Possessed (17 page)

“Do
you need any help?” Keva asked.

Nellie
shook her head. “Lecretia and Sebastian helped. All that’s left to be done is
to sit down and eat.” Her mother took her hand and smiled. “That Sebastian’s a
sweet boy.”

Keva’s
eyes widened at her mother’s sudden change of opinion, but she didn’t question
it. Sebastian was sweet. “Thanks, Mama.”

“Who’s
Sebastian?” Anthony asked as he followed her from the den to the dining room.

“I’m
Sebastian.” Sebastian stood and held out a chair for Nellie at the table and
then turned to pull out another for Keva.

Anthony
held his hand out. “Anthony Moore. I’m an old friend of Keva’s.”

Keva
barely kept from scoffing. They were never friends. He’d led her on for the
better part of a week and then had a friend of his dump her for him. It was
that type of cowardly behavior that made her not regret the swift end of their
relationship. She’d never shed a tear or looked back.

Sebastian
sat to her right and Lily shooed Jackson away from her left to leave the seat
open for Anthony. “Oh, you’re the friend that she brought to our church. I hope
you enjoyed your visit,” Anthony said. “We like seeing new faces there.”

Sebastian
accepted a bowl of mashed potatoes from Nellie. He scooped out some for himself
before passing the dish to Keva. His eyes sparkled with mischief as they met
hers. Keva wondered what he was up to.

Lily
spent the next five minutes touting Anthony’s attributes to the point that
Jackson commented drily, “Lil, should I be worried?” She shot her husband a
glare, but it did gain them silence as she turned her attention to feeding
Ambrosia.

“Your
daughter is beautiful,” Anthony said.

Lily
smiled. “Thank you.”

“I
remember when my daughters were that age.”

“Daughters?”
Lily asked, her smile faltering. Keva hid a grin. “I didn’t know you had
children.”

“Oh,
yeah. I have three. Asia, Brianna, and Cassandra. They’re staying with my
in-laws for a few days.”

“You’re
married?”

Anthony
took a sip of his tea and placed it back on the table. “No. Rhonda died two
years ago of a brain hemorrhage. Sudden and unexpected. It shocked all of us.
She was so young.” He nodded as everyone offered their condolences. “Thank you.
It’s been hard, but I think that I’m finally ready to move on and the girls
need a woman’s influence in their daily lives.” He smiled at Keva
significantly.

She
almost choked on her green beans. What the hell? Did he think she was going to
complete his ready-made family? How did he get the nerve to think she’d ever
consider dating him again?

“That’s
so sweet,” Lily murmured, but she no longer seemed so confident. Keva’s eyes
narrowed on her sister. She wondered how much she had encouraged Anthony.

Just
as she was about to gently dash his hopes about her raising his three
daughters, her mother spoke. “I wish you much luck in finding such a special
young lady. Finding the person meant for you is never easy, but now you have to
also find someone who will make a good mother to your children.” She smiled.
“Now, Sebastian, wasn’t there something you wanted to ask my daughter?”

“Yes,
actually, there is.” Sebastian stood and pushed his chair back. He dropped down
onto one knee next to Keva and took her hand. He produced a small velvet box
from his pocket. Snapping open the lid, he revealed a beautiful ring with a
sparkling princess-cut diamond. The stone was large, the shine bouncing off it,
practically blinding.

Her
mouth dropped open. She glanced around. Everyone seemed surprised except her
mother, who beamed with joy. What had Sebastian done to her to make her accept
this? His hair was as long as ever, and he still didn’t have a job.

“Keva,
I love you. I can barely recall a time when I didn’t. Make me a happy man. Marry
me?”

She
bit her lip. For a second she was overwhelmed with panic. Did she love him
enough for this? The answer was swift and clear. Yes, she did. She’d never met anyone
who made her feel the way he did. More importantly, she couldn’t imagine her
life without him. Nodding, she whispered, “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.” He stood
and hugged her while everyone congratulated them.

****

The
door had barely closed behind them before Sebastian drew Keva into his arms. His
mouth covered hers in a deep kiss that had her melting against him. “Mmm.” She
slid her fingers into his hair. She wanted to surrender to his seduction, but
first she needed some answers. Breaking the kiss, she backed away from him. “We
need to talk.” Holding his hand, she led him to the couch.

“You’re
not about to tell me you only said yes so as not to embarrass me?”

Keva
laughed. “Of course not. If I was going to say no, I would have asked to speak
to you in private at my mom’s. No.” She took his hand as he joined her on the
sofa. Twining her fingers with his, her gaze was drawn to the extraordinary
ring. Also known as problem number one. “Sebastian, can you really afford this
ring? If you can’t, I won’t mind if you have to take it back.”

His
grin was indulgent. “I can afford it.”

“You’re
sure? You’re not working and you haven’t started your business. You’ll need
startup money. I don’t need anything this extravagant.”

“Keva,
that is your ring. I’m not taking it back.”

She
nodded, but vowed that if he needed the money later, she would make him return
it. “Okay. My other question was about my mother. What did you say to her to
make her happy about this? Hell, how did you convince her that you weren’t a
hippie?”

He
cupped her chin and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “I told her that I was a
millionaire.”

She
slapped his hand away. “You told her
what?
”

Sebastian
grinned. “I should start at the beginning. I asked her for your hand in
marriage. She was very polite and then asked how I intended to provide for you.
I told her that I thought you did an admirable job of taking care of yourself,
but that I didn’t expect to live off you. Then I told her about the millions I
made when I sold the Web site I’d started before I went into web design.”

She
stared into his dark blue eyes trying to ascertain the truth behind his words.
He was telling her the truth. “Why are you just mentioning this?” She sucked in
a pained breath. “You didn’t think I would only be interested in you for your
money?”

