And why wouldn’t they? She was a sure thing. After brushing her teeth, she slid under the pounding of the hot water and bent her head.He did go to so much trouble, and he said he wanted to see me. That has to count for something, doesn’t it?She so longed to believe it, but did she want to believe it because it was true or becauseI’m a mistress and I’m in love.
What the hell was she going to do?
Chapter 6
Sebastian
Meredith puzzled him. Her concentrated frown on the gardens sprawling beyond the windows was not the expression he’d expected. But then nothing she’d done since arriving on St. Christos followed presumed convention or her normal behavior. Truthfully, nothing she’d done since she’d called him in Los Angeles matched what he knew of her. He felt her withdrawal and it was far more than physical. Sometime between her shower and his return, she’d erected an emotional wall between them.
He hated it. Maybe the wall was why he couldn’t quite keep his hands to himself and why he’d angled his chair to crowd into her space.
“You’re staring at me.” She picked up her coffee cup and cut a sideways look at him. The corners of her eyes crinkled, but it was tension, not amusement.
“I like looking at you.” He spoke bluntly. A blush pinkened her cheeks and he smiled. Candor was rare in his life. His every statement had to be vetted for potential impact, but he’d never felt the need to censor himself with Meredith. He disliked intensely the sensation he should begin. Catching a lockof her hair, he smoothed the strands between his thumb and forefinger.
She laughed and set the mug down, turning her attention to him finally. “You’re impossible.”
“I assure you, for you, I am infinitely possible.”
Her gaze locked on his, searching, and he willed for her to find what she needed. A wordless pulse raced through him, a need so visceral and base it assaulted the very core of his civility. He understood why monarchs of old locked their women up where no one else could get to them. It wasn’t a lack of trust or faith, merely a desire to possess.
God, he wanted to possess Meredith. Every thought, every moment of every day. He wanted to stamp his ownership so clearly no one would dare touch her. Yet doing so painted a target on her, and he’d learned a brutal truth by watching Anna’s life upend because he’d made a phone call to force his brother’s hand.
“And now you’re scowling.” Meredith almost sighed and Sebastian fought to get his emotions back into check, smoothing over his face. The last thing he wanted was to push her away. “Bastian?—”
“Meredith.” He nearly spoke over her and bit back his next words. “Please…go on.”
She paused, studying him. “It’s all right, you were about to say something.”
Accepting the invitation, he shifted in his seat and caught her hand in his. The warm satin of her skin as enticing as it was comforting. He never tired of touching her. “I know we have issues, and perhaps I haven’t been the most accessible of late, but I want to repair any injury between us.”
It was a testament to his self-control that he didn’t pick her up and take her back to bed. There, at least, he knew exactlyhow to please her. If he drowned her in pleasure, she might reconsider the notion of leaving him altogether.
When she didn’t outright reject his statement, he pressed on. “I want to spend time with you and get it right. I know we bent the truth to get you here.”
“If you define bent as lied then, yes, you did.” Did he detect a trace of a smile in her voice? The corners of her mouth twitched, but it was the gleam of humor in her eyes which ultimately betrayed her.
“Very well, I lied. I cheated. I facilitated fraud in order to secure your time for a few days.” Considering it was only a small portion of what he was willing to do to get her to see him, he saw no reason to avoid admitting it.
“And you’re not remotely sorry, are you?” Despite the implied chastisement, her eyes continued to warm.
“No.” He shook his head. “Not in the slightest. You arehere.This—us together—was and is the goal.”
“Hmm.” She reached for her coffee mug and glanced at the grounds. “It’s impossible to be angry with you, even when I am.”
A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “So I am forgiven for the charade?”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far.” But the smile she’d been fighting began to break free. “I really did want to do the project. Return Times are a fascinating challenge.”
“Then I’ll make sure you do it. Daniel really seemed fascinated by the whole idea.” Hell, he’d finance a hundred puzzles for her to solve.
“Daniel?” Her smile faltered.
“Voldakov—”
“The owner of Spherecast.” Meredith warmed considerably and, for the first time since they’d sat down to eat, she leaned toward him. “Did you know he actually developed an algorithm based on one of my papers?”
“Did he?” Captivated by the excitement reflected in her eyes, he fought the surge of irrational jealousy. The mention of Daniel put the light into her eyes.Daniel. Another man.
