A Mom for Christmas (4 page)

Sebastian’s weight on Sadira, pressing her into the mattress as he took her, felt nearly as good as his cock pistoning in and out of her. Such a cacophony of emotions and sensations overwhelmed her, but she embraced them. Embraced Sebastian and the role he played in her life. Acknowledged or not, Sebastian was important to her. Without him and his girls in her life, she knew she’d never be complete.

“You feel amazing.” Sebastian’s words were punctuated by breaths as he drove into her. “I could fuck you forever.”

“Promise?”

“I’m going to give you so much pleasure. Make you feel so fucking good.”

“You already are,” she breathed.

He shuddered around her, his arms tightening. She loved being so wrapped up by him. The feeling was so protective she wanted to sigh. Instead, she surrendered to the sensations. To him.

“I’m coming!” The scream was ripped from Sadira as pleasure surrounded her in blissful agony.

“Then do it hard, baby. So fucking hard!”

He didn’t let her go, didn’t stop moving. Instead, as she came helplessly beneath him, Sadira felt his cock pulsing inside her with his own orgasm. His brutal yell mingled with her scream. Finally, he drove deep, holding himself still as his seed erupted from him. Totally satisfying. Together. They were together.

When they both lay still, breathing labored, Sebastian kissed her neck tenderly but didn’t shift his weight from her. Which was good because Sadira loved the feel of his big body around her.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Uh-uh,” she managed, tugging his hair until she found his lips with hers. For long moments, they kissed languidly, tongues lapping and darting. Stoking the fire once again. When he began hardening inside her, he pulled away, discarding the condom in the wastebasket beside the bed.

“I want you again,” he muttered before chuckling as he looked back at her over his shoulder. “I haven’t gone twice in one night in quite a long time.”

“But you will. Right?”

He laughed outright this time. “Absolutely. I have a young lover to keep satisfied. I’ll find a way to manage.” He turned to her, giving her a kiss before going to the bathroom to clean up. “Just give me a minute. I’d forgotten how messy condoms can be.”

Sadira giggled as she watched him hurry to the bathroom. Giddy anticipation bubbled up inside her at the prospect of a repeat performance. God, she…she
loved
this man! How had it happened in such a short time? Maybe she had for a long time but never let herself acknowledge it, first because he’d been married, then because she didn’t want to disrespect his feelings about losing his wife. Whatever her reasons, she admitted it now. He obviously felt something for her or they wouldn’t be here. He was too committed to his girls to have a fling with a woman he didn’t intend to bring into their lives.

Sebastian had just walked into the room, cock straining for her attention and a cocky grin on his face, when the doorbell rang. The mischievous look on his face turned to annoyance. “Who the fuck?”

“Maybe one of the girls is sick?” Sadira stood, reaching for her clothing.

“No. Mom and Dad would have called before heading back. Besides, Mom was always better at taking care of them when they were sick, no matter the situation. She’s a mom. It’s what she does.” With a longing look at her, Sebastion finally slung on his jeans. “Don’t get dressed,” he commanded. “I won’t be but a minute.”

As she watched him stalk out of the bedroom, she pitied whoever was at the door. He actually looked ready to strangle someone. Unable to help herself, she giggled as she stretched back out on the bed. Her body felt deliciously sore, but strangely cool without him wrapped around her.

Deciding to run through the shower before he came back, she hopped up and trotted to the bathroom. The water felt delightful over her heated skin, but she didn’t want to take too long. She just wanted to freshen up a little. Wash the sweat and intimate moisture from her body.

Once Sadira was out of the shower and dried, Sebastian still wasn’t back. With a frown, she found his discarded shirt from earlier and put it on along with her panties. When she eased open the door, she could hear Sebastian’s voice, quiet but unmistakable. What was going on?

Then she heard another voice. She couldn’t make out the words, but it was definitely a woman’s voice. Eyes narrowed, she ducked back into the bedroom for her jeans before heading out to meet the uninvited guest.

The sight that greeted her made her want to be sick. Dedra was back. And she was in Sebastian’s arms.

Of all the things Sebastian had expected, this wasn’t it. And it couldn’t have come at a worse fucking time. After standing in his living room talking nonsense for several minutes, Dedra had thrown herself in to his arms before he could protest and was now clinging to him as if her life depended on it. Considering he was shirtless with the top button of his jeans undone, he was sure the sight wasn’t pretty. Rage like he hadn’t known he could feel heated his blood. His first instinct was to shove her away and hope she fell on her ass, but the anger was so overwhelming he was afraid he might actually harm her. He didn’t particularly care if he did, but he’d been raised never to strike a woman. Whether or not she deserved it.

Which was when he heard the little gasp from behind him. Probably why Dedra had jumped him in the first place.

Could this moment get any worse?

He got his answer when Dedra finally let go of him only to cup his face between her palms and mash her mouth to his.

“Excuse me?” Sadira sounded pissed. Like, royally. “If you two are done making out in the living room, maybe we need to have a little discussion.”

Instead of backing down, Dedra didn’t even spare Sadira a glance. A carnivorous smile curled her lips as she stroked Sebastian’s cheek. “I’ve missed you so much, Sebastian. I’m so glad to finally be home.”

