Heart thumping with the excitement she always had at the prospect of a new find, she quickly answered him with a suggested date and time he could meet her at the office the following week.
Feeling energized by the sudden multitude of happenings, between the opening that evening, Sebastian's unexpected call and his even more unexpected news that he was bringing her something from his travel abroad, and the usual thrill of potential discovery about something new in her field, Lacey got up and readied herself for the day. She felt high with the adrenaline of everything.
Especially, she had to admit, the tingling charge that came with the thoughts of seeing a certain dark pair of smoldering eyes. And his mouth. The mouth that kept promising it would do dark, wicked, delicious things to her, no matter how much she told herself that wasn't what she wanted.
Right.
~~~
Sebastian leaned slightly forward in his chair, tenting his fingers beneath his chin as he examined one of the several monitors on his desk. The security cameras in the room of the opening practically buzzed with the excitement that saturated the exhibit hall. People milled around in controlled little bursts, taking their time as they went through the exhibit in small clusters. Chatting with one another, although he couldn't hear the sounds, staring intently at various aspects of the exhibit, enjoying the background music that played tunes that would have been popular at the time, and the open bar that flowed in the corner not only made this an incredibly enticing scene, they made it a perfect one. Lacey had outdone herself with this exhibit opening.
She herself stood at the center of all the high energy, beautifully dressed up for the occasion. Lacey wasn't one of those women who was completely self obsessed, always wearing the latest fashions. Yet although she was careful to downplay her assets during regular work hours, she apparently had had no problems dressing up tonight to show off her curves—as he'd requested. Tonight, she about had Sebastian's brain already wrapped in knots. He hadn't even seen her in person yet, as he didn't want to steal her thunder. The second he stepped into the gallery, attention would shift from Lacey to him. Her immediate supervisor had, under Sebastian's casual yet unyielding suggestion, allowed Lacey to spearhead this entire exhibit on her own. Sebastian had trusted her to do a fine job, and she had. He wanted her to get the glory for it that she could. His presence would distract people. He wasn't actually at the Bernal Center all that often, as he was generally too busy running a worldwide corporation to spend much time in any single place—not to mention his relentless pursuit of the last pieces of his scattered gold hoard.
Of course, during the past year he'd begun to spend more and more time here. Despite his own insistence that women were playthings to be had, enjoyed, and set loose so as to allow the next one to come along, he couldn't deny even to himself that Lacey was in a different class. Deep inside, his dragon rumbled again with that irritating conviction that Lacey was his. That she, and she only, belonged to him.
That she was his
mate.
Setting his jaw as he battled his own self, Sebastian shook his head. He refused to believe that. But he also knew the reason he was so interested in her was more than the beauty of which she was mostly unaware, and usually kept buttoned up. It was her interest in the same field that fascinated him. It was, yes, her mind, as well as her charm, her wits, and that odd
something
that just drew him again and again to her.
His dragon roared again, frustrated and eager to get out. Frowning, Sebastian forced it down. No. Lacey was brilliant, she was intriguing, she wasn't interested in him in that fake, breathless way so many women were, and he always found himself somewhat relaxed around her. Yet for all that, she was a woman. As such, he would never trust her. None of them were to be trusted.
Then why had he brought her the gift from Madrid?
Well, damn it. Because he knew that she alone among all women would appreciate it. He also simply wanted her to have it. To be as dazzled by small piece of his own treasure hoard as he was. It was ridiculous, and something he would not admit to anyone else alive. His dragon rumbling with immediate triumph deep inside him, Sebastian reached for the small, beautifully wrapped package on his desk and gently placed it into his jacket pocket. With a final glance at the monitors, he left his office to head downstairs and see the fascinating woman in person.
And tonight, he vowed, to finally taste her sweet lips.
"Your work ethic and passion for the subject have paid off tonight, Lacey." The voice of Lacey's immediate boss, who stood next to Lacey as they both watched the swirling excitement and enjoyment of the capacity crowd in the room, held admiration and, she was sure, no small amount of relief at the opening's success.
