To my dearest readers,
I know it hasn't been fair to you guys that I've been AWOL on my stories for almost two years. I also know I've lost a lot of readers because of it. I've been through a lot in the last year--some really serious stuff. I wasn't able to focus on writing at all. But the good news is that unlike a lot of my other unfinished and unpublished stories, Mickey has always stuck with me. I've been determined to finish it no matter how long it takes. To those of you who are still reading: I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
-Liz
A Last Hoorah
The lifeless engine of Carly's car ticked as it rested in her driveway. It had been fifteen minutes since she arrived and she was still sitting in the driver's seat, the file practically burning a hole in her passenger seat. All her intuitions were true. Sebastian suddenly walking into her life--into her mother's life--wasn't a mere coincidence. He was using Eliza to get to Jack, using her prior employment at Slade Enterprises to get what he wanted. He'd been playing them all from the get-go.
The tears burned behind Carly's eyelids. This whole time, deep down inside, she wanted to be wrong about her suspicions. She wanted to believe there was a plausible reason why he had weaved this incredible web of lies. She wanted to believe that she was actually important to him, important enough to keep her hanging by a thread this whole time.
She wiped away the wetness on her cheeks with the back of her hands and contemplated what she was going to do with the file. Whether it proved that Sebastian was being set up and blackmailed, or if it were true evidence of his indiscretions, it implicated both Sebastian and Jack Slade in wrongdoings. Sam had suggested they take the file to the police as soon as possible, but something held Carly back. It wasn't a great time. Her debut was in less than 48 hours. She wasn't ready to see her mother's heart get broken. All excuses, all good enough for her to stuff the file in her glove box and forget about it for the time being.
A gust of hot, humid air stampeded through her car as she opened the door, nearly taking the breath out of her. Even at night, there was no solace to the Texas summer heat. She noticed the oil spot on the driveway where her mother usually parked. She was too tired to even wonder where Eliza went. She slumped at the front door, wishing she could walk in and everything would be normal. A chuckle escaped from her throat. Who was she kidding? Nothing was ever normal. Not when she lived with professional alcoholic and barely saw her own dad.
"What are you laughing about?" Sebastian's voice was curious and amused.
Carly turned her head, finding him standing at the edge of the porch a cigarette burning orange as he sucked it down. Patches of heat spread through the sides of her neck. Was he there the whole time? Had he been watching her while she was in her car? "Um," she said, reaching for an excuse. "Something Cody said earlier."
"Oh."
"I'm beat," she said, her hand gripping the doorknob. "I think I'm going to hit the hay."
"Something's different."
His remark stopped her dead in her tracks. "Huh?"
He threw the half-smoked cigarette and stubbed it out with his boot. "You're acting different" he said. "You're being...nice."
Nice wasn't exactly the word she'd put on it, but she knew what he meant. Usually during these moments she found herself alone with him, she was either upset or angry or being seduced by him. Or all three. Now she just wanted to crawl into a hole and attempt to unravel the knots her stomach had turned into. This was it, she thought. She had the means of ridding him from her life for good, but wasn't quite sure that she wanted to. The tears that she'd just managed to subside in the car threatened to break through.
"I really need to go inside," she said, trying to hide the quiver of her chin, the wetness streaming down her cheeks.
"Carly..." He started, but paused.
She saw him step closer in her peripheral, but couldn't dare look at him. "What is it?" She'd meant to sound curt, but her voice cracked.
"Look at me."
"No," she said, her crying now apparent. Why couldn't she just twist the doorknob and go inside?
"Please," he begged. He cleared the distance between them and brought his hand to her cheek, thumbing away the tears. "I can't stand seeing you like this."
Carly lifted her gaze, meeting his sorrowful expression. He leaned in, kissing the salty streaks on her cheeks, his lips soft and warm against the cold wetness. "Please," she murmured. "Please, don't do that."
