The Billionaire's Burden (Key to My Heart #2) (6 page)

"Shhh!" I hissed as we crept too noisily into my husband's bedroom, "Karina will hear us."

"I shouldn't have had this much to drink!" Sebastian slurred, laughter rolling from his lungs like warm waves that crashed against my heart, "I have a flight out tomorrow, I’m going to be hungover."

He collapsed on the bed, bottle of tequila still tight in his hand.

"I'm just glad we had that limo to bring us home." I chuckled, grabbing the gorgeous dress into one of my hands and hiking it up as I climbed onto the bed to join him

We lay sprawled out on our backs, staring up at the ceiling as it spun slowly. Was it from the alcohol or the electricity I felt sizzling from his arm against my own?

I could feel his gaze burning against me, watching my every move.

Holding my breath, I slowly tilted my head to the side, meeting his ocean colored stare.

"You're leaving again?" I asked softly.

The liquor was too strong for me to fight the pout on my lips that I normally would have concealed.

Carefully, he rolled over onto the other side of the bed, setting the tequila bottle down on the ground. One good thing about being married to a billionaire, we didn't have to shop bottom rack booze.

Then, like a roly-poly, he revolved back over to face me. Closer than he was before, we lay on our sides, our heads sharing a pillow, gazing at each other.

This was the first time since we were wed that we shared a bed.

My heart began to pound like a drum against my ribs, each beat a nervous strum. I swallowed, shyly watching him, wondering if he felt anything at all about the closeness of our bodies.

My eyes lingered down his body, memorizing the tautness of his strong muscles against his newly wrinkled suit. He still wore the elegant jacket, though it was pushed unceremoniously up his statuesque forearms.

"You don't want me to go?" He asked, one of his hands bravely sliding forward over his Egyptian cotton comforter, taking my chin in his hand and bringing my eyes back level with his.

I felt as though I were being sucked into an azure abyss, no longer able to breather, no longer able to do anything but stay frozen in this moment.

I never wanted it to end.

"I...No." I finally said, "Of course I want you to go." I worked up a dazed smile, "Your business is so important to you."

Why couldn't I be honest with him? Was I afraid of what he'd say, was I afraid of rejection?

Probably. I’d never been a strong woman.

Sebastian's stare remained sturdy, eyes narrowed just slightly. His hand slid away from my chin even though I desperately wished for more of his burning touch.

Liquid courage boiled inside of me as I bit my lip determinedly scooted closer.

I set a hand on his chest, fingers slightly rubbing his flesh from above his suit jacket.

"Aren't you hot in that?" I whispered, plucking at one of the buttons.

My fingers, shaking from nervousness, did not successfully undo the jacket.

A slow, steady smirk spread across my husband's perfect face.

"Are you hitting on me, Macy Brooks?" He asked playfully, folding his arms behind his head as he lay on his back, watching me like a hawk.

"It's Macy Davis now." I mused, pulling myself up so I sat straight, my thigh curled against his own, hand still on his chest.

I resolved myself back to his buttons under his careful scrutiny.

It took me far too long to unclasp all of the buttons, but his jacket finally lay spread open. Underneath, his button up shirt peered at me in challenge.

Fortunately enough for me, Sebastian straightened up as well, undoing all of the buttons of his shirt in such a fluid motion it had me mesmerized.

"Well, Mrs. Davis," Sebastian murmured, as his jacket and shirt hit the floor, "What will we do now?"

The moonlight from out his open window spilled onto his body, illuminating every dip and line in his taut, rock hard chest. My hands timidly reached forward, smoothing over his firm body, feeling his warmth below my touch. I could have sworn the electricity was tangible, running from his core all the way through my veins, burning like ice and fire and energy all throughout me.

I bit my lip, climbing onto my knees as I moved, ever so slowly, to slide into his lap. My arms slid around his neck, his warm breath breezing over lips.

With our chests so close, I could feel his heartbeat, I could feel each soft inhale into his lungs.

His large palms slowly slid up my thighs, crawling to the small of my back as he moved me closer against him.

His head tilted back, lips inching towards my own.

"What am I to you?" I whispered, my forehead resting against his own, "Does this even mean anything?"

