The Price of Winning: London Calling Book Four (9 page)

Sebastian snapped the notebook closed. “Don’t count on it.” He leaned forward and folded his hands on top of his desk, hiding the book. He forced a small smile. “What can I do for you?”

He had things to do, plans to firm up. He didn’t need the distraction of Dominic Martin getting inside his head.

“Nothing specific. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop in to see Nat.” He smiled. “She’s busy, so I figured I’d check in with you. Ask about Moneypenny.”

“Madeleine?” The other man’s nickname for Ms. Price grated on Sebastian. “She’s settled on Jersey with Angeline. I have no reason to think she isn’t doing well.”

Dominic straightened, and the chair leather creaked beneath him. “You haven’t checked?”

Sebastian opened his mouth to fire off a retort then stopped short. He’d avoided Madeleine since dropping her off at his estate in the Channel Islands. And, he realized, he’d avoided discussing her progress with Angeline. He rubbed his thumb along the etched scrollwork of the desk’s front edge.
 

“I wanted to give her some time to herself.” His visit to Chicago had been intensely emotional. The explosions. The gunman. The loss of Madeleine’s parents. Her fragile state.

Their kiss before it all started.

Sebastian remembered every moment of their scorching embrace. Every caress, every touch of their lips and tongues were embedded in his memory. Sometimes, he thought he could still taste her.

But then he’d recall the boat ride they shared on Lake Michigan. Her grief at saying goodbye to her parents had been palpable, yet she’d handled it. With grace and elegant sadness, she’d done what was necessary.
 

And Sebastian had as well. He’d pushed their kiss and the feel of her in his arms from his mind. Madeleine needed support and friendship. Someone to look out for her. Take care of her.

He rolled his neck. He knew better than anyone he wasn’t that man. Angeline could do all those things.
 

But he should have checked in.
 

“I think I’ll take a trip over to see her.”
 

Dominic’s words jerked Sebastian’s attention back to the other man. “Why?” He didn’t wait for him to answer and quickly changed tack. “
I’ll
do that. She needs rest and peace. Not visitors barging in unannounced.”
 

Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “I’d hardly be unannounced, credit me with some manners. Plus, you act like I’m a stranger. I’ve known MP longer than you.” Martin was alert, verbally circling Sebastian as if he contemplated locking horns. “Besides, I can see her in person and ask if she’s ready to come back to work. I think it would do her good.”

“What about peace and rest did you not understand, man?” Sebastian raked his fingers through his hair. The muted jazz from the casino’s gaming floor drifted through the sound system, failing to soothe him. “She doesn’t need to work, for crying out loud. And you’re the least tranquil person I’ve ever met. You radiate restless energy.”

“As I said, I know her better. She needs to keep busy. She’s smart, and it’ll help her mind do something other than remember.”

Martin had a point, but Sebastian would be damned before he said so.
 

“I’ll bring it up, as a suggestion, when I’m there. But
I’ll
be going.” When the other man looked ready to protest, he intervened. “Listen, I need to see Angeline anyway. Two birds, one stone and all that.”
 

Natalie poked her blonde head in the door, assessing both men with wary blue eyes. “Dom? What are you doing in here?”

Sebastian smirked. “He’s just leaving. Why don’t you take the evening off, Natalie?” It wasn’t really a suggestion. He stood, holding out one arm to usher them out of his office. He was about to shut the door and lock it when Dominic stopped, bracing one hand to keep it open.

“Payne?”

“What?”

“Don’t you dare mess her up again.”
 

Sebastian shook his head, lips pressed tight. He still felt guilty about the way he’d handled Madeleine when they met. But things were different now. He met Dominic’s level gaze with one of his own.

“You have my word. The last thing I’ve ever wanted is to hurt Madeleine Price. It happened once, to my regret. It won’t happen again.” With that, he pushed the door shut and locked it.

***

Even though she was sprawled across the white lounger by the pool in lazy splendor, Madeleine’s muscles were tensed. The letter from her attorney in Chicago was clasped tightly in one hand, unopened.
 

