The Innocent (9 page)

He turned to her.

“Sebastian?”

“Buckle up,” Sebastian said.  “This could get bumpy.”  He started the car and hurried out of the motel parking lot.  “We gotta get out of here before the big guy comes to.”

“But, how…?”

Sebastian chuckled as he maneuvered the long car through the streets.  “How did a little ole, music professor knock out an oversized mammoth like Vince?”  He laughed, obviously amused with himself.  “I guess you could say I seduced him.”

“Huh?”  Confused, she stared at him.

“When he came back I thought I was gonna get it.”

“Um, me, too.”

“Turns out he wanted to give me his number.”

For the first time, she allowed herself to chuckle at the situation.  “Seriously?”

“Yeah.  You know I’ve never had a man find me attractive before.”

“At least not that you know of.”

“Maybe.”  He chuckled.  “Anyway, I turned on the charm, told him I’d love to get together with him sometime, maybe have a drink, dinner and who knows.  I handed him the little motel notepad and pen.  He seemed very pleased with himself.  I think he found it amusing that he was able to win me over when you couldn’t.”

Serena laughed.  “Well, Vince is better looking than me.”

“Yeah, but you fill out a dress so much better than he ever could.”  Glancing into the rear view mirror, he smiled at her.

“How’d you manage to get out?”

“While he jotted down the number, I crashed the lamp over his head.” 

“Ouch.”

“Don’t worry.  I don’t think I really hurt him; just dazed him long enough to dash out of there.”   He held up his bloody hand. “I think I hurt myself more than I hurt him.  He’s probably already up and about.”

“Yeah, and mad as hell.  He knows what’s coming to him when he gets back home and Price discovers I’m not with him.”

Sebastian brought the car to the highway and headed north.

“You took the wrong turn.”  She turned back to look at the direction they should have taken.

“I don’t think heading back to my place is a good idea at this moment.  Things are looking a bit nasty.”

“And you think running away is going to make things better?”

He grinned.

“But, Sebastian.  I can’t just run off.”

“Can’t you?”  He looked into the rear view mirror, his gaze daring her to argue the point.  “Consider it a little kidnapping escapade.  You're my lovely prisoner, Serena.”

Something in his tone was deeply arousing and intriguing. “You’ve seen how efficient Price is at finding me.  Where do you think you can bring me that he won’t follow us?”  She bit back on a smile.

“I have this little place, tucked away far from my family, preying eyes, and Price.  So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.”

Chapter 12

Serena tried to do as she’d been told, but relaxation refused to come.  If anything, she was increasingly agitated.  She knew running out on Price wasn’t a good move and Price’s retaliation continually played in her mind.  She feared for Sebastian’s safety, yet her desire to be with him repeatedly countered her anxiety.

Despite her fear, a little thrill of naughtiness ran through her at the thought of disobeying Price and as she looked at Sebastian that thrill intensified and coursed down to her thighs.  He was so devilishly handsome and so appetizingly sexy.  He was such a dark and dangerous contrast to Price’s misleading fair looks.  She loved his locks of dark, rich curls and the intensity that burned in his eyes.  While Price’s glare had often held a white flame of cold ownership, Sebastian’s dark smoldering red heat sizzled with something undiscovered and untamed.  Already she longed to taste him again, to bite into him and to make him scream with ecstasy.

As he turned the car to head west, she frowned.  “Where in the world are you taking me, Sebastian?  The beach?”

“The complete opposite of the beach,” he said with a teasing grin.

The airport came into view and Serena gasped when he turned into a private entrance.  She smiled with anticipation when he drove the long limousine to a hangar.  “You’ve been keeping secrets from me, you bad boy.”

Sebastian parked the car, flicked the switch to unlock the doors and got out.  As he came around the car, Serena stared into the pristine hangar and was suitably impressed by the beautiful private jet.

“Do you have a fear of flying?” he asked as he opened the door.

She stepped out into the warm afternoon sun and smiled at him.  “Not if you're there to keep me calm.”

“Oh, I’ll keep you calm all right.” He led her to the plane.  “You should feel quite at home here.”

