Mindy
"Sebastian." Juliet thumped Sebastian's arm as he punched the button for the elevator, but he didn't move to acknowledge Mariss as she came up beside him.
"We'll be shooting in three weeks," she said. "I need to get the ads up soon. I'll coordinate with Juliet to let you know. You're still working with us on this?"
He nodded without looking at her.
"Of course."
"Alright."
No "good bye" or "I'll see you later". No "call me". She just walked away and disappeared behind the frosted glass of the office. Sebastian replaced his hurt with anger and almost felt one hundred percent himself again.
"Wow," Juliet whistled as they waited for the elevator. "You… I don't… What…" She frowned and started again. "That was just a mess."
"How was it?" Sebastian frowned. The doors opened. He stepped in and held the door, but Juliet didn't get on. "Are you coming?"
"What did you do?" she asked.
"What are you talking about? Get on the elevator."
Juliet stepped in slowly. "Things were cordial when we got here and they were frigid just a moment ago. What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," he argued. "Why does it matter anyway? It's done between us." That sounded too much like they were seeing each other. "I won't be doing anything with Mariss Red after this campaign is over."
Juliet raised an eyebrow at him. "Mariss Red?
Since when do you…
You know what?
Never mind."
"I'm going to the club," he announced rather forcefully. "I've let it fall by the wayside. I need to check in and make sure things are running smoothly."
"Otherwise known as, you're going to fuck Hellena to get your mind off Mariss. How did that work for you the last time?"
Juliet slapped the button to open the doors and the elevator stopped on the next floor.
"Where are you going?" he asked, astounded by her behavior.
"Sebastian," she started,
then
locked her lips tight. "I'll meet you at the club later. Call me if you need me. Actually, you know what? Don't call me. This is me walking out early. If you call, I won't answer. I-"
The closing doors cut off whatever she was about to say. Sebastian stared at the stainless steel in confusion. Where the hell had
that attitude come
from?
Things weren't much better at the club. Hellena wasn't there, but she was scheduled to come in later. Sebastian spent the day in the office returning backed up phone calls and going over the accounting. Going over the numbers helped to distract him.
By seven, music droned through the office walls. No one disturbed
him,
they probably didn't even know he was there. By nine, Sebastian had poured himself a glass of brandy and was walking the main floor. There were a few early partiers on the dance floor. He stepped down into the pit and walked the outer wall. There was a live band tonight. He didn't know their name, nor was he impressed, but the dancers seemed to be enjoying themselves.
A young woman caught his eye. She looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he knew her from. Her blonde hair fell over one eye in a way that was supposed to be alluring. Sebastian sipped his drink as he watched her. She was very slight and a bit thin for his tastes. The way she smiled. It galled him that he couldn't remember.
She looked up at him through her hair, her body moving to a beat that wasn't really a beat. Sebastian wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was no rhythm to it.
The
woman danced a little closer, not fast enough or close
enough to be obvious if he was anyone else. Sebastian leaned against the wall and took another sip. He waited. He was patient. She danced with a few men, but none of them for long. Finally, she was dancing in front of him. Sebastian checked his watch. It had taken her twenty-three minutes to get to him.
She lifted her arms in the air, gyrating so close to him he could smell her hair and perfume, a soft floral scent that wasn't unpleasant.
"Nice place," she said. Her voice was definitely familiar.
"Thank you," he shouted over the music. He drained the rest of his drink and shook it so the ice would rattle around.
"I'm Mindy."
"Sebastian.
A pleasure, Mindy."
Did he know a Mindy? He should. He knew he should know who this woman was. The way she was looking at him was like she expected him to recognize her any moment. When he didn't, a smile spread across her face.
"Are you looking for
something,
or someone in particular?" he asked.
Mindy nodded with pointed a pointed stare.
Sebastian motioned toward the upper floor.
"After you."
She skipped ahead of him and up the stairs out of the pit. He caught her around the hips and said in her ear, "What's your flavor?"
"Bound and gagged," she replied.
"Nothing too hardcore."
Sebastian bit his lower lip and guided her back to the Red Room.
"Get undressed." The room was empty, as it would probably stay for a good while. Sebastian removed his suit jacket and vest and loosened his tie. The discarded pieces of clothing he lay across the back of a chair. Then he removed his shirt and kicked of his shoes, fighting back his distaste.
"Lay down," he told her. Mindy giggled and reached for his waist band, her small breasts pressed against his chest.
"You don't have your clothes off yet." She started to work at his belt.
Sebastian took her hands in his and pulled them away from him. Her eagerness almost disgusted him.
"Lay down." He spoke firmly, but rather than be deterred, Mindy smirked and lay back on the bed. Sebastian slipped out of his trousers and tossed them over the rest of his clothes. He reached under the bed and pulled up a black strap with a padded wrist cuff. After he secured Mindy's left wrist, he moved down to the end to find the cuff for her ankle.
"Too tight?" he asked.
She shook her head. Sebastian moved around the end of the bed to cuff her other ankle and wrist.
"Can you snap?" Mindy demonstrated that she could by snapping the fingers on both hands simultaneously. "Good. One snap for slow down, two for stop, three if you want me to untie you immediately. Understand?" He didn't plan on anything exotic, but anything could happen.
Mindy nodded again.
"Answer me," he said, his voice bland, but commanding.
"I understand."