She sighed, knowing she’d put it off as long as feasible. She turned the envelope over and used her fingernail to deftly break the seal. It only contained one page, which was surprising since she assumed it contained communication regarding her parents’ estate.

She unfolded the letter, smoothing it out on her bare thighs.
 

Her breath caught, and she sat up abruptly. It wasn’t about her parents.
 

Jeremy Green, the young man who’d stalked and ultimately tried to kill her, was eligible for parole.
 

Even sitting in the warmth of the island’s bright sunshine, her arms erupted in goose bumps. Shivering, she reached behind for her terry cloth cover-up and shrugged it around her shoulders. She refolded the letter and awkwardly tried to fit it back into its envelope, crumpling both as her hands shook in reaction. She shoved all of it into the pocket of her robe.

No. It couldn’t be time yet.

She’d had mixed feelings about Jeremy since he’d very nearly killed her father and destroyed all their lives. He’d been hardly more than a boy, younger than her at the time. And clearly he was disturbed and needed help.

But she would never forget his eyes as he viciously pulled the gun out of his jacket. The bile churned in her stomach as she realized her parents’ murderer had much the same look.

Fury. Hatred. Evil.

In a perfect world Jeremy would have gotten the help he needed to be well. He’d have served his time and been rehabilitated in the process. And maybe that was what happened. But she had her doubts.

Even when he’d been sentenced, he’d stared at her across the courtroom with rage and venom, vowing to find her someday.
 

I will come for you.

I will destroy and butcher you until nothing remains.

I will bring you to nothing.

She would never forget the savagery of his promises and the way he’d spat the words, drool dripping from his snarling lips.

Madeleine closed her eyes, forcing the memories back into the mental box where she kept them. If she allowed herself to remember, then he won. Fear won. And he’d taken enough from her, all she would stand, seven years ago.

She dreaded the idea of facing him again. But even more than that, she was frightened of the damage he could do if released. He might find her, as he’d promised. Or he might fixate and shift his focus to someone new.

On the table next to her sat a fruity cocktail, complete with an umbrella. It was Angeline’s idea of a joke, but Madeleine picked it up and drained its rum-laden contents. She shivered again, but this time from the potency of the spiked punch.

“Hitting it hard pretty early, aren’t we?” Sebastian’s voice, deep and direct, came from behind her.

Madeleine choked, sputtering as some of the liquid went down the wrong way. She bobbled the glass but saved it from falling onto the pavers by dumping it in her lap.

She jumped and nearly toppled out of her lounger as the ice hit her sun-warmed thighs. Springing up, she rounded on Sebastian Payne, who was laughing out loud with unconcealed mirth.

“You!”

Immediately, he threw both his hands in the air, palms outward. “Don’t blame me. I’m an innocent bystander.” He was still chuckling as he handed her a towel to dry her legs.

Madeleine smiled, unable to control her own amusement with the ridiculous situation. “I should toss you in the pool for scaring me like that.” She reached for the towel, her fingers brushing against his as she took it from him.

She felt her face warm and looked down, busying herself by dabbing at her thighs. What was it about this man and her exaggerated response to him? He was a big, brooding male. But when he laughed it triggered a fluttering warmth in her, a purely feminine reaction to his overt masculinity.
 

She steeled herself to look up.
 

Involuntarily, she took a half step back. When did he get so close? She clutched the towel to her chest in some half-hearted attempt to cover her bikini-clad body. In reality, she wanted to wrap herself around him, melt into him as she pulled his head down for another of those devastating kisses he’d mastered.
 

He closed the gap between them, crowding her. “Do you think you could?”

She stared, horrified. Had she said it?

He smirked, like he was reading her mind. “Toss me into the pool?” He spread his arms wide, as if inviting her to try.
 

God, what would he do if she stepped up and looped her arms around his neck, climbing the muscled breadth of him until their lips could meet?

Unconsciously, she fanned her face. She looked down, focusing her attention on the buttons of his linen shirt. The natural, unbleached fabric suited him, and was softer than the usual formality of the dark suits he normally wore.
 

