was in little doubt of his importance to the royal guard for the recently crowned King Jean Pierre Michon.

“She doesn’t need personal bodyguards.” Sebastian informed the man, his tone cold and hard.

“That is not for you to say.” Benoit stated in a neutral tone. His eyes took in Sebastian and then dismissed him just as quickly. “Until I receive word from my king, I will be watching over
Mlle.
Patel.”

Eve sighed. She knew that there was no use in trying to persuade these men differently. She was stuck with them.
“I am completely safe inside of this house. But since you are only following orders then I will respect the fact that you are doing your job. However, I expect you to maintain a distance. My personal life is my own. Please respect my privacy.”

“Only as long as it does not infringe on your safety.”
Benoit inclined his head. “We do not wish to intrude. I just wanted to make our presence known so as not to scare you,
Mlle.
Patel. A car will be parked at your gate at all times. Should you need to go somewhere, we will follow. If, however, you are alone, we ask that you let one of us escort you.”

When he and the other two Royal Guards were gone Eve dropped down onto one of the leather chairs in front of her stepfather’s desk. “He is really pushing this.” She muttered almost to herself.

“So it seems.” Garth raked both hands through his hair. “But now that you are with Sebastian maybe he will back off.”

Sebastian frowned from one to the other. “What are you two talking about? What the hell is going on?”

She grimaced. “My grandfather sent me a Christmas card…” She explained what he had told her he had planned for her future. As she continued to speak she saw his jaw tense as if he were gritting his teeth. And his eyes seemed to blaze with pure hatred. “I sent him a letter explaining that there was no way I would comply with his little scheme. But apparently he either hasn’t received it yet, or chose to ignore it.”

“I will destroy both of them if they so much as attempt to take you from me!” He nearly bellowed and left the room with a fierce expression on his face.

She sat back in the chair and closed her eyes. She could feel Garth’s gaze on her, but didn’t open her eyes. “What?”

“
Are you happy with my son?”

His question surprised her. Her eyes snapped open and she saw concern in her stepfather’s eyes. “Sebastian makes me feel…I don’t know. Complete? I love him, Garth.”

He nodded, a small smile teasing the corners of his lips. “I know. And I think perhaps he loves you too. I hope that the two of you can be as happy as I was with your mother...”

Tears burnt the backs of her eyes. On the ride home she had gone over several scenarios for how Garth might react to Sebastian and herself as a couple. She had been prepared to fight him tooth and nail, because really she did want his approval. “Thank you, Garth.” She half whispered. “That means so much to me.”

--

Sebastian seemed to have disappeared.

She spent almost half an hour searching for him, but no one seemed to have seen him. He didn’t even have dinner with them. Eve picked at her meal, and instead of joining in the conversations going on around her she found herself constantly gazing at the empty chair that would have been Sebastian’s.

She went up to bed as soon
as she could get away without appearing rude. Eve took a long shower and then climbed into bed. After sleeping most of the day she wasn’t very tired, so she cuddled under her covers flipping through the many channels on the flat screen. Finally she stopped on a travel guide show that was talking about Paris…

Someone was holding her. She jerked away from the warm body and nearly screamed. But Sebastian’s long fingers covered her mouth. “Sh. Sh. It’s me.” He pulled her back against him and kissed the side of her neck. “I couldn’t sleep without you.”

Eve relaxed back against him, her heart now returning to a somewhat normal rate. “Where did you go?” She demanded, turning to face him in the dark. “I looked everywhere for you.”

“
I went back to the city for a few hours.” His hands traveled up and down her back, making her ache deliciously. “I needed to cool down and clear my head.” His lips grazed just below her ear. “Did you miss me?”

“Perhaps.”
She arched her neck to give him better access. “Where you mad at me?”

“Of course not.”
His kisses became little nibbles. “I just went a little insane when you said some other man was going to marry you…Which he isn’t.” The nibbles became full on bites, and she bit back a whimper. “But the thought alone made me want to punch things so I drove around New York. When I got home I went straight to bed…And missed you lying snuggled so warmly against me, with that sweet rear pressed in just the right place.”

“Bastian!”
She moaned. “Please…”

“Do you want me, babe?” His lips traveled lower, his hot breath tormenting her nipples. “Do I make you wet?”

“Bastian…Oh…Ah!” He took her nipple into his scalding mouth and she lost all reasoning. She pulled away and pushed him onto his back. “I want you!” She captured his mouth and kissed him the way that she wanted to make him hers, hard and with desperation.

