Authors: Tracy Goodwin
After his confrontation with the butler from Hades, it took Sebastian quite a while to find his wife.
Although the manor wasn’t large, it contained confusing mazes of hallways.
When he found Gwen at last, his chest constricted. She sat alone in a dimly-lit classroom staring at a blank chalkboard. He was certain it was the same classroom Tristan had once told him about.
Sebastian glanced down at the marble floor, remembering the story his brother-in-law had told him, imagining his wife as a young girl, sitting on a cold floor trying to eavesdrop on a Latin lesson.
A cold blast of air moved past him, stirring him from his sad thoughts. He glanced again at his wife.
She hadn’t moved since his arrival.
Sebastian walked into the classroom, his candle adding more light. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” His tone was gentle, understanding.
He placed his candle next to hers then shrugged off his jacket. After he draped it over Gwen’s shoulders, he knelt beside her. “You must be cold. How long have you been up here?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“Let’s get you downstairs by a fire.”
“Gawain is so charitable, adding a fire to my already ostentatious accommodations.” Sarcasm dripped from her every word.
Her effort at humor failed to lighten his mood. Sebastian stiffened. “That man, and I use the term loosely, is loathsome. I told him so right before I fired his arse.”
“You what?” Her eyes danced with mischief in the candlelight.
“I fired him. I couldn’t find Tristan and I didn’t
think he’d blame me once he saw where that despicable man expected you to stay.”
Sebastian rubbed her shoulders in an attempt to infuse heat.
“And to think,” her heart-shaped lips twisted into a sardonic smile. “I was plotting a rather unpleasant diatribe of my own for when I fired him.”
“I will give you an accurate account of what I said to him later. If I missed anything, you may send it by messenger to his home, but first let’s get you to a warm fire and a hot bath.”
Gwen stood then tugged at the lapels of his jacket. “You didn’t have to get involved, you know. Of course I’m grateful, but it wasn’t your battle.”
“When will you get this through your stubborn brain?” He tapped her temples. “Any battle of yours is mine as well.”
She brushed her lips against his cheek. “Thank you. It means a great deal to me.”
They walked downstairs in silence. It wasn’t until they had reached the family wing that Sebastian began to explain. “That reprehensible little man sent me over here. He didn’t want to get on my bad side, I suppose.”
“Well, look at that,” she teased him, leaning against the wall. “You’re making friends.”
Sebastian grimaced as he opened the door. “As it turns out, the servants prepared just two rooms. Tristan has the one across the hall, your father’s, and this one is ours.”
“Ours? What will the servants think?” She arched her brow before sauntering into the room.
Gwen heard the click of the door shutting behind her.
“I don’t care,” Sebastian announced, crossing the cream-colored carpet to the fireplace then bending down to stoke the logs. “I’ll give you all the privacy you need. Do you want to ring Jane so she can prepare your bath?”
Gwen surveyed the rose-colored walls and impressionist paintings that adorned them. Her husband must have noted her silence for he stood then stepped in front of her. Tipping her chin up, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve never seen the inside of this room.”
Confusion clouded her husband’s expression. “Why not?”
“This was my mother’s room. None of us were ever allowed to enter.”
She stared at a watercolor painting at the far side of the room. It depicted a lake surrounded by flowers while water lilies dotted the clear water, reminding her of the lake on Sebastian’s property.
Her eyes scanned the interior. Several other paintings of various sizes and colors decorated the walls, each bringing to life that same lake.
It hit Gwen like a gust of cold air.
This wasn’t a coincidence. This was the lake on Sebastian’s estate.
Sebastian’s gaze followed hers, resting on the same portrait. He squeezed his eyes closed. “I have an idea. Why don’t we leave here tonight? To hell with your parents and this service for your father.”
“I believe my parents are already in hell.” Her tone was as icy as she felt.
He placed his strong hands on her shoulders. “Look at me, Gwen.”
She complied, blinking to focus her weary eyes.
“Please let’s go home.” His sapphire eyes beseeched her.
“I must be there tomorrow.” Gwen placed her hand on his arm. “Don’t ask me why, I don’t quite understand it myself. I just know that I need to be there. We can depart right afterward, if you want.”