My eyes closed, hands threading through his thick, dark hair. Our breaths came in unison, chests moving together. His flesh was hot beneath my touch, my lips burned for his. Yearning moved through my body like blazing tendrils.

Suddenly, my world was flipped upside down as Sebastian rolled me onto his back, one palm beside my head, the other smoothing over my back, arching me up against him. My legs tangled around his hips as he held himself over me.

The pillow below me embraced my head, hands knotting on his hair. Desperation mounted inside of me, the burning within my body almost too much to bear.

"It means enough to me." He responded, his vagueness forgiven by my yearning for his kiss.

Too weak to resist any longer, I pulled his face down to mine, softly gasping against the feel of his tongue sweeping my lower lip. I nibbled his own lip softly, head thrown back as he gripped the zipper of my dress, nimbly shedding me of all clothing.

I lay below him, too hungry for his body to be shy. His mouth once again devouring my own with his lusty lips.

Had you asked me, I would have been sure I was in heaven. His knowing hands were everywhere, expert mouth following delicately. Every inch of my body was worshipped and devoured. Explosions of lust rocked us through the night.

When I woke the next morning, I could have sown up and down that it was a dream, save for the fact that I was naked - and extremely satisfied - in Sebastian's bed instead of modestly clothed in my own.

I held my breath, tentatively peeking over my shoulder towards the other side of the bed. Nothing but a cold and empty spot stared back at me. Sebastian had already left for his trip.

I rolled onto my back, extending my hands in front of me and watching as the sunlight glinted off the huge diamond engagement ring on my hand.

Had it really meant anything last night? Sebastian had been evasive on the subject to say the least. Was it nothing but lust and alcohol, or did it mean something more?

The thought of his naked body moving against my own, the thought of his warm lips touching mine... it all sent butterflies shooting through me. It made me feel as though I were dizzy.

But was that enough?

With a sigh, I climbed to my feet, grabbing a robe that hung from Sebastian's closet. I could only hope we could have a real conversation when he got back.

Wrapping the soft cloth around me, I padded to the bedroom our, creaking it open carefully. I glanced up and down the hall, wary of an untoward conversation with my mother in law, before sneaking into my bedroom.

By the time I was showered and dressed, I was starving. We'd never ended up eating dinner last night, just drinking.

A smile played on my lips as I thought about his drunken laughter, the touch of his hand against my cheek.

My fingers grazed my lips, wishing I could still feel that warmth.

I walked into the dining room, still in a blissful reverie.

"I see you've finally woken, Macy." Karina scolded, nibbling the end of a scone, "You didn't even see Bast off, and he won't be back for an entire month."

"A whole month?" I echoed after her, frowning as I slid into the chair. I poured a cup of coffee, slowly sipping it.

A month without explanation of what happened, a month without hearing his voice or feeling his kiss.

"He left a note for you." Karina added, pushing a miniature envelop towards me.

Frowning, I took it, breaking the seal of the letter and pulling out a tiny card from inside. I almost congratulated my mother in law on not giving into her nosy urges and opening the letter herself. It was slightly surprising to see the seal untouched.

Or perhaps she had carefully watched him write with her little eagle eyes.

"I won't wait two weeks to call you." It simply said, small letter 'S' scrawled below it.

For some reason, those his words were short and his message simple, I could feel something bloom inside of me. Something excited, something optimistic.

I still wasn’t sure what I wanted from my billionaire husband, but I was sure we could sort it out together.

To know that Sebastian would be thinking of me while he was gone, to know that something, even something small, had shifted in our relationship gave me hope.

Everything was going to be alright.

For the first three weeks of Sebastian's absence, things continued along just fine.

Day to day, there was nothing out of the ordinary, and I certainly didn’t see that changing. Unfortunately for me, fate tends to have other plans.

I’d quickly made it a habit to stop by the bakery and see how Harry and Lewis were doing, and was thrilled to find that they had dug out some of the old decor and interspersed it with the new more chic thins Alissa had chosen. It was rather refreshing to see such a mix.

Though I’d been nervous about interacting with Lewis, he and I tended to keep our distance for the most part, though it was difficult. I could feel him watching me sometimes, or the occasional brushes against my arm were just a bit too tender, too yearning.

