Sebastian (Bowen Boys, #5)(18)
After making sure that Peter knew how to contact him, he hung up. He knew that things weren’t moving into place really, but they were moving in the right direction. He went home to let the crew in. Sebastian said he’d pay them a bonus if they got it cleaned before midnight. He hoped they had enough time.
~~~
Her feet hurt more than she could have imagined they would. As she moved to the front of the shop to leave, she noticed that Peter was talking to someone. When he moved into the light, she saw who it was. Damn it all to hell.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Sebastian grinned at her. “I’m going home in a cab or walking, but not with you.”
“I’m not taking you to your apartment.” She wasn’t sure what she was missing, but was sure it was something when he grinned more. “Come on, I’ve got my car all warmed up for you.”
“I thought you just said you weren’t taking me home.” He stood near his car and waited for her as they came out. “I’m really tired and just want you to leave me alone.”
“I can feel how tired you are. And I can also feel your hunger. You come with me and I’ll feed you a thick steak and baked potato. I also think there might be a piece of strawberry shortcake in your future if you’ll be a good girl and eat all your dinner.”
There was something very appealing about him when he was teasing. She tried to ignore the thought of steak and potato and strawberry shortcake, but her belly was singing to her to go with the man and feed it. She stood next to him and stared up at him.
“You’re not going to try and convince me that I should be your mate, are you?” He just stared at her. “I want you to answer me.”
“I can’t lie to you. And if I can’t lie to you, I don’t want to piss you off with the truth. How’s that for an answer?” She opened the door herself and got into the passenger seat. When he went around the car and got in, she wanted to touch him but knew that she couldn’t.
“Why are you doing this?” He looked at her like he was confused. “Why do you care if I eat or not? It can’t matter to you if I’m hungry or not.”
“A great many things about you matter to me.” He handed her a large travel glass, and she took a sip and moaned. He glanced at her as he drove out of the lot. He was getting onto the highway when he started talking.
“Why sweet?” She looked at him. “Why do you need sweet stuff when you’re stressed? I mean, I think it’s great, but I would have thought maybe juice or something like that.”
“I love juice, but it’s terribly expensive. Not to mention most of the stuff you buy is little more than sweetened water with a little juice added in anyway. I love tea, especially the kind that has flavors in it.”
“I like raspberry tea myself, and have some at home now. We’ll have some with dinner.” He drove a little more and she had just closed her eyes when he spoke again. “I had a visitor today. Jacob came to see me.”
She sat up so quickly that she nearly spilled her tea. Her heart was pounding so hard that she knew he could hear it. When he reached for her hand, she let him curl his fingers around hers without thinking. She looked at him as her body started to calm.
“I don’t suppose he told you that he found a way to remove this stuff from me, did he?” She felt his shock. “I asked him to look for a way. I had hoped he’d come to me sooner.”
“I don’t think…he didn’t mention it. He did tell me about the demon that came to the house today. He said that if his master finds you and brings you back to his lair, he will try and breed with you.” She felt him look at her as the car pulled to a stop in a driveway. “Did he tell you that?”
“No. He told me about what I was and that my powers would grow once I took a mate.” She looked out the side window and not at him. “I don’t want to mate with anyone, not just you. It’s too dangerous for me to be around real people now. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I had a mate.”
“I would think you’d be safer with a mate.” She didn’t say anything to that, not sure what she’d say anyway. “How about we go inside and I feed you? I’m not a great cook, but I can cook a really good steak. The potatoes should be about done by now.”
She got out and followed him to his door. She couldn’t see much as it was very dark out here in the forest. His house was large and white and that was about all she could make out as he opened the door to the kitchen. Ama stepped into his house and nearly fell over.
“It’s beautiful. And I love this kitchen.” She walked around the room looking at all the counter space and the smaller appliances that he had spaced around. She loved the refrigerator that was a huge side-by-side with glass front doors, and the cabinets that seemed to glow with the lights behind the beveled glass on them. She walked to the stove and fell in love with the gas-top burners and the large grill in the middle. She laughed when she thought of all the dinners that must get made here.
“I’m going to confess something to you. This place was a sty up until about an hour ago. I’ve been really busy at work and trying to balance the two jobs I have, and had sort of neglected this place for a while. You have the best cleaning crew I’ve ever seen to thank for this being clean.” She nodded and took the glass of tea he handed her. “There’s more in the fridge. Just help yourself. I’m going to go out and fire up the grill for our dinner. How do you want yours cooked?”