Unlawful Escort (Unlawful Series book 1) (5 page)

She stopped at a diner, a short distance from the hospital and bought a hamburger, fries and soda
after which she hurried back to the apartment, hoping that Sebastian had not returned in her absence. She sighed in relief as she entered the penthouse and realized that it was empty.

It had been an exhausting day, thus she went straight to the bedroom assigned to her and begun unpacking. She open
ed the large walk-in closet and exclaimed in shock; the closet was stacked with clothing, shoes, purses and jewelry of every color and design imaginable; a few of the pieces she remembered from her earlier fitting.

She hadn’t expected the clothes to arrive for another day or two.
Whatever would she do with so much clothing? The closet resembled a mini boutique. She sifted through a few items; blinking to ensure that her eyes weren’t deceiving her as she saw a few of the price tags. A warm glow stained her cheeks as she stroked the soft silk negligees;
wondering if Sebastian had seen or even selected the items. Pity he hadn’t been less extravagant in his purchases and donated some of the money to charity, she thought as she went to shower.

Weary to the bone, she crawled beneath the soft quilt and closed her eyes; sighing in contentment as the soft mattress seemed to
mould to her body. Despite her obvious exhaustion; sleep eluded her and she tossed and turned in bed. She wondered if Sebastian would be home soon or rather if he was returning at all for the night.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she heard footfalls that could only be Sebastian’s, clinki
ng on the marble tiled hallway outside her door. She swallowed hard as the footsteps paused at her door, which thank goodness she had bolted, however much help that would be. She released a breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding as the footsteps resumed and drifted away down the hall.

She had thought that her breathing would never return to normal and she would never get a wink of sleep. Ho
wever within minutes, she was dead to the world.

CHAPTER SEVEN

SEBASTIAN BOLTED UPRIGHT IN BED;
something was burning. The building must be on fire, he thought, as he sprang out of bed, not even bothering to put on a robe, hauled his bedroom door open and dashed downstairs. He frowned as he realized that the scent was coming from his kitchen. But why? He wondered as he pivoted in the direction. He froze at the entrance as he saw Paige; dressed in matching pink cotton sweatpants and t-shirt, waving a dishtowel in the air in a bid to clear the thin smoke clouding the kitchen. He groaned inwardly. Why hadn’t he gotten her an apartment of her own or allowed her to remain at her house?

“Are you trying to burn the dam
n building down”, he said furiously and she jumped; her cheeks reddening.

“
Sebastian…” she began nervously, the apology she had intended dying on her lips as her eyes collided with Sebastian in all his semi nude glory. That is if snug boxer shorts could be considered as clothing.

Heat pooled in
her belly as her eyes openly caressed his muscular arms and hairless chest. She was taken aback at the large tattoo on his smooth left breast that appeared to be Celtic in origin and stretched almost to his shoulder blade and another Fine Line tattoo on his right arm. The tattoo on his chest resembled an open flame in shades of blue and black, while the one on his arm was definitely a woman’s face in gray and black hues. The pictorial drawings gave him an air of danger and intrigue that seemed to heighten his appeal.

“Wha
t the hell are you doing?” he raged and her eyes flew to his face which was livid with rage, “I thought I told you to order room service”.

“I’m sorry” she said, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach, “I
forgot to adjust the heat before I went to get my cell from my bedroom”, she laughed nervously, “I’m normally very good in the kitchen”.

“Well either you’ve lost your touch or you weren’t that good in the first place”, he said bitingly and her eyes stung with hurt, “and you’ve ruined my kitchen”

“
Would you like some coffee?” she asked, ignoring his scathing remark as she busied herself with disposing of the charred egg.

“Are you certain you didn’t burn
the coffee as well”, he scoffed before turning on is heel and trudging barefooted in the direction he had come. She stared after him; captivated despite herself, by the ripple of muscles in his back and legs as he disappeared from sight.

What was his problem? He
was behaving as if she had permanently defaced his kitchen and who the hell did he think he was questioning her culinary skills. Well she would show him, she vowed, bristling with rage. Mindful of his criticism, she took extra care as she completed her task of preparing breakfast.

She had awoken quite early as she was accustomed to doing when she was at home, to make breakfast for herself and Joshua and go to work. She had immediately gone to the kitchen to start her usual routine only to discover that his cupboards and refrigerator were empty. She had wasted no time
in grabbing her purse and leaving the building in search of a grocery store and thank goodness she hadn’t searched far as she had found one a short distance from the building.

She shook her head sadly.
So much for pretending that there was nothing abnormal about posing as the girlfriend of a ridiculously rich, not to mention gorgeous, hunk.

“I see
you’re insistent on burning down the building”, Sebastian’s mildly irritated voice murmured from behind her, half an hour later, “in case I didn’t make it clear before, my kitchen is solely for decor purposes”.

She whirled slowly to face him,
the reminder of his toned chest causing her pulses to race. She sighed in relief as she saw that he was fully clothed in an immaculate charcoal suit and white dress shirt that opened at the collar; his hair combed back neatly from his face. She preferred it wavy and sleep tousled, as it was a moment ago, she decided.

She smiled. “Not anymore”, she
announced with more bravado than she felt.

He leaned casually against the door frame and quirked an eyebrow, “where did you get that”, he asked
, indicating to the bacon and eggs she was scraping onto a plate.

“I
went grocery shopping”, she intoned casually, “there wasn’t as much as a glass of milk in your refrigerator”.

“I know that”, he said looking none too
pleased; “my father is hosting a small dinner party tonight. Be ready by seven”, he said turning to leave.

