"You're alright, sweetheart." He tilted her face up and rubbed away a tear with his thumb. "You're fine." He rubbed her head with his free hand. "Better?"
Mariss nodded. "I'm fine." She sniffed, retrieving her knife.
"Where do you keep it?" Sebastian asked, nodding to her hand.
She grinned. "It's a secret."
"Maybe I'll just have to play search and find."
Mariss pursed her lips together. Heat filled her eyes as she pushed away from him, her hand on his chest. It lingered there a moment longer than necessary before she turned away. Sebastian caught her wrist just in time and pulled her back to him, so she stumbled and fell against his chest. He grinned down at her.
"Kiss me," he
teased,
his voice low and carnal.
"No."
She was so defiant. It aroused him and he pressed her closer with a firm hand to the small of her back. Mariss gasped.
"Yes. Kiss me. I want to feel your lips on mine again."
"There you go being inappropriate again." She pushed against the center of his chest, her hand warm even through his clothes. The heat traveled through him and straight to his groin.
Sebastian smirked. "Do you never do anything you want to do?"
"I don't want to kiss you." Her eyes were firm, but it was her moist, parted lips that gave her away.
"Lies."
Without relinquishing his hold on her, Sebastian reached over and pulled a book off the shelf closest to him. He flipped it open, holding it in front of their faces to hide them from the camera. With the added "privacy" he licked across her lips, just enough to taste them. Mariss melted against him, uttering a throaty sound of delight.
Sebastian grinned, clapped the book shut, and dropped it to his side. The photographer got all of it, even the look of lust that had Mariss' clear, brown eyes all moony and bright.
Hellena swore loudly in German. The sound of her heavy heeled boots stomping from the room made everyone turn. Sebastian watched her leave, his irritation more than heightened.
"What did she say?" he asked.
Mariss chuckled. "Fuck you."
Hamburgers
And
German
"Join me for lunch," Sebastian demanded as he shrugged into his coat. He didn't know where Hellena was, but he was pretty sure she'd left the building. She wasn't answering her phone, so he wasn't going to worry about her. If she wanted to pitch a temper tantrum, that was her prerogative.
"I thought we were supposed to have dinner." Mariss sounded slightly disappointed, but her face was covered in relief.
"We'll have both. Where shall we go?" He buttoned his jacket and checked his phone.
Still nothing.
"Spare no expense, Red."
She gave him a devious smile. "I want a hamburger."
"A hamburger."
Now that she mentioned it, he didn't know the last time he'd eaten one. "And where do you suggest we go for a hamburger?"
Twenty minutes later they sat at an outside diner with some of the thickest, messiest burgers he'd ever seen.
"Have you eaten here before?" Mariss asked.
"No, I haven't. I don't know how I missed this place."
"Holden brought me here for our first date. I was in my little black dress, high heels, my hair was all done up." She laughed. "I was a little pissed until I took a bite of my messy burger."
"I am honored to come here on our first date."
The warning in her eyes was sexy. "This isn't a date. Even if it was, I think we skipped right past the first one."
Sebastian grinned. "Yes. I often dream of that night at the club."
Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. Mariss looked down to take a bite of her burger.
"Why does it embarrass you when I mention that night? Do you regret it?"
She shook her head. Sebastian gave her a moment to chew, waiting patiently for her answer.
"I don't regret it. I did enjoy it, but…"
"But what?"
Mariss looked up at him through her long lashes. It was a bashful look. "I'm not sure I should say."
"You can tell me anything, Red."
"So you can use it against me later when you're trying to get in my pants?"
"I'm always trying to get in your pants. Everything I do is designed to get in your pants. You can tell me anything because I'm going to be honest with you."
"I'm not sure if the first night was about being with two men or you."
"You didn't know it was me." Sebastian set his burger down, picked up a jalapeno, and stuck it in his mouth.
Mariss shrugged. "I love my husband," she professed. "I won't deny that I'm attracted to you, but I'm attracted to a lot of men. I like men.
A lot."
Sebastian laughed, but there was no sound, just a smile that her dilated eyes proved she liked. "I think you're attracted to me more than you're attracted to 'men'. That's why you run."