He didn't listen. Instead, he wrapped his leather-clad arms around her, hugging her as if she would float away any minute. Carly slumped against him, clinging to his jacket, and began sobbing. She didn't care that they were on the front porch, full display for the neighborhood to watch. She didn't care that the line between her love and hate for Sebastian had dissipated. Nothing mattered in that moment, except for the fact that he was there, holding her.
Carly wasn't sure whether it had been minutes or hours since they'd been standing there. She only realized that her crying had finally subsided when she was able to hear Sebastian's heartbeat. She tightened her grip on him. As long as they stayed like there in that very moment, nothing else was real. Not the file, or the lies, or the fights.
Sebastian's hand caressed the back of her head as he brought his lips to her forehead. "You know I love you, right?"
Carly stiffened. "W-what?"
He leaned his head back, nudging her chin up to look him in the eye. "I love you, Carly."
Before she could let the thoughts run rampant in her mind, before she could think twice, Carly slammed her lips against his. Sebastian let out a groan, snaking his hands down her back and gripping her thighs to bring them around his waist. He carried her inside, kicking the door closed. As she kissed him along his jaw and his neck, she knew with each inclining step that they were headed upstairs.
Sebastian brought her down to her feet once they were alone in her dark bedroom, only the moon shining its pallor light through the window. She looped her finger under the buckle of his belt as she backed toward her bed. When she felt the softness of her duvet against the back of her calves, she stopped. Even in the darkness, Sebastian's eyes burned through her like an untamed fire, causing the agonizing tightness in her lower belly.
She embraced the warmth of his hands sliding up her ribcage, her shirt bunching at his fingertips. "Up," he said.
Carly raised her arms and her shirt was off in one swift motion. Sebastian kneeled down, unbuttoning her shorts. His lips pressed against the exposed skin just above her panties, the sudden slick warmth of his tongue sending a zing right down to the apex of her thighs. Her mouth dropped open, a breathless moan escaping, as her hand immediately went to grip the silk of his hair so she could hold steady.
Sebastian worked her shorts down her thighs, to her ankles and finally to the floor. He cupped a hand behind her knee and hiked it over his shoulder, hungrily staring at the lacy blue panties she wore. She felt his hot breath gliding over the inside of her thigh just before his teeth grazed the skin. Her hips nearly bucked.
Sebastian moved forward, guiding her to sit on the bed, but then pulled her hips toward him so that she was sitting on the very edge. He nibbled the inside of her thigh again, only higher, and repeated the act on each side until she was panting and her legs were spread wide.
Carly was nearly about to burst. She wanted to beg and plead until... "Oh, yes." She felt the moist heat of his mouth over her panties. He licked and nibbled at the thin fabric that covered her clit, activating the desperate undulating of her hips. Her hands found his black mane again, attempting control while she rubbed herself against his mouth.
Sebastian paused and retreated barely an inch, his hooded eyes wandering up her body to her face. He wasn't going to play fair tonight. He wanted all the control. Every lick, every suck, and every fuck belonged to him. Carly let out a frustrated gasp, almost pushing herself against his face again.
Smiling wryly, Sebastian stayed just out of her reach.
Carly exasperatedly lifted up, her eyes frantic with need, her chest rising and falling quick and short. She watched as he hooked a finger at the fabric between her thighs and pulled it to the side. Sebastian purred at the sight.
"Oh, baby." His eyes met hers with a look of incredulousness. "You're so wet."
Carly sank her teeth into her bottom lip, stifling a moan. His apparent satisfaction quadrupled her arousal. "Sebastian," she pleaded between breaths.
"I love it when you say my name," he said. "Say it again."
"Sebastian."
"Again."
"Sebastian."
With that, Carly felt a shot of his hot breath as he used his fingers to spread her. Her muscles jolted, threatening to come undone when the tip of his tongue danced a little circle around her throbbing clit. Her nails clawed into the duvet, her head tilting backward, giving a slight arch to her back. Each delicate lap of his tongue sprang spasm after spasm. But it wasn't until she felt the slight pressure of the tip of his finger against her entrance that she was so close to losing all control.