“Wait!” she said, moving towards him, “at least have some breakfast before you go”,
she cajoled, giving him her most brilliant smile.

For some strange reason,
she didn’t want him to leave just yet. She found that she wanted to know more about the man beneath his curt veneer.

His eyes narrowed specul
atively, “alright”, he conceded and made his way to the breakfast bar and sat.

Suddenly she felt nervous, “do you want pancake a
nd bacon and eggs or would you prefer toast. I could…”

“I’ll
have the pancakes and bacon and eggs, thank you very much”, he said halting her tirade.

“OK”, she said preparing a plate and placing it before him. He stared at the plate a moment before scoping a forkful into his mouth. She tensed as he chewed, slowly.

“Not bad, not bad at all”, he said digging in and she relaxed a bit.

“Coffee
or orange juice?”

“Coffee; lots of cream and a little sugar”, he said without looking up from his food.

She prepared his coffee as well as hers and went to join him. She should say something, she thought as they ate in silence. She couldn’t remember being this strung up in her entire life.

“I
met this nice old lady this morning, well not very old. Her name’s Anne and she reminds me of my neighbor Meredith”, she began lamely, “Do you know her?” she asked and he shook his head, “she is kind of fat with short blond hair and the most lovely smile”, she continued, “you don’t know her?”

“No I don’t know her”, he said exasperatedly, sipping his coffee.

“Well, she works in the building”, Paige chattered on, “I didn’t remember to ask where and I promised to make her a chocolate cake”, she sulked as if it was the worst thing imaginable, “oh well, I’ll just have to ask the concierge, Jimmy, later”, she said, brightening, “what about you? Do you like chocolate cake?”she finished breathlessly.

“No
!”

“Then what
kind of pastries do you like?” she pressed.

“I have something to take care of at the office”, he said, standing suddenly.

“But it’s Sunday and you haven’t even finished your coffee”, she said indignantly, running to keep up with his long strides as he marched purposefully towards the door, “and there’s more pancake if you want some”.

He ignored her entirely as he hauled the door open and disappeared
into the hallway. Stupid, stupid, stupid; she cursed herself. Why couldn’t she have spoken of the weather or politics, even football maybe? Instead she had run him off with her incessant prattling. So much for friendship, she thought miserably. She was lucky if he didn’t cancel their agreement altogether.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

“
WHAT CAN I GET FOR YOU TODAY, MR BRADLEY”,
the beautiful, strawberry blond waitress inquired, smiling provocatively.

“I’ll h
ave a scotch on the rocks”, he said, returning her flirtatious smile before she sauntered towards the bar; the hemline of her black skirt barely covering her thighs.

The Club was an elegant bar and
lounge situated in Manhattan’s mainstream that predominantly catered to the affluent men of its environs. The deluxe leather couches arranged around oval glass tables were strewn across the glossy hardwood floors and the costly Michael Angelo paintings adorning the richly coated ivory and earthen-brown walls bespoke of a gracefulness that was second to none. The crescent shaped bar which was located in the far corner of the room was encircled with padded barstools and the ornate crystal liquor shelves, bejeweled with diamond accentuations. Though it was midday, the lounge had a semi-darkened ambiance that seemed to bolster its allure.

The waitress returned with a crystal decanter of scotch and
poured a portion into a glass and left. He sighed, glancing at his watch; ten minutes past twelve, Brandon and Matthew were late, again. He, Matthew and Brandon had been friends since grade school and regardless of various mishaps, over the years, they had managed to maintain their friendship. They had been members of the Club long before they were old enough to and most of their tomfoolery had been associated, in one way or another, to the Club. 

He grasped his
iPad from his jacket pocket and resumed flipping through the morning papers. He glanced up just in time to see Roberta strolling towards him; her long silken black hair flowing down her back. She was adorned in a casual silk peach dress; her perfect features void of wrinkles, although he was certain she was at least ten years his senior.

“Hello Brad”, she murmured flirtatiously, sinking leisurely
unto the loveseat before him, “may I join you”.

“I’m expecting company."

He had known Roberta since he was sixteen years old and they had been sharing each other’s bed, occasionally, ever since. A Mexican by birth, she ran away from her homeland to New York seventeen years ago to escape an abusive husband, thus the Moonlight Ladies Escort Agency had been formed.

“
Did you enjoy my little parting gift?” she purred without preempt.

“She’s a bit
modest for my taste, don’t you think?" he sipped his scotch, the bitter liquid tickling the back of his throat.

“
She’s fairly new, I thought you might break her in”, she murmured suggestively, “we both know how skilled you are in that department”.

“You might miss her for awhile
.” he said matter of factly, “In the meantime, you’ve never heard of her. Understood?”

She nodded,
her brows knitting into a frown as she stared curiously at him but she knew better than to question Sebastian Bradley and she certainly had no intention of unleashing his wrath on herself. She shrugged suddenly; her air of seduction returning.

“All the better when she returns”, she murmured,
“should I expect a visit this afternoon..?” she asked hopefully, changing the subject.

His lips curled with predatory satisfaction, “certainly”.

“I’ll be waiting…” she crooned before floating towards the exit.

He
shifted impatiently in his seat, contemplating phoning the guys when he saw them strolling towards him.

“I’m sorry man”, Brandon said
, he and Matthew occupying the loveseat Roberta had vacated moments before, “Apparently Matt and Sara are expecting and I was acting as Counselor for the morning or should I say referee”, he added sarcastically and Sebastian roared with laughter.