“Then let’s switch rooms with Tristan for tonight. I’m sure he won’t mind.”
“God, no.” The thought of staying in her father’s room chilled her to her core. “I refuse to enter my father’s room. Can’t we just remove some of these? Stick them under the bed or behind the wardrobe or something?”
“I can do better than that.” Sebastian marched to each portrait in swift, determined strides then, after removing the pieces of art one by one, he walked to the closed bedroom door. “Would you mind opening this for me? My hands are full.”
Gwen hurried over to the door and opened it with trepidation. “Where are you taking those?”
Sebastian lobbed the paintings down the hall in two fluid motions.
Her jaw dropped.
“What?” he teased. “You said you wanted them out of sight. Now they are.”
For the first time in what seemed like a lifetime, Gwen laughed.
The crashing of the paintings and her subsequent laughter brought Tristan out of his room to question the commotion.
“We’re redecorating,” Sebastian remarked, his tone unaffected, as if tossing framed works of art down a hallway was normal.
Tristan later joined them in their suite for dinner before retiring early.
“The strangest thing happened to me today,” Gwen began as she hopped under the covers and rested her head upon Sebastian’s chest. She could feel the rhythmic beating of his heart through the soft linen fabric.
Each night that they’d spent together had followed the same routine. She fell asleep in his arms, awaking there as well. Not once during their journey had he done anything more than kiss her head or stroke her cheek, neck or shoulders.
“What happened?” His smooth voice was accentuated by the crackling of embers in the fireplace.
“Being in that classroom brought back a lot of memories.”
“Before you go any further, I have a confession to make.” Sebastian traced the outline of her jaw with his thumb. “Tristan told me a story once, of you as a young girl sitting outside his classroom door.”
“That’s one of the incidents that I recalled tonight. As I was sitting behind—”
“Wait.” He gave her a confused look. “You’re not upset that I know?”
“No, why?” Gwen narrowed her eyes. “Should I be?”
Sebastian crushed her against him, “not at all. Please continue.”
She smiled against his broad chest. “Well, I thought of that among other things and then I realized something. Confronting those memories, facing them, makes you immune to them.”
“I’m glad.” He kissed her head.
“You know how much I dreaded coming here, yet when I think back on what my brothers and I endured here, it just reinforces the fact that we survived.” Her tone then turned solemn. “Well, most of us.”
“Are you referring to your father?”
“No, Colin.” She traced a seam in the duvet with her fingertip. “I just wish I knew that he was safe.”
Sebastian caressed her shoulder. “I’d like to think we will receive news soon. I hired a few of London’s finest investigators to track him down.”
Gwen bolted upright. “You did?”
He nodded.
“Sebastian, thank you!” Gwen embraced him. “That was the most wonderful thing you could have done for me.”
“Hey, it wasn’t entirely for you.” His tone was playful. “He’s my brother, too, so my motives weren’t entirely selfless.”
“It doesn’t matter. You still receive full credit.”
“Does it erase my lie?”
She backed away from him, her joyous expression replaced by a much more serious one.
“Forget I said that,” Sebastian insisted.
“No,” she replied as she rested her hand against his thigh, kneeling on the mattress. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
His mood sobered and he propped himself upright against his pillow. “I’m listening.”
“You should have told me, you know that. We’ve discussed it until we’re breathless,” Gwen paused before continuing, “but I have never thanked you, and I should have.”
“Pardon me?”
“Thank you.” Her voice was strong.
His expression betrayed his confusion. She knew she had to admit the truth.
Gwen bowed her head in shame. “This admission was much easier with Tristan. Lachlan was his father, too, after all.”
Reaching for her hands, Sebastian assured her, “Gwen, I’m not going to judge you based on your father’s actions.”
Tears stung her eyes. “The reason he wanted me to marry Keir is repulsive.”
“It’s all right.” He wiped a tear from her cheek. “You don’t have to tell me. Don’t cry.”
But she needed to tell him.