Oh, please, please, please, please, please...
"Tell me," he said, his voice hoarse. "Tell me what you want me to do."
She wriggled and contorted impatiently, willing him to press his finger inside. His refusal made her inwardly pout.
"Tell me," he demanded again.
"I...I want you to fuck me with your fingers."
The wantonness that slipped from her mouth sent a thrilling jolt all the way to her curling toes. Sebastian's response was her reward. His finger invaded her slick channel at an agonizingly slow pace. Carly gasped inward, bucking her hips forward.
"Fuck," he hissed, adding a second finger.
The soft cries escaping from Carly's throat reverberated through her room. Each thrust of his hand, each gentle kiss and lick he bestowed on her clit, pushed her closer to an exploding orgasm.
"So wet." He licked her again. "So tight."
"I'm going to come," she cried out in warning.
The warmth of his tongue was suddenly replaced with cool air, the girth of his fingers replaced with emptiness. Carly let out a torturous groan. How dare he leave her on the brink? She wanted to grab him, to pull him back to her and force him to finish.
"I want to be inside you when you come."
Oh! Her eyes shot open.
His tall, dark figure stood in front of her, maneuvering his jacket off his shoulders. He retrieved a foil packet from the pocket and dropped it to the floor. Then went his shirt and his jeans, leaving him just in his boxers. She didn't even have a chance to form words before he jerked her panties down her thighs, stretching them into obsoleteness. He threw them somewhere across the floor and crept over her, coaxing her all the way onto the bed, using his knees to spread her legs.
His fingertips traced above her navel to the clasp between her breasts. With just a flick of his thumb and forefinger, the clasp released. Carly's nipples achingly tightened as he nudged each cup to the side, exposing her breasts to the cool A/C.
She reveled under Sebastian's widening gaze, the pleasure evident in his eyes. She felt like a jewel to a thief, nothing would stop him from stealing away with her in the night.
He dipped his head, closing his lips around her highly sensitive nipple, and sucked leisurely. He grazed and teased with his teeth, causing Carly to jerk violently in his hold. He repeated the gesture with her other nipple before tracing kisses up to her neck just below her ear.
Carly reached down, slipping her hand underneath the clinging waistband of his boxers. She lightly stroked her palm over his rock-hard length, luring a beautiful growl from deep within his chest. He thrust his hips forward, the pressure pushing against her hand, pushing her further up the bed. Knowing he was just as anxious as she was, she slightly leaned up and slid his boxers down until his velvet shaft sprang free.
She watched as he ripped the foil with his teeth and sheathed himself with the condom. She reached out to touch it, but he pressed her back against the bed, taking ahold of her wrist and pinning it above her head. She was panting, only the sound of her ragged breath could be heard. A lovely aching burst through her lower belly as he positioned the tip of his cock at her entrance. She braced herself, biting her lip and closing her eyes.
His fingertips etched down her arm and gently cupped her throat. "Look at me."
It was the second time he said it tonight, and Carly was finding it hard to ignore the demand. Her eyelids fluttered open, meeting his penetrating gaze that enraptured and blanketed her. The passion she felt emanating from him was so palpable that this undeniably went beyond just sex. It was not about what he was doing to her, but what she was doing to him; the monumental power she had over him this very moment. It was in his movement, his voice, the piercing of his eyes. His expression told her he needed her more than anything, but he needed something else before he could have her.
"What is it, Sebastian?" she asked, her voice tinted with concern.
"I want to hear you say it."
First, confusion crossed over her, but when Carly searched his eyes, his parted lips, his rapid pulse, she understood. Tonight, everything else around her was stripped away of it's importance. The only thing that mattered was to tell him, whether she meant it or not. She wasn't in her right mind to speak for the future, but she meant it now.