“How do you figure?”  She climbed the steps and entered the plane.  Immediately, she understood.

“Because I’ve had it decorated much the same way as my penthouse.”

She cocked an impressed brow.  “This is yours?”

“What d’you think?  My father’s.”

“No offense, but yes.  I mean, this is an exquisite plane and...”

“You didn’t think I had the means to pay for such a luxury item?”

“Actually, I wouldn’t have thought you had the desire to have one.”

“On the one hand my work often requires me to travel at the last minute.  Commercial flights have been out of the question for a while.  Then I chartered flights for a long while, but it became increasingly complicated.  As my workload increased and the demands on my time became impossible to keep up with, I also discovered my need to escape my family.  I realized I had to do something, and this was the solution. This is so hush hush, my parent’s know nothing about it.”

Serena ran her hand over the leather seats.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Sebastian said as he set a soft hand on her arm.  “I’ll go have a word with the crew.  We should be ready to take off in fifteen minutes or so.”

“Take your time.”

She settled into a seat and looked at the homey surroundings.  She’d been on Price’s private jet on more than one occasion, and while it was comfortable and luxurious, she’d always found it cold and imposing.  Everything was of the highest quality; the softest leather, the finest crystal, the best champagne, but she’d always been fearful of breaking something, of scratching the leather or spilling champagne.

While Sebastian’s plane was just as luxurious, it lacked the glare of obnoxious wealth.  Instead it had hints of his musical background.  Instead of a Degas on the wall, a fine violin and bow were clamped securely in a protective casing.  When she popped open the small compartment beside her, she expected to find expensive cigars, but found a flute and small clarinet instead.”

Sebastian smiled as he returned to find her snooping.  “These flights can be long and boring sometimes.  I thought of putting a piano in here, but then decided I needed practice with other instruments, so…”

“So you play these?”

“The acoustics in here are great.”

“I knew you were a fine pianist, but I never considered the possibility of other instruments.”

“I don’t think there’s an instrument I haven’t tried.”  He glanced up at the violin.  “That one being the most capricious.”

“Can you play something for me?”

He chuckled.  “Now you're embarrassing me.”  He pried open the small door and unclasped the violin and bow.  With a boyish grin on his lips, he clamped the butt of the violin between his chin and shoulder and noisily raked the bow against the strings.

Serena cringed and grimaced.

“Told you it was capricious.”  He winked then set his fingers strategically on the strings as he closed his eyes.

The bow flowed over the strings, filling the room with one elegant note after another.  The beautiful melody brought tears to Serena’s eyes as she captured the emotion and desire of every tone and shift.  Sebastian lost himself in the music as his entire body was swept up in the exquisite notes.

He finished with an enthusiastic flourish and bowed like a master.

“Bravo.” Serena rose to her feet and applauded.  “That was breathtaking, Sebastian.  So beautiful.”

“So hopeful,” he added.  “And full of promise.”

“Is it a recent composition?”

“As recent as can be.  I just improvised it as I went.  That’s what happens when you throw your emotions into your work.  The notes find themselves, develop, grow while I have little control over their course.”

Her gaze filled with admiration as she looked at him.  “I hope to one day have a tenth of the talent you have.  I can’t even imagine the day when I’ll come up with something so beautiful on the spur of the moment.”

“Give yourself time.”  He put the violin away then gestured for her to take her seat and sat beside her.  “We should be just about ready to go.”

The flight attendant popped his head in to confirm their departure.  “We should be arriving in Switz…”

“Ah, ah,” Sebastian chastised with a shake of his index finger.

The red faced attendant bit his lip and apologized before returning to the front of the plane.

“Switzerland?” Serena asked in astonishment.  “Are you really taking me to Switzerland?”

“I told you I wasn’t taking you to the beach.”

Impressed, she smiled.  “I thought you were taking me to Lake Tahoe, or Las Vegas; maybe New York or Miami… something like that.”

“I told you; sometimes I need to escape my family.  Every single state in America is not far enough away.  I have to get a whole ocean between us.”

“That’s quite an escape.”