Unable to stand her close proximity a moment longer, Sebastian finally reined in his temper enough to push her away. Wiping the back of his hand over his mouth, he grated, “What the fuck, Dedra?”

She smiled brightly, unperturbed by his tone or harsh language. “I’m home just in time for Christmas! Where are the girls?”

“Away,” he snapped. “Why are you here? You left, had divorce papers delivered, and didn’t even say goodbye to your daughters. What do you want now?” Even as he spoke, he moved to be close to Sadira. He needed her presence to sooth him as much as he needed to make sure she didn’t bolt on him. Figuring she was probably about to, he lunged for her arm and pulled her against his side.

“Everyone makes mistakes, Sebastian.” Dedra shrugged. Fucking
shrugged
! As if what she’d done was of no consequence. “I brought gifts for the girls,” she said, smiling, still not acknowledging Sadira was even in the room.

“Then you can take them back,” Sebastian snapped. “I want you gone.”

“Sebastian?” She had a confused look on her face. Apparently, she was the same Dedra she’d always been. Anything she didn’t want to discuss, she simply ignored.

“You sent me divorce papers by your lawyer. Delivered on Christmas Day. Relinquished all rights to your children effective the same day. Now you just waltz back in here expecting to be part of our lives again?”

“Well, you did promise ‘until death do us part.’“

Sebastian only thought his anger had reached a boiling point. With those words, red covered his vision. He was started to lunge for Dedra, to shove her out of the house and to hell with not hurting her, but Sadira tugged him back. It was only then he realized their positions were reversed, with Sadira holding his arm, holding him back.

“Get. Out.” Never had he been this angry. How had this day turned so drastically?

“Not until I see my daughters,” Dedra countered. Instead of playing coy and feigning ignorance at Sebastian’s animosity, she now looked vicious. A woman willing to do anything to get what she wanted.

“Over my dead body,” Sebastian roared. “You’ve already made one Christmas hell for them. You can damned well go fuck yourself!”

Sebastian had no idea what had come over him. He never talked like this, especially not to women. At least not except during sex. This was… He was not letting this woman near his girls. Not until they’d healed from the last time. If they wanted to see her then, he’d support them and be with them. But not now. Not so close to Christmas when they finally had something to look forward to.

“All right, that’s enough!” Sadira stepped between them. “You”—she pointed to Sebastian—“go get dressed. Dedra, you and I need to have a little talk while Sebastian collects himself.”

Dedra looked down her nose at Sadira, making Sebastian want to rethink his policy on not hurting his ex-wife. How dare the woman think she could come in here and insult Sadira!

“Not a word, Sebastian,” Sadira interrupted his thoughts, raising one arm in a “talk to the hand” gesture. “Go.”

“You know I can’t.” Everything inside him rebelled at leaving Sadira’s side.

“I’m a big girl,” she said, moving to him and reaching up to stroke his face tenderly. “I can take care of myself. You just don’t need to be here right now. I’ll take care of this.”

He sighed into her touch. Dedra, he knew, was taking in every move, every gesture, but he couldn’t be bothered to care. Let her see how much Sadira meant to him. Just thinking about it made him want to kiss Sadira right there in front of the other woman. The more he thought about it, the better the idea sounded until he simply pulled her into his arms, inhaling her sweet scent for calm.

“It’s really OK, ‘Bastian,” she murmured.

Cupping her cheek in one hand, he tenderly brushed his lips across hers before leaving the room. It felt like he was abandoning her to take care of his problems, but there was something in Sadira’s eyes that brooked no argument. One thing he’d just learned? Sadira was more than capable of getting what she wanted from him. Even if it went against his better judgment.

God help him when she figured that out.

“Well, I never thought I’d see the day when the high and mighty Sebastian Taylor let a woman fight his battles for him.” Dedra sneered. “You’re one of the girls’ teachers, are you not?”

“I am. And Sebastian isn’t ‘letting’ me do anything. I chose to force the issue because I don’t want him saying anything he’ll regret later.”

“So, when did the two of you get so…familiar? ‘
Bastian
,
was it?” She raised one delicately arched eyebrow. “Sounds suspiciously like you’re sleeping with my husband.”

“First of all,” Sadira said, slowly but steadily moving toward Dedra, “he’s not your husband. Second, I seem to recall three heartbroken girls coming to school after Christmas break last year. It took weeks before any of them finally admitted their mother was gone.” Sadira stopped just in front of the other woman, her own temper spiking as she remembered the pain the Taylor girls had gone through. “Rebecca was especially devastated. Did you even think about how your leaving would affect your children? And on Christmas?”

Dedra waved away Sadira’s comments with an imperious flick of her wrist. “They survived. They’re too spoiled as it is. A year without me didn’t hurt them. If anything, they should be grateful to me for helping them prepare mentally for life in the real world.”

Inhale for patience. Don’t smack the bitch
.

“You’re not serious.” Sadira couldn’t quite believe this. “I always knew you were a piece of work, but this is beyond anything a decent person should be capable of.”