“Of
course not. I know you’re not a gold digger. It’s just not something you lead
off a conversation with.” He took her hand and kissed her ring finger beneath
the diamond. “Besides, up until now, I’ve been otherwise occupied trying not to
blow up.”

“If
you’re a millionaire, why do you drive that truck?”

“Because
it was hell hauling lumber in the Bugatti.”

Keva
laughed. “No, I meant it’s old. At
least
ten years old with rust spots.
Why not get a new one?”

He
sighed. “When I bought it, my parents had thrown me out the year before and it
was all I could afford. It’s my first vehicle.”

“Wow,”
she whispered. It was so odd to think of Sebastian as rich.

“I’m
the same guy,” he said. “I have the same myriad of issues, talents I can’t
fully utilize. I can’t promise I won’t ever need you to be a Channel for me
again. I can only vow to keep trying and to never allow myself to get to the
place where I could go supernova. Speaking my many deficits, you’re certain you
want to be tied to me?”

“Of
course.” He seemed genuinely worried. Keva squeezed his hand. “I love you,
Sebastian. I want to spend my life with you.” She lifted her face to his for a
kiss. Her tongue dueled with his. She slid her hand along his jaw, the stubble
there brushing against her fingers.

This
time it was Sebastian who drew back. “I have something I want to do for you.”

She
grinned. “I thought you were already doing it.”

He
gave her a mysterious smile. “Meet me in the bedroom in ten minutes.”

She
blinked as he left her. What could he be up to? Curiosity ate at her as she
waited for the ten minutes to elapse. She kept her eyes locked on the clock.
The second time was up, she followed him upstairs.

He
stood at the end of the bed in only his briefs, his violin poise for play. She
gasped. He smiled. “Don’t worry. It’s not…I’m not out of it. I’ve
been…integrating the different aspects of my personality.” He gestured to the
bed. “Please, sit.”

Keva
climbed onto the bed and squatted in the middle. Sebastian took a deep breath
and put the bow to strings. Keva bit her lip as the beauty of the music flowed
over her. The melody was at once upbeat and seductive. Dear God, he was sexy.
The movement of his muscles as he played made her breath catch in her throat. Moisture
built between her thighs.

His
performance wasn’t the virtuoso act he’d achieved before, but he was obviously
talented. When he stopped, he looked to her. His eyes had been closed as he
concentrated on the music. “What do you think?”

“You’re
amazing,” she whispered, opening her arms to him. He put aside his violin and
bow. Her hands slid over the hot satin of his shoulders as he covered her. His
mouth sought out hers as he pushed her back onto the mattress.

Keva
placed the box on the kitchen counter. Kevin and Sebastian were bringing in her
couch, while one of the men from the moving company tagged along with her
computer in his arms. She ran a hand over her brow. Packing and unpacking was
hot work. The temperature was below sixty, yet she could feel a trickle of
sweat wending its way down her spine.

Life
is funny
,
she thought. She’d been living in a rut since her move to Nevada. In one night,
Sebastian blasted into her life and changed her world forever. She’d fallen
back into a pattern of sorts when she’d moved back home. Her day was work, then
home. Sundays were for family. It was fine. She’d been content with the
exception of her growing hatred for her job and the empty hole in her heart.
And then Sebastian had found her again, bringing fireworks to her ordinary
days.

They’d
exchanged vows at the local courthouse the day after he proposed. Keva thought
that it was best to get it over with before her mother and Lily found out he
was not only psychic but an off-the-charts-talented psychic. She figured their
first anniversary would be soon enough to reveal that little gem.

Finding
a house to purchase had been a swift process. Unbeknownst to her, Sebastian had
been house hunting since he’d come into town. So when she’d agreed to buying a
house, he’d already had several in mind. She’d fallen in love with this two-story
brick home the first time she’d seen it. The kitchen had been recently updated
with marble counters and stainless-steel appliances. The master bath had a rain
shower that she couldn’t wait to try out. It was large enough for two and the
gleam in Sebastian’s eyes when they’d seen it let her know that he’d been
thinking the same thing she was.

After
Christmas, she would quit her dreaded job. Sebastian had yet to decide what
type of business he wanted to start and so he decided to fund one for her. Or
so he said. Keva knew it was because of her growing dissatisfaction with her
job at the hospital. In the New Year, she would be opening her own clinic where
psychics could come in for treatment. Her facility would also offer counseling
and support for psychics who needed it.

Her
mother and Lily hadn’t been happy to hear that she would be treating psychics
again. And then something surprising had happened. Kevin had admitted to being
a Channel also and planned to quit his job to come to work with her. Keva had
been shocked but thrilled. While he’d never belittled her work before, he’d
never supported her either. But she liked the idea of working with him. Even
more shockingly, once Kevin backed her, Nellie and Lily had toned down their
complaints considerably.

At
first, she’d been reluctant to take Sebastian’s backing. He’d argued that now
that they were married, it was her money, too. She’d remained skeptical, but
then he’d told her it was a good investment. IOP needed the competition. As if
it were destined, the next day news had broken about the IOP secret spy
program. Dean and his group of insiders had finally gathered enough information
to come forward and blow IOP out of the water. Many of the doctors and
executives were facing charges for kidnapping, assault and battery, and a
variety of lesser crimes that the district attorney was determined to prosecute
them for. Dr. Garcia was facing some serious jail time. “See,” Sebastian had
said with a grin, “you’re going to make me a very rich man.”

“Did
you know this would happen? Through your clairvoyance?” He’d rolled his eyes
but his smile had been secretive and just a bit too cocky for her liking.

Keva
headed back out to the moving van for another box. Sebastian smacked her on the
butt as she passed him. “Pick up something heavy this time,” Kevin called out.