Carly reached up, embracing his cheek. She whispered the words as if she'd said them a million times before.
"I love you."
Sebastian's crushed his lips against hers, sweetly assaulting her tongue with his own. He barely pushed his hips forward, exquisitely stretching her sex to it's maximum capacity.
Carly's whimper paralleled his moan. She was unable to control the vibrations diffusing through her body as he pushed further until he was completely buried inside her. He paused for a moment, letting her adjust to his divine thickness, then pulled back little by little.
Carly clung to him, preparing herself for what she knew would come next. Like a rollercoaster, the anticipation built up during the ascension, and then came the terrifying thrill of the freefall when he plunged into her. Her mouth fell open, vastly sucking in the air. He gyrated his hips mercilessly that she almost lost all control, the back of her head digging into the mattress. Each time he carried her to the brink of completion he softened his pace, bringing her back down a peg. Then he repeated the torturous cycle again.
"Faster, Sebastian," she begged against his lips, only able to take so much of the torment. "Please."
Her last word set him at a pounding rhythm, fucking her senselessly. She only had mere seconds before she would come undone, her breathing rapid and forceful.
"Yes, baby." He pressed his cheek against hers, his hot murmurs tickling against her ear. "Come for me."
Wrapping her legs and arms around him, she dug her searing fingertips into his shoulder blades. He rocked into her one last time, the shared orgasm crashed over them like a violent tidal wave, their bodies melding into liquidity.
Sebastian collapsed on top of her as they both worked to catch their breath. Carly was only able to bask in the sensations for a few moments before all her senses came back to her. This was it. This was the last time she would share intimacy with him, the last time she'd let him take a piece of her. It was their last hoorah.
"You should go," she said, holding back the bite in her tone.
He leaned back, giving her a look of confusion and anger. "I haven't even had time to pull out of you yet and you're already starting this?"
She couldn't meet his eyes. She shrugged.
"No," he said unapologetically. "I'm not going anywhere.
She sighed, not wanting to deal with this right now. "My mom could come home at any time. Do you really feel like explaining this to her?"
"I don't care."
"What?" she snapped, surprised.
"I said, I. Don't. Care."
She tried to shove him off of her, but he took ahold of her wrists and pinned them to her sides. He looked her dead in the eye with uninhibited determination. "We just had the most mind-blowing sex, not to mention the fact you just told me you loved me. I'm not going anywhere right now."
"As if you didn't trick me into saying it," she said, trying to wriggle herself from his hold. It was no use. He was a lot stronger than he looked.
"Is that how you really feel?" he asked, hurt seething through every syllable.
She relented, her last bit of strength giving out. "Yes...No. I don't know."
"I meant it when I said it."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm done with all the lying and the sneaking around, Carly. I've been so fucking miserable. I want you, and nothing else. Before you came home tonight, I'd made up my mind to tell you everything."
Her stomach lurched. "Everything," she repeated.
"About the gigolo situation, Jack Slade, the engagement... Everything. You deserve to know."
She already knew everything she needed to know. Would hearing it from him change anything? No. It wouldn't. But maybe, just maybe, he had a valid explanation for the whole mess, something that hadn't crossed her mind, something she'd missed.
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "Tell me, then."
Sebastian pulled himself out of her, maneuvered across the bed, and sat on the edge. Carly wrapped herself in the duvet, positioning herself next to him.
Sebastian stared down at the floor, his fingers entwined. "Obviously I'm not big fan of Jack Slade," he said with a hint of dry laughter.
"I hadn't noticed," Carly said, shrugging.
"Don't be a smart ass." He twisted his head to look at her, smiling. Taking her hand in his, he kissed her knuckles one by one and held them to his cheek. "Jack Slade is the reason I'm in this mess. I want you to understand that he's not just screwing with me, he's screwing with my family and everything they've worked for. My brother..." His gaze fell to the floor.
Carly could see his anguish in the way he clenched his jaw. She wanted to wrap herself around him, to comfort him, but she fought back the urge.