When she released his lips he seemed just as lost as she was. She straddled his waist where his long cock lay between them. She moved until her clit rubbed against the base, stroking him with her dripping pussy and throbbing clit. Her moans mingled with his groans as she rubbed against him until her thighs were trembling. She was hanging on
the edge of a powerful organism…

Sebastian rolled her ont
o her back and spread her wide, the head of his dick already at her opening. But instead of thrusting deep and hard he took his time, conscious of how sore she had been just hours before. With each inch that slid inside she moaned. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as it was earlier in the day and the little bit of pain that she felt as he stretched her fully only lent to the pleasure that was burning through her.

Finally he was all the way inside. He thrust once twice then stopped, his breathing labored. Eve swallowed hard, trying to get her breathing under control to speak. “You okay?” She croaked out, sweat beading on her forehead.

He nodded. One large hand moved from her hip to lay flat on her lower stomach. He thrust again, seeming fascinated. “I can feel myself moving inside of you.” He seemed so enthralled. “I’m deeper than I have ever been…But still not all the way inside of you. Fuck that’s hot!”

Eve licked her lips. “Bastian, I need you.” Her hand covered his. “I swear you can play all you want later. But right now I think I might lose my mind if you don’t make me come.”

Those blue eyes of his turned cobalt with the force of his desire. His fingers gripped her hips and lifted them slightly off the bed. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she locked her ankles. His hips began to piston, moving him at just the right speed she needed him. She could fill her passage flooding with the juices of her own release as it climbed higher…

The fill of his semen jetting against the walls of her womb drove her over the edge. He collapsed on top of her as his body was racked with convulsions of pleasure. Eve’s arms held him to her; her fingers soothingly stroking down his sweat soaked back until he began to calm. She basked in the aftermath of their love making, enjoying having him inside and on top of her.

Minutes, hours, perhaps even days later Sebastian rolled off of her and onto his side. Still inside of her he took her with him so that they were facing each other. He pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin. “Can I stay here?”

Eve was already drifting off to sleep. “Stay forever.”

New Year’s came and went.

Quinn returned home, but not before telling Eve about the man that she had been seeing back in London. It was still a new romance, which was why she hadn’t said something sooner; but from the look in her stepsister’s eyes Eve could tell that Quinn was really into the guy. The two had been texting quite a bit over the last week, and every time Quinn’s phone would chime she would get a sweet, goofy look on her face.

Ami had to return to France before the New Year, and Cameron went with her. He had passed on three big job offers from a few magazines to be with her. Eve had watched as Ami had gone into a fit of sobbing happy tears when he had turned the opportunities down without hesitation. It was then that he had really and truly realized that he had been putting his work first and he vowed to his bride-to-be that she would always come first with him from then on.

Things only seemed to get hotter for
Eve and Sebastian. He slept beside of her every night, making love to her into the early hours of the morning. He taught her some of the naughtiest things, encouraged her to take advantage of him at every opportunity, which she did.

Weeks passed. Eve spent most of her days as she normally did.
Volunteering at Winthrop Charities, helping out as much as possible now that her friend Kari Brandon Winthrop was so close to her due date. She helped to oversee some of the charities that were close to her heart, taking some of the burden off of her very pregnant friend.

One of the charities was to help get scholarships for inner city girls. Most of them came from broken homes, or—unfortunately—
where living on the streets. The scholarships helped them get onto the right path, gave them an education, a warm safe place to live, and food in their stomachs. There was also a half-way-house for teen girls who needed to get away from whatever life was throwing at them.

Not only did Eve involve herself in raising money to keep the house and scholarships going, but she also spent several days a week helping out. Sometimes all a girl really needed was
for someone to listen to them so she would be that someone. Even though there were counselors on staff not everyone felt they could confide in them. Eve felt more like a friend to the girls that visited—and some who even lived there.

When she wasn’t volunteering she was with Sebastian as much as possible. A few times he had left the country on business and taken her with him. They hadn’t spent even one night apart. But with all the time they were spending together, both in and out of bed, Eve felt that she might be smothering Sebastian. So when he said that he had to go to California on business she told him she couldn’t go.

“Why?” He demanded sitting up in bed to frown down at her.

“I have a few things going on at Girl Haven.” She told him, propping herself up against the pillows and pulling the sheet up over her naked breasts. “But mostly because I don’t want to push you or scare you away.”

“What are you talking about?” His brow furrowed.

She sighed, pushing her long, tangled hair away from her face. “We spend all of our free time together. I’m scared that yo
u are going to be stifled. I do not want to be the kind of girlfriend who is her boyfriend’s shadow. Can you honestly tell me that you want me there every time you turn around?”