Gwen inhaled a deep breath before her words escaped her lips in a ragged whisper. “Keir was his illegitimate son.” The tears flowed more freely with her admission. “If I had never met you, if you hadn’t fought for me, I am certain that my father never would have allowed me to break the betrothal on my own. Your lie was my salvation.”
Her husband’s indigo eyes revealed his shock and confusion, but just for a moment. “You kept this to yourself for so long.” Sebastian wrapped her in his warm embrace, whispering in her ear as she cried in his arms. “Cry all you want. You don’t
need to keep it inside anymore.”
Gwen thought she had shed all of her tears during the days following her father’s admissions, yet upon her confession to her husband, hot tears flooded her eyes once more.
She wept for herself because her father never loved her. The realization that she was nothing more than a pawn to him still stung. Gwen also wept because her husband didn’t expect her to be strong. Instead he shouldered her burdens, allowing her time to grieve for the father she thought she knew.
When her sobs subsided, Sebastian still held her within his tight embrace. He hadn’t let go of her, not even once.
“I’m sorry.” Gwen pulled away then blinked back her tears. “I didn’t expect I’d fall to pieces.”
Sebastian wiped her tears with the pads of his thumbs. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I brought all of this vulgarity into your life.”
“No.” His tone was fervent. “You brought love into my life.”
Gwen shook her head, “How can you say that when everything has been so hard for us? For a while, you couldn’t stand to be in the same room with me.”
“That wasn’t because of you, Gwen. It was due to my own cowardice.”
“I don’t understand.”
Sebastian nodded. “It was easier if I didn’t see you. That way you couldn’t tell me that you no longer loved me.”
The truth flew about the room. It had been
caged for so long and upon being set free, the air seemed warmer and the firelight appeared to be brighter.
“I’ve never stopped loving you.” Her tone was raspy. “It’s one of the few things that has sustained me.”
Sebastian kissed her forehead, cradling her face in his hands. “I love you so very much. Although I may not have always shown you, my love for you has been constant.”
He brushed his lips against hers, the mere touch sending shivers of expectation throughout her body. She parted her lips, allowing his tongue immediate access. His kiss was gentle, as if he feared repeating their mistakes.
“Make love to me,” Gwen whispered the four words that changed the mood.
His embrace tightened as his mouth devoured hers. From that first fiery kiss, she gave into her desire, comforted by her overwhelming need to lie naked with her husband, wrapped within the warm cocoon of his arms. She combed her fingers through Sebastian’s thick black tresses and whispered his name.
Each subsequent kiss became more ravenous, more heated, more persistent. His mouth besieged her senses. His thigh brushed against the sheer fabric of her chemise, sending a jolt of urgent need surging right through her veins.
As his tongue explored hers, Sebastian began to untie the ribbons on Gwen’s nightdress. He then spread the fabric open with his soft fingertips, his mouth trailing a path of hot kisses down her neck as
his warm, strong hands explored every curve of her body.
His mouth encircled one of her pert, pink buds then his tongue flicked it. She arched her back, a raspy moan escaping her throat, in response. Sebastian’s mouth then retraced the moist path up her neck and to her mouth while he fondled her other pert nipple with his thumb and forefinger.
Flames of desire licked at Gwen’s body. Breathless from his kisses, she unbuttoned his shirtfront then lowered her gaze, glorying in his rippling chest and stomach muscles.
She removed his shirt, tossing the garment on the floor. Her hands then explored his bronzed chest, tantalizing every inch of bare flesh that they explored. She could feel how taut his muscles were, knew he was aching for release as his skin twitched under her touch.
“Fill me, please,” her whisper was raspy with raw desire.
His breath caught in his throat, conveying to Gwen that her words thrilled him.
Sebastian led her hand to the waist of his bottoms. She needed no further encouragement before untying his waistband then pushing the silky fabric downward. Sebastian tore himself away from her for a brief moment while he removed them then sank back into the soft mattress, returning his attention to her nightdress.
His dexterous hands inched the gossamer fabric up her legs, tantalizing her bare flesh. She quivered from the glorious sensations his touch invoked. He then reached for her bare buttocks and lifted her
onto his hard shaft. Gwen straddled him, moaning with pleasure as she welcomed his full length.