"Thank you. I'm just thrilled everyone's enjoying it. Honestly, it does help that Mr. Bernal is well known. It's got people pretty excited about this part of California's history. I couldn't have done it without him." Lacey might be a history geek, but she was a geek with dreams and goals. Now she could mark this off her bucket list: her first successful exhibit as lead curator. It felt amazing. The crush of people in the room, examining the exhibit, talking animatedly, laughing and discussing and experiencing that which she had poured her entire heart and soul into, was an aphrodisiac like none other.
Except the one man who was driving her wild. Lacey could practically feel the change in the atmosphere a split-second before a new voice joined the conversation.
"I'll take that as high praise from you, Ms. Whitman." Lacey turned her head as Sebastian stepped to her side. "You did an excellent job."
Lacey pushed down the sizzle that seem to happen every single time Sebastian came near her. Hearing his voice that morning had set her nerves into a tingling delight of anticipation all day long.
"Thank you." Before she could continue, though, Sebastian inclined his head at her boss.
"I need a word with Ms. Whitman." He didn't need to say anything else. People obeyed Sebastian Bernal every time he opened his mouth. Nodding and smiling, Lacey's boss melted off into the crowd to mingle.
Immediately flustered with excitement and a fresh dose of nerves, Lacey almost swayed on her feet with the effort to not flee after her boss. But Sebastian, who clearly was observant, said in his dark honey-laced voice, "I've been watching on the monitors. You're in your element here."
That brought Lacey up short. "You were watching on the security monitors? That's a bit high-handed even for you, don't you think?" Before she began working here, Lacey never in her life would have dreamed that she would ever dare address the man who owned what seemed like half the world in such a manner. But this was the effect he had upon her. He turned her upside down, inside out, made the craziest things come out of her mouth. What was more, she felt relatively comfortable doing it.
"It's my prerogative. Besides, I do like to keep an eye on all my treasures." He looked right at her as he said that. Lacey flushed, buzzed by her proximity to him.
Just about everything female in her body wanted to fling herself at him and cry, Yes, absolutely! Yes, I'm a treasure. Keep me. Heck, just take me.
The modern, feminist part of her brain naturally wanted to slug him for referring to her as a treasure. As if she were merely a possession. Undecided as to which move would be worse, she simply froze in place, once again caught by the dark promise in the way he looked at her.
"I need to circulate a bit," he said. "But before I do that, I want to give you the gift I brought back from Madrid. Please come with me to the courtyard."
He gestured with one hand toward the large south doors that led to the enclosed courtyard, also called a
placita
, outside the exhibit hall, much like one an actual hacienda would have. Both intrigued by what he might have brought her, as well as once again battling with herself and her own knee-jerk response to just say, Yes, sir, no problem, sir, Lacey simply let herself walk in the direction he indicated.
The courtyard, a welcoming space on nice days, was empty of people at the moment. Lacey stepped out into it with an abrupt sensation of relief. She'd been loving the energy inside, but it was a little taxing.
Sebastian pulled a small, beautifully wrapped package from the pocket of his outrageously expensive jacket and extended it toward her. Very careful not to let her fingers graze his hand as she took it from him, certain that would cause one of those white-hot sparks to flare again between them, Lacey was surprised by how heavy the small box was. Glancing up at him, finding her composure again at least in her voice, said, "All the way from Madrid, really?"
That cocky, sexy grin came over his face again. "Indeed. It's very respectable, I assure you. Please, go ahead."
Despite the casualness of his tone, she could see something on his face, or maybe just in his stance, that said this little gift was more than that. He really wanted to see her reaction when she opened it. "All right," she murmured, untying the beautiful little ribbon around the heavy ivory-colored wrapping paper that covered the little box. It was only slightly longer than her hand, and barely as wide. When she took off the lid and moved the delicate tissue paper inside to reveal what it held, she couldn't stifle a gasp.