I just did my best to keep my mind on the business. Harry was a hit, of course. Though he was a bit more shy than my parents had been, Lewis was quick to befriend curious guests.

Sebastian and I spoke every few days on the phone, mostly when he had a break from meetings or was driving to a new location. The conversations were short and rather shallow. We did not talk about
that night
and we definitely did not talk about our feelings to one another.

For now, it was enough to hear his voice. I found that at night, while I was alone, that I longed for him to be beside me.

Unfortunately, his own feelings were a complete mystery. For all I knew, he could have been glad to be away from me. He never said anything to the contrary, not did I risk asking him. I was too afraid of his response.

Karina even seemed to be warming to me, though our relationship was tepid at best.

I could tell that the news of George's swift engagement rocked her, as their lawyers were still ironing out the details of their divorce. I felt sorry for her, and though she talked about her feelings as often as her son did, I could tell that she was grieving the loss of her own relationship. She talked about her 'Bast' often. How he was as a child, his first day on the job, and when he left for college.

It was the only time I saw her truly happy. To be honest, I enjoyed those conversations. I liked hearing all about how my husband was a child. An impudent little thing, and obstinate, he’d always been at the top of his class in marks, he’d always spoken about taking over George’s business.

‘Budget’ was his first word, Karina remember, and it was one of the few times I saw her actually chuckle.

We stayed up late one evening, right around the three week mark, drinking wine and planning a small party for Sebastian's return.

We'd both had a bottle each, and Karina had actually managed a smile here and there. It was a foreign look, coming from her. I wasn't even sure she knew how to do it anymore. When she did smile though, she looked unmistakably like her son.

"I know that I've been harsh on you." She finally said, swirling her wine glass thoughtfully, "It's only because I stood where you are now thirty years ago. I thought I could change George, leash him, make him mine." She turned her head to watch me, familiar frown on her face, "Some men are never to be tamed, however."

"I don't even know where Sebastian and I stand, honestly." I responded with a sigh, sinking lower in my chair as I crossed my ankles, "It's all so confusing."

Karina smirked and lifted her glass, "Here, here." She chimed, downing the entire goblet of red wine. Shiraz, her favorite.

"Do you think there's hope for me and him?" I asked her honestly.

Sure, this was a conversation I should be having with my husband and not his mother, but it had been niggling so much in the back of my mind. I wanted answers, and it boiled inside of me like a pot threatening to overflow. A month had been too long to wait.

I wanted to know if Sebastian had any feelings at all for me, I wanted to know if we would ever fall in love, I wanted to know if he and I were meant to be.

I wanted to know if I was going to be stuck in an emotionless marriage forever. Surely nights like the steamy one we spent together were indicative of something positive, right?

Karina stood, walking to me and taking my empty glass, "I think you two will come to some sort of compromise." She responded with a firm nod, smiling at me as though that were supposed to be comforting.

Then, she walked away, dropping the glasses on the kitchen table and leaving me alone.

That night, I slept restlessly, going over the conversation I wanted to have with Sebastian endlessly.

I would demand to know where we stood, I would demand to know if he cared for me at all, I would demand answers instead of vague deflects. Unfortunately the hardest part of this was waiting the week for him to return. A conversation like this was something I wanted to discuss face to face, not over a five minute phone call window.

The next morning, I woke sick to my stomach with nerves. By the time I walked down to the dining room for breakfast, I was a bundle of anxiety and Sebastian wasn’t even due home yet. I could have almost puked all over the table.

Perhaps my queasiness was just from the vast amounts of wine I'd consumed with Karina.

Speaking of my mother in law, she was nowhere to be found. Maybe she was laid up in bed with a hangover too.

"Just tea." I told Tricia, gratefully accepting the minty drink.

It eased my stomach a bit, though thoughts of Sebastian’s return in a few days sent it into a flurry again.

How was I going to make it through a whole week of this?

A knock on the door made me turn to look over my shoulder. One of the staff opened the door, and a blond head strode in through the front door.

"Is Macy home?" Lewis Carson's deep voice ran through the hall.

I stood, confused, setting down the cup of tea as I walked into the foyer.

"Lewis?" I said, "Is everything alright?" My heart raced, imagining my bakery up in flames or Harry having a heart attack or some terrible, awful, horrid thing happening.