The plane slowly rolled out of the hangar and turned onto the runway.  As the motors turned and revved up, Sebastian took a hold of Serena’s hand.  “Would you like a drink before we take off?”

She glimpsed out at the airport and the gleaming wing of the plane before looking at Sebastian.  “If you promise to hold my hand, I should be all right, but I’ll hold you to that drink once we’re airborne.”

“Fair enough.”

The plane taxied down the runway, gaining speed until it finally took off.  After a few moments they unbuckled their seatbelts and the flight attendant arrived with drinks.

“As promised,” Sebastian said as he handed her a glass.

Golden flecks sparkled in the glass of Goldschlager.  Serena swirled the liquid around, keeping the flecks of gold in constant motion.  She took a sip, and resumed her swirling motion.  “As delicious as it is beautiful,” she said as the flight attendant left them alone.  She finally allowed herself a hint of relaxation.

“You still look too tense.”  Sebastian turned her to face the window.  “This trip should be an escape from everything; my family and responsibilities, as well as Price, your stress, your anxieties and your obligations.”  As he spoke he worked his fingers into the flesh of her shoulders.

She instantly melted under his touch and the last remaining grains of irritation and frustration of the past days evaporated.  After a few moments, he reached around her and unbuttoned her shirt then peeled the fabric off her shoulders.

As his fingers worked her tired muscles, he kissed her tender skin and bit into her flesh.  The pleasure brought by his fingers married perfectly with the pain inflicted by his teeth.  “I want to love you all the way to Europe,” he murmured.  “I want to love you until we’re both exhausted and unable to move.”

She playfully looked back at him.  “I thought we’d already taken care of that.”

“That brief hour in that cheap motel was nothing compared to what I have in mind for you.”  He grasped the strap of her lavender bra between his teeth and tugged it off her shoulder.  “Pull up your skirt,” he ordered.

She slowly inched her skirt up her thigh while Sebastian reached around to grab a breast. 

When her panties became visible, he groaned.  “Pull them aside a bit… just a bit.”

Her fingers lingered over the thin fabric a brief moment before complying.  Again he groaned and rewarded her with an eager bite into her flesh.  When she let out a small cry of pain, he diligently licked the sore spot then trailed his tongue down her back then up to her neck.

“I love every inch of your skin,” he said as he pinched her nipple.  “Do you love your skin, Serena?”

“Yes,” she whispered.  Her nipple stood erect, and directed a charge of pleasurable sensations between her thighs.

“Show me how you love your skin.”

Eager to please him as well as herself, she slipped her finger under her panties and between the waiting folds of moistened skin.

“You're such a nasty girl, Serena.  You’ll take it anyhow, anywhere.”

His words aroused her, stinging her pride while rendering her helpless under his touch.  Her finger stroked her flesh harder and faster.

“How did you come to be such a horny b?”

She leaned back into him as her orgasm built up.  “Look who’s talking,” she countered.

“Don’t cum just yet.”

“But…” Her breath caught in her throat as she brought her fingers to a difficult and painful stop.

“I’ll tell you when you can cum.”

“Sebastian.”

He turned her around and pressed his face into her breasts. His lips clamped onto a nipple and suckled with exquisite pleasure.

The threat of an orgasm throbbed between her thighs and she pressed her legs together to maintain control.

“I’ll have to punish you if you go against my wishes.”

“You're making it too hard.  Slow down.”

He glared at her and ran his fingers up her thigh and under her panties.  “Now I’ll really make it hard.”  One moment the movement of his fingers aroused her to the point of exploding and the next he left her cold and wanting more as his fingers retreated.

“Don’t stop, Sebastian.”

Her request fell on deaf ears.  His cold, methodical hands tugged her panties into place and lowered her skirt.  With a wicked grin he sat back and looked at her.  “The flush of an unsuccessful orgasm looks good on you, Serena. I enjoy watching you suffer with such rapture.”

“You're an unusually cruel man.”  Despite her words, she loved the determined look of power and erotic control in his eyes.  He played her perfectly.

“The better to please you,” he said in a deep, promising tone.  He stood and held his hand out to her.  “Come.”

She frowned and looked around the room.  Where else could they go?