"My brother is in prison for something he didn't do. Jack made sure of that. And if I don't comply with the bastard's wishes, I'll be behind bars too.
"Several years ago my dad died, leaving me his company, a broker firm. It wasn't the path I had chosen for my life, but I didn't want to let my dad down so I took over. My brother, Perry, was the one who had been interested in the company since he was twelve years old. The kid's a whiz with anything he puts his hands on and was killing it on his finance projects in school. I made a deal with him: as soon as he turned twenty-five I would hand over the company. But by the time he was twenty-one, I'd already put so much of my blood, sweat, and tears into Crowe Broker that it was taking a toll on me. Plus, I had my own plans and was ready to get out in the world and do my own thing. So I altered the deal.
"When I first met Jack, I thought he was a trustworthy guy. He knew his way around the broker business like no other. He'd been interested in partnering with us for a few years already, which gave me the idea to go ahead and sign the business over to Perry as long as he had someone more experienced and knowledgeable by his side.
"Before I made it official, I wanted to give my brother and Jack a sort of test run to see how they handled things together. Everything seemed to be fine for the first couple of weeks, until I noticed some shady shit happening in the books. Insider trading shit. I thought it was my brother at first, maybe making some rookie mistakes, until I realized that Jack had been calling the shots from the moment he gained any kind of authority. I threatened to call the cops on him, told him if he didn't disappear I'd put him in prison.
"That's when the asshole decided to turn the tables on me. He'd fixed everything to make it look me or my brother were in control of all the illegal happenings. I had no proof that Jack had a hand in anything at all. He'd erased all the security footage, all the accounts were under my name or Perry's name, and none of employees even saw Jack during work. He'd covered all his bases.
"Jack blackmailed me into signing the company over to him. He threatened to put me in prison if I didn't. And that's not even the worst part. Jack wanted more money from me, as if he doesn't have more than he knows what to do with. He took everything I had."
Carly shook her head, feeling irked. "I can't even imagine..."
"I can't either," he said. "It still feels so surreal. My mind's been so occupied trying to fix everything that I haven't even had time to process it."
"How'd your brother end up in prison?"
"Well, not long after Jack made me sign over Crowe Broker, the feds noticed the suspicious trades and started to investigate. To get the heat off, Jack threw Perry under the bus. His life is pretty much ruined and he's only twenty-fucking-two. Jack's still after me for money, and on top of that I'm trying to pay Perry's lawyer fees."
"That's why you decided to sell yourself for money?"
He nodded his head. "The kind of money Jack wants, it's either that or robbing a bank. I hadn't even started until I met you. You changed everything. So I tried to find another way..."
Carly clenched the blanket closer to her chest, her insides suddenly tied up in knots. He was about to tell her what she knew but couldn't bear to hear.
Then the house shook from a slamming door, followed by the sound of her mother's voice.
Carly's eyes widened in fear. She scrambled to find her underwear while Sebastian was already up, throwing his clothes on. By the time she got into her drawers for some clean clothes, he was sliding his jacket on and smoothing out his hair.
She poked her head through the collar of one of her obscure t-shirts, finding Sebastian staring at her with an adoring smile. He came to her, his hands smoothing across her hips, and kissed her softly.
"We will continue this conversation," he said. "I promise."
He was walking out the door when she slipped on some shorts and then followed him. She paused at the banister as he trudged down the stairs, calling her mother's name. Eliza emerged from her study, looking not quite like herself. Neither of them knew Carly was in the room.
"Sebastian, I couldn't find it," Eliza said, worried.
"What do you mean you couldn't find it?"
"I mean the it wasn't there. I looked through everything."
"If we don't find it in the next week..."
Squeezing her hand on Sebastian's shoulder, Eliza comforted him. "I know. I'll make sure we get it."
Those knots Carly felt earlier returned with a vengeance. Something told her they weren't talking about a missing bauble.