"Everything's fine." Lewis replied quickly as my face pursed in fear. He held up his hands, dimple in his cheek popping as he smiled, "I just need to talk to you for a moment."

"Oh, of course." I sighed, relieved that it wasn’t an emergency.

This whole thing with Sebastian had left me a wreck. I needed a chill pill or something.

"Um, can we do this privately?" The tall blond asked, green eyes shifting towards Tricia, “It’s a sensitive matter.”

I nodded, gesturing down one of the side halls towards Sebastian's office. It was the only place I was sure we wouldn't get interrupted.

He held the door open for me, closing it after he walked in.

"What'd you need to talk about?" I asked with a frown, "Is it about Harry?" Everything had seemed fine when I visited them a few days ago.

"No." Lewis answered, leaning against Sebastian's desk.

I sat in the chair in front of him, watching him uncertainly.

Suddenly, the blond man reached forward, taking my hand in his. He held it tight, eyes gazing into my own determinedly. I'd never noticed the golden flakes in his emerald colored eyes before.

I stared at his hand, then up at him, opening my mouth and firmly shutting it. Baffled, I froze, unsure of what to do.

"Harry told me all about your relationship with Sebastian." He finally sputtered, "Don't be mad at him though, we were just talking and it came up. He thought I knew because we were so close…"

I already knew what loose lips Harry had, "What did he tell you?" I asked, shaking my head.

"That you married just for the bakery and because of some work thing for Sebastian..." Lewis bit his lip, stroking the back of my hand with his warm fingers.

I almost detested the way a shiver crawled down my spine at his soft touch. Though perhaps I detested the sheer confusion I felt more, hints of desire flowering in my core.

"That’s true." I responded slowly.

"Macy, I've been infatuated with you since I met you." The handsome blond implored, "I want to get to know you, I want to hold your hand, I want to kiss you goodnight..." He trailed off, eyes desperately gleaming as he sought those magic words to say, "Macy, I care so much for you. Your dedication, your heart. I want a chance to be with you, I want a chance to show you what you could really have."

Gently, I pulled my hand from Lewis's grasp, head spinning.

Was this really happening? Was Lewis actually interested in me? Was there something he wanted?

"I don't have money like Sebastian." He continued, "But we have your bakery, we could make it work together."

"Lewis." I gasped closing my eyes as I struggled to remain calm, "Lewis, I need-"

"I know, you need time." Lewis interjected, standing up, "I'll give it to you. You can have all the time in the world."

He moved to walk out of the office, turning back to me as I slowly opened my eyes to look after him.

"But I can give you something Sebastian can't, Macy." He said quietly, moving back towards me as he softly stroked my cheek, "I can give you all the love in my heart. I don't want you because I need you for something, I want you because I see who you are."

He leaned down, pressing his warm lips chastely to my forehead before turning and striding out of the office.

The second he was gone, my stomach heaved, almost sending me to the ground.

This could not be happening, this could not be real life.

Didn't I have enough mystifying things going on in my life with just Sebastian, now Lewis had to admit that he had feelings for me?

And myself, how did I feel about Lewis? He was handsome, that was true, and kind and as dedicated to the bakery as I was...

I groaned, clutching my head as it spun dangerously.

Staggering to my feet, I managed to get out to the foyer just as Karina walked in.

"You're white as a ghost." She frowned, waving Tricia over with a glass of water.

They carefully sank me into a chair with a bucket just in time for my stomach to release all the contents of the morning.

"I drank too much last night." I moaned, wiping my mouth as I took the glass of water from Tricia, "That's all."

Karina stood in front of me, arms crossed as she watched me closely.

"That’s not it, Macy." She sighed, shaking her head, "I’d recognize this anywhere. You're pregnant."

I laughed hysterically, shaking my head, "No, Karina, That’s crazy, there’s no way…!"

It was then that I realized I was almost a week late. I'd been dumb enough to blame it on stress at the time.

Another wave of nausea crashed over me, sending my head back into the bucket.

Oh god. She was right.

I was pregnant with Sebastian’s baby.

The End.

Key to My Heat, Book 2.

Stay tuned for Book 3, to be released shortly!