“Absolutely. Besides, I’ve just had a horrible couple of weeks. I certainly don’t need your opinion on how I should raise my own daughters, and I could care less what you think of me.”

“You don’t get a say in how they’re raised anymore.” Sebastian’s deep voice seemed to boom through the room. Of course he wouldn’t stay gone long. He’d simply dressed and looked more in control of himself. Sadira was really glad, because she was rapidly losing her own control. He carried with him a legal document. Likely a copy of their divorce agreement or whatever it was called. Considering she was sure Sebastian had had little input in drafting the document, she hesitated to call it an agreement. “As of Christmas Day last year, you relinquished all parental rights to all three girls. You get no say. End of story.”

“Oh, rubbish!” Dedra’s countenance changed altogether. Now she looked angry and annoyed. The nerve of the woman! “They’re my girls! I’m their mother!”

“You might have given birth to them,” Sebastian continued, “but they’re not your girls. Not anymore.”

“Are you saying you’d take them away from me?” Now she was going for the hurt and mistreated wife and mother? Sadira wanted to barf. “How could you? All I needed was a little time away. Surely you can understand that.”

“According to this document”—he tossed her the bundle of papers, which Dedra caught on reflex—“you sued for divorce from me and relinquished all parental rights and privileges to all three girls. They are named specifically in that fucking document. For one solid year, we never heard the first word from you. Not a letter. Not a phone call. Not even a fucking postcard. Yet now you’re trying to make me out to be the bad guy?” Unlike Sadira, Sebastian hadn’t gotten in Dedra’s face. He’d kept his distance this time, looking thunderous, but in control of all that anger. He no longer looked like he might murder Dedra—though Sadira was contemplating it herself—but he definitely wanted her gone. “I’m not going to do anything to ruin another Christmas for the girls, so I’m not going to throw you bodily out of this house and risk getting arrested. But you need to leave. Go back to wherever you’ve been the last year.”

There was silence for long moments as the two stared at each other. Then Dedra’s facade seemed to crumple. She dissolved into tears. “I can’t,” she wailed. “Justin decided to go back to his wife! He kicked me out of the apartment we shared in Key West, and I have nowhere else to go! He just told me to get my things and leave! He was done with me! I had to buy my own plane ticket home, and I don’t have any money to get a hotel room!” Though Dedra made an abundance of noise, no actual tears marred her perfectly applied make-up. Apparently, Sebastian noticed as well. Or he just didn’t care. And, really, who could blame him?

“So your lover kicked you out, and you decided to pick up your old life where you left off. Did you not consider that we’d all moved on?”

“Of course I did! But I’m back now, ‘Bastian. I—”

“Don’t call me that!” He snapped at her. “Never, Dedra!”

“Why not?
She
did.” With a contemptuous nod, Dedra indicated Sadira.

“Because she’s
earned
that right. For the last year, she’s been more of a mother to all three girls than you ever were. Because of her, they were able to pick themselves up and continue. Sadira earned the right to call me ‘Bastian with blood, sweat, and tears. She held each of them as they wept over you, assuring them that they were loved and cherished despite being abandoned by their own mother.” Sebastian put his arm around Sadira then, pulling her into his embrace. “And tonight, she proved to their father that you hadn’t killed his passion. She also showed him that he hadn’t lost his heart when you left.” He looked down at Sadira then, speaking more to her now than to Dedra, and Sadira was woman enough to recognize it. “It was still mine. At least it was until I gave it to her.”

Had the situation not been so surreal, Sadira would have melted. Her heart still threatened to beat through her chest, and she was sure she was grinning despite Sebastian’s ex-wife looking like she might do murder herself any second.

In that moment, Sadira thought she had an insight into Dedra, and she almost felt sorry for her. Looking back at the other woman, she said, “You didn’t realize what you had until it was too late, did you? What did he promise you that would possibly make you leave your family?”

“A new life. No responsibilities. All I had to do was be available, and he’d take care of me.”

“Still not a good trade, but what happened? Obviously things didn’t work out.”

Dedra pursed her lips, but answered. “His wife threatened to take him to the cleaners if he divorced her. I guess Justin didn’t want me enough to give up half his fortune.”

“I hate it for you, Dedra. I really do,” Sebastian said, not losing his hold on Sadira. “I wish you all the best, but you’re not welcome here. Not now. After Christmas, I’ll tell the girls I saw you and that you’re interested in seeing them. If they choose to see you, I’ll be happy to arrange a visit. But there will be no unsupervised visits, and only if they want to see you. You can leave your number, and I’ll let you know.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” Dedra said, looking stunned. “You never used to be so unreasonable”

“Yeah, well, that was before you left. Before I realized I was fighting a losing battle with you. Before I knew what real love felt like.”

“So, that’s it? You’re kicking me out? And right before Christmas?”

“You’re a real piece of work, Dedra.” Sebastian sighed. “I suggest you go home to your parents if you need a place to stay. They’re decent people. I’m sure they’ll be happy to take in their only daughter.”

“This isn’t over, Sebastian,” she said, her eyes calculating, but Sadira thought she saw a flicker of resignation there. Yeah. She knew.

“Yes, Dedra,” Sebastian responded. “It is.”