"I run because…" She locked her gaze with his and the denial she was about to make slipped away. "You're right. It scares me, because I don't know that I can control myself around you and I refuse to hurt Holden that way. I would never leave him for you. You aren't worth that to me."
"I wouldn't ask you to leave him for me."
"But you would ask me to betray him." Her face was empty, her jaw set in an angry line.
"I would never ask you to do anything you don't want to do, Mariss. I'm not that kind of man. You do what you want. If you don't think you can control yourself around me, then you do what you need to make sure nothing happens, but I'm not going to give up and I'm not going to leave you alone. Not until-"
"You're done with me."
Sebastian tried to read her face, but she was good at keeping it empty when she wanted to. "You're angry. What have I done?"
"You're just an ass, Sebastian."
He chuckled. "That I am.
Again I ask, what have I done?"
"You don't care who you hurt, as long as you get whatever you've set your sights on."
Mariss turned away from him and bit into her burger again. He watched the slow, savoring way she chewed. Her eyes watched the burger almost appreciatively as if she was paying homage to the cow that had died to give her such bounty.
"You're so dainty."
Mariss looked at him with wide eyes and giggled so hard she had to put her food down. "What?"
"When you eat.
I don't think I've ever seen anyone tackle a burger that big and barely make a mess, but you… Do you even need a napkin?"
Mariss nodded, still chewing and laughing, so he handed her one. She wiped at nothing on the corner of her mouth and swept away the few bits of crumbs that were on her fingers.
"I guess I'm well practiced in the art of hamburger eating."
She amused and charmed him. Sebastian found himself unable to look away from her. Every movement, every mannerism made him
want
to sit and stare at her all day.
"Did you ever go to refinement school?"
"No. You think I need it?"
He shook his head.
"Absolutely not.
Your manners are impeccable."
"My mother made sure of it."
"Is your mother still living?"
"Is yours?" Mariss frowned at him.
"Yes. I didn't mean to offend you. My mother lives in London. I saw her the night you disappeared from your hotel."
"Glad I could be of service. My mom lives in Germany. I don't get to see her much, but she calls me almost every day."
Sebastian picked up another jalapeno. "Tell me about your knifing skills."
"I was wondering when that would come up. Sebastian, there are a lot of things I don't tell people about myself."
"Like the fact that you were born in Germany, yet have no accent?"
"Yeah.
Like that."
"I won't tell anyone, Red. Not even Hellena."
"Especially not Hellena.
She clearly hates me and I blame you for that." Mariss fiddled with the napkin and cast a glance at her burger as if she wasn't sure she wanted to eat anymore of it.
Sebastian nodded once. "I'll take the blame. Now, tell me what you don't want anyone else to know."
Mariss gave him a distrusting look. "I was a bit of a banger when I was younger. I got into a lot of trouble and had to have a way to protect myself. When I feel threatened, I slip back into some of my old habits."
"You felt threatened today?" When she nodded, he asked, "By whom? Not me."
"Hellena.
I was…displaying my dominance, I guess. I wanted her to know I wasn't an easy target. It's a nervous habit of sorts."
"It's impressive, though a bit scary."
"Good." She looked so pleased.
"You haven't told me why you don't have an accent."
Mariss arched an eyebrow. "Do you wish I sounded more like Hellena?"
Like flipping a switch, the accent was there, thicker and more alluring than Hellena's.
Sebastian shook his head.
"No, but you could talk like that more often and I wouldn't mind."
"I got into trouble when I was a teenager, so my mom shipped me to America to live with my father. I was made fun of in school for being German, so I became American." She shrugged.
"Lame story."
"And is your father still alive?" He wasn't sure why he cared.
"Yes." Mariss grinned. "Are you thinking to ask him for permission to fuck me?"
"If it would work, I'd do it."
"Sadly, I believe you would."
Mariss finally picked up her hamburger and took another large bite. Sebastian waited for her to finish chewing, watching her keep from making a mess.
"What drew you to your husband?" he finally asked.
Mariss turned to him with panic in her eyes and she croaked, "He didn't give up."