Sebastian walked back around to the end of the bed. He'd love to see Mariss laying here naked, stretched spread eagle before him with her arms and legs bound so he could have his way with her. But thoughts like that weren't polite at a time like this.
Sebastian crawled onto the bed between Mindy's spread legs and leaned over her to retrieve a condom from the night stand beside the bed. Quickly, he ripped it open and rolled it over his length. She hadn't mentioned his size as most did, which meant she'd seen it before. Warning bells went off inside his head and Sebastian knew he should stop right then, but something spurred him on. He couldn't put his finger on what it was.
He slid inside her. She wasn't very tight, so there was little resistance. Mindy gasped. He watched her bite her lips together.
Sebastian pulled out and slipped back inside. The most awful sound came out of her lips and he suddenly remembered where he knew her from. She was the flight attendant who'd made that god awful pig squealing noise when he'd fucked her on the plane. He hung his head, supporting his weight on both hands. Mindy's eyes were closed and he suddenly felt horrible. Apparently, she couldn't help the noise. No wonder she'd asked for a gag.
"Sorry," she whispered.
Bloody hell, she was embarrassed.
"For what?"
Sebastian pulled out of her slowly and climbed off the bed. In the drawer of the night stand was a piece of cloth. A year ago, maybe even six months ago, he wouldn't have bothered with whether the girl was embarrassed by the noises she made. Mariss had done more than hurt his feelings.
He tied the thick piece of cloth over her mouth, trusting it would catch most of the sound. He gave her cheek a little stroke, then climbed back on top, looking down at her as he slid back inside. Mindy tilted her head back as a low moan was caught and muffled by the gag.
Sebastian thrust in and out. Her body reacted, but it was all wrong. The reactions were wrong, the sounds were wrong, the smells were definitely wrong. Mindy arched against him. He pressed her to him with a hand on her back. The gag covered her squealing and when she came, Sebastian licked the dew from her skin. It was practically tasteless. He resorted to licking his own skin and it left him completely unsatisfied, though he did manage find release. He'd only ever had to do that once before and he hated it.
Mindy squirmed beneath him. Sebastian released her hands and let her take care of the rest while he tried to rally. His heart rate hadn't risen and he'd barely broken a sweat. At this rate, he could have run a few miles and been more satisfied.
"We should do this again some time," she said, a silly smirk on her face.
Against his better judgement, and all of his common sense, Sebastian gripped Mindy's wrist and pulled her around to look at him. He was
laying
back, propped by the pillows with his free hand behind his head. This was what Mariss did to him. She made him soft, and he couldn't afford to be soft. Not with his reputation.
"When was the last time you had sex, Mindy?" he asked. "Was it on the plane with me?"
Mindy frowned.
"No, of course not."
Sebastian shook his head and let his eyes smolder. "Don't lie." Mariss would tell him he was using his self-awareness against her, and that was precisely the point.
"Most men," she started and faltered. "I don't really want to talk about this."
There was
a certain
hesitancy in her that went beyond her embarrassment. Her face wasn't flushed as he would expect from a woman who didn't like talking about her idiosyncrasies. Her hands fidgeted in her lap and she hunched herself over, trying to hide her nakedness.
Sebastian lifted her chin with a finger, all the while willing himself to make her leave. What did he care about this woman's feelings? Why did he care how she felt about herself?
"Talk to me," he told her in a tone that brokered no argument.
"I've come to accept that the noises I make aren't exactly normal." She shrugged. "I can't help it."
Mindy chewed the inside of her lip and her eyes raked his face appraisingly. Sebastian did his best to look approachable. She wanted to tell him something, but she was afraid. She frowned like she was warring with herself.
"What's wrong, Mindy? Talk to me."
"Do you always do this? With the women you fuck?"
Sebastian shook his head and slipped his other hand behind it. He stretched like a cat, smirking when it made her uncomfortable. "Only women I fuck twice." He winked.
Mindy smiled and finally blushed. "Did you fuck Mariss Red?"
He should have expected that. There would probably be no end to the women who would come around here fishing for a story. For all he knew, Mindy was a reporter, but he answered her with the truth. "No."
"On the plane," she frowned. "You laughed at me."
Sebastian pulled his lower lip between his teeth and held it there for a moment. She still had something she wanted to tell him, but she was holding it back. He took a deep breath and let his lip go.
"I wasn't laughing at you, but you caught me off guard."
Her eyebrows went up. Mindy gave him a rueful smile. "Still, you had more courtesy than most."
"You mean they leave you because of that?" He could understand, but he found it hard to believe he had more courtesy than most men out there.
That made what had happened with Mariss that much more hurtful. If he'd shown her every courtesy he never showed other women, not even Hellena - his norm was to already show more courtesy than the average male - the only logical conclusion was that she had used him. For what, he couldn't begin to guess.
Sebastian's chest constricted and his body clenched against the sudden physical pain.
"Mr. Boa? Are you alright?"
"Mr. Boa?" he grunted. "I think you could call me Sebastian by now." He pressed his hand to his chest.
"Sebastian. Are you having a heart attack?"
Was he? Not the kind she was thinking of. "I'll be fine."
The curtain pushed aside and Hellena stepped in. "Have you been here all day?" she asked. Mindy turned away, trying to hide her body from the other woman. There was a look of fear on her face that Sebastian couldn't understand.
"Yes, why?" he asked.
"I checked the tapes."
"Hellena, do me a favor and call my car."
She blinked at him and said something in German. "What am I, your assistant now?"