As her gaze drifted lower, she lifted her hair, allowing the warm sea breeze to cool her neck and shoulders. He wore cut-offs, the bleached and worn denim hugging all the important bits of him. His legs were long and muscled, and the dark hair was tipped with gold, already kissed by the summer sun.

God, it was hot.

Absently, she removed an elastic from around her wrist to tie her hair back. As she looped her curls into a dense, messy bun, she looked up again to see Sebastian staring back at her.

“Like what you see?” He was less intense, obviously in good humor. “Shall I turn around?”

Busted.

Madeleine felt the blood rush to her face, no doubt turning it a lovely shade of tomato. She ducked her head, then immediately raised her chin deciding to brazen it out. “Please do.”
 

He laughed, performing an exaggerated turn for her appraisal. Madeleine was charmed in spite of herself.

“Will I do?”

She tucked her tongue in the side of her cheek. “Oh, I’m not admiring you.” She patted his chest, and then wished she hadn’t. He was solid and warm, a perfect specimen of a man in his prime. “I’m just trying to gauge whether I can take you down.” She gestured to the pool.

“Oh, is that right?” He craned his neck to assess the crystal clear water with its gorgeous inlaid tile in shades of silver and ivory. “I guess I’ll take that over pepper spray.”

Her mouth fell open. In all this time he’d never mentioned his unfortunate first visit to Chicago. Quite possibly, it was the most mortifying act of her adult life. Hell, her entire life.

She started to turn away, embarrassed and awkward. But he stopped her by laying one hand on her forearm. He didn’t wrap his fingers around her wrist, or try to apply pressure. Just a touch was enough.

“I’m sorry,” he said.
 

She looked up. Gone was the amused flirtation and in its place, earnestness. But she was the one who owed an apology.

“No,” she began. “It’s me that should be saying I’m sorry. I never told you, but I truly am.” Abandoning caution, she reached up and rested her fingertips against his cheek. “I could have really hurt you.”

His eyes creased in the corners. “I thought you had.” He placed his palm over her hand, capturing her fingers. “But I’m tougher than you think. Still, we’ll have to sort out a better method of self-defense for you. One that doesn’t involve blinding innocent people.” He shifted, bumping his hip into hers.

She snorted then tugged away, knowing she was in danger of becoming intoxicated by him. “No worries. I’ve ditched the spray.” She pulled her robe more tightly around her and began walking toward the house.
 

Sebastian fell into step at her side. “I can help with that, you know.”

“What?” She could barely follow the conversation anymore. She was so distracted by him.

“Self-defense.” He reached ahead to pull the door open so they could go inside the house. “I don’t advertise it, but I’m a black belt in Krav Maga. I could teach you some moves.”

She stopped, one foot in the doorway. “What is
that
?”

“Krav Maga? It’s a mash-up of martial arts, really, designed to train Israeli soldiers.” He placed a hand at her back, nudging her inside. “Basically, it’s street fighting. It’s also effective.”

She nodded. “I see.” She didn’t, not really. Why would someone like Sebastian Payne, a titled and wealthy member of Britain’s upper class, be a black belt in something that sounded so primal? Brutal even. She’d think about it later. For now, she needed space and some clothes. Something to break up the intimacy from their flirtatious banter. “I’ll think about it.”
 

And she would. Along with the feelings he was churning up in her. Was she the only one feeling like they’d begun a slow but steady dance toward seduction? She turned to go to her room. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to change.”

He nodded, but when she reached the base of the staircase to go upstairs, she realized he’d followed her. Standing several feet away, his eyes hooded and mysterious, he spoke. “Madeleine?”

She turned with one hand on the newel cap of the railing, cautious. “Yes?”

“Have dinner with me.”
 

She dropped her eyes. Dear God, she hadn’t been attracted to a man in years. Why him? And why now? “Um, I can’t.” Sebastian shifted on his feet, and if she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought him nervous. “I have to take care of some things this evening. Um, personal stuff.” Inadvertently, her hand dipped inside the pocket of her robe where she felt the crumpled letter from her attorney.

“Very well.”
 

He turned on his heel and was gone before she could ask for a rain check.