Sebastian tried to hide a smile behind his napkin. "How many times did you turn him down?"
"A lot.
I didn't count. He probably did though. You're not eating your burger."
"Watching you eat is intimidating," he admitted before he took a big bite.
Mariss choked on what she had in her mouth. "I am intimidating you? Hell must have frozen over."
Sebastian smiled around the food in his mouth. "Do you find me intimidating, Mariss?"
"Very, but I've learned to deal with that over the years. Cover it up."
"What intimidates you about me?"
She looked him over, her eyes taking in his form in a way that wasn't entirely benign. "You make it very difficult to say no. You're very self-assured and demanding." Mariss tilted her head to the side. "No, not demanding. Commanding, I think, is a better word for you."
"Overbearing?"
"Very."
Sebastian thought while he ate. "I'm not used to women who tell me no and then stick to it. It's very easy to get them to change their minds."
"Because they don't mean it," she agreed. "They want you to chase them so they can trick themselves into believing you care."
"That's the second time you've insulted me during this conversation, Mariss." Sebastian let his irritation show. His appetite suddenly gone, he put down his burger and turned hard, angry eyes to her.
Mariss wasn't easily deterred, however. She gave him an equally stern face. "I guess I just don't understand what your hang up with me is. I'm not going to give in. You're going to have to fight hard for something you'll never get just to prove you want it. Don't you understand that? To make me believe you're not just in it for a quick lay to say you slept with Mariss Red and ruined her marriage, you'll have to prove it, but you'll never get what you want from me."
"You think I just want a one night stand with an unattainable married woman? That's truly what you believe?"
She threw up her hands. "What else is there?" Her face was a portrait of exasperation. "Worse things have been said about you, Sebastian. You don't want a relationship and I don't want to ruin the one I have for nothing."
"Nothing."
Sebastian nodded. He knew his reputation made him a target, but knowing how little respect she had for him hurt. He picked up his plate and dumped it in the garbage. "I see now what I am to you. Thank you for showing me this restaurant. I will have to come back some time when I have more of an appetite. I'll walk you back to the office."
Mariss stood. She didn't say anything except to get a box for her food so she could take it back with her.
They walked back to the office in silence. To say the elevator ride up was uncomfortable was an understatement. The attraction that made it so hard to avoid each other became the very thing pushing them to opposite sides of the car. Several times, from the corner of his eye, he caught her staring like she was trying to figure out what to say, but she said nothing. Perhaps it was his intimidating nature that stopped the words from being forth coming. To make matters worse, Hellena was waiting when they reached the top floor, her face twisted into a snarl Sebastian knew to be fear-fed.
"Where did you go?" he asked her, hoping he could calm the situation down before something came of it.
But Hellena wasn't in the mood to let anything go. She held up a finger in his face, her eyes trained on Mariss. Sebastian almost grabbed her finger, but Mariss' cool composure beside him called his attention.
Hellena said something in German. Her body language suggested it was vulgar and unwarranted, but he couldn't be sure.
Mariss reacted slowly. Her face relaxed into an amused smile. Her fingers twitched by her side. Was she trying not to reach for her knife? When she spoke, her German was so fluid and flawless he couldn't help but stare at her. It was like she'd become a completely different person, and that was exactly what happened. Mariss became someone else entirely, falling back on those habits she'd spoken of earlier.
She felt threatened by Hellena, he realized, but he couldn't be sure if it was physically or because of him. Hellena felt the same way.
Hellena snapped back something harsh that Mariss found to be insulting. Her demeanor changed again and she growled out something more insulting. Hellena's eyes widened and her face flushed in anger.
Mariss scoffed and said something else. Her voice held amusement and sarcasm. Someone growled.
Both women blinked up at him. Sebastian looked innocently from one to the other. There was a throbbing below his belt, and he realized how utterly aroused he was. Listening to Mariss speak her native tongue, watching her interact with what she deemed a threat, appeared to be more than he could handle. His current state had nothing to do with Hellena.
However, there were two women staring at him. One wanted to cut him, the other wanted to fuck him, and he'd be damned if he knew which was which.