Gold, rubies, and emeralds sparkled up at her from inside the box, almost seeming to shoot off light. The heavy little gold cross was exquisitely crafted, its stylized markings immediately signaling to her its 17th-century Spanish origins. A sinuous little dragon curled around the arms behind the backbone of the cross, small rubies for its eyes, emeralds creating sparkling tips along its serrated spine. She instantly recognized Sebastian's family crest.
Tearing her gaze away to look up at him, she said, “It's stunning! Obviously it's a replica," which was something her training had immediately noted, not to mention the fact it was simply too new looking to be truly old artifact, "but of what? Your family crest, I know that. But I've never seen this cross before. Is it from the private collection?"
She was perfectly well aware that Sebastian was a private collector. The entire world knew that. And while many many of his family's heirlooms were actually in permanent exhibits at the Bernal Center, she knew some items deemed too personally precious were kept at his ancestral family home south of the city. She only had ever seen pictures of those items, though. Much as Sebastian enjoyed her interest in the entire Californio history as well as his family's personal background, she knew he hadn't shared everything with her. Although it disheartened the scholar in her, she reluctantly supposed she understood his reasons. It wasn't like her own family had heirlooms. They weren't those kind of people. But she did have a simple gold ring that had belonged to her great-grandmother that she cherished. It wasn't really worth anything, but she certainly would never part with it. Nor would she ever have been willing to have it displayed for the public's avaricious eye if it were worth anything from a historical standpoint.
Yes, some things were to be held close to one's heart. Sebastian Bernal felt the same way, she thought as she studied him studying her reaction. Despite his outrageously overt comments around her, the way the papers and gossip rags liked to make him into a flamboyant character, the swaggering ladies' man, she'd sensed there were some dark secrets Sebastian would never share with the world.
The original cross of the tiny one she now held in her hand was definitely one of those secrets.
He allowed a small smile play on his lips he answered her. "Yes. It's a replica of an item I managed to retrieve for the family holdings recently. It'd been missing for years."
Lacey nodded, looking back down at the beautiful cross in her hand as she hefted its weight. Sebastian had alluded a few times in recent months that his family had had some personal belongings that had somehow been lost or misplaced, possibly even stolen, she surmised, many years ago. That was one of the reasons she'd interested him when she'd applied for the job in the first place. Her connections to people in all corners of the small niche of history that interested them both was something that could help in finding those items.
"There's a card in there with information about it," he said. The dark tickle of his presence played along Lacey's senses. "And there's a note from me in there as well."
The timbre of his voice shivered through her as she looked up at him again. Mouth feeling suddenly dry, she glanced back down. Carefully lifting out the bed of soft cotton material the cross had nestled upon, she found a card of heavy, expensive stock beneath it.
In silence, she read what the card said about the cross. Although a replica, it was one-of-a-kind, itself a copy of a piece that was also truly unique. The original cross had been ordered made by Queen Isabella of Spain for the Bernal family as thanks for a man Lacey knew was Sebastian's many times removed great-grandfather. The date on which the replica had been completed, which was only a few days earlier, was stamped on the bottom.
"And there's another piece of paper in there as well," Sebastian said quietly.
His heady scent, like that of a primeval forest, swirled through her, somehow mingling with her focused appreciation of the stunning little piece. Lacey tried not to fumble with the box, her heart seemed to be doing some sort of tap dance in her chest due to what she knew was the ever-present, undeniable energy crackling back and forth between her and Sebastian. She pulled out a small, creamy piece of paper and opened it to see it emblazoned with Sebastian's family crest and name at the top. Flicking her eyes up at him once, she looked back down to read it out loud.
Lacey,
This cross was a treasure to the Bernal family for centuries. It has recently come home again, which is something I know you will appreciate due to your fervent desire to keep history as it should be for everyone. I wanted you to have it as a memento in your own piece of history about this era that means so much to us both.