Edge of Obsession (SKALS #3) (26 page)

The SKALS commander regarded the room, his shoulders squared. “The rest of you enjoy your evening. As for you, Baas, I strongly
advise you raise your standards. Get your family and affairs under control, or I will be the one to see those expectations are met.”

Without waiting for an answer, he
dragged Irene out of the room. Her hysterics echoed through the house as they headed for the front doors. A sickening crunch stopped her protests dead. Sebastian tossed his napkin on his plate and stood. Returning his gun to its holster, he barely glanced at the other occupants in the room before issuing his curt command.

“Get out.”

CHAPTER 10 ~

Taylor watched their guests leave with a hammering heart.
Part of her ached to slip out behind them. The other just wanted to beg them to stay. The empathy in the Monique’s eyes had been unmistakable when they’d parted ways.

Wringing her hands, Taylor waited while
Sebastian shut the front doors and set the alarm. She shivered. It felt like the equivalent of being sealed in a tomb. Bowing her head, she hurried to clear the dining room table rather than risk seeing the turbulence still fueling those pale green eyes. He followed her into the kitchen without a word. Her hands shook and the stack of plates rattled until she managed to set them down on the counter. She could feel the heat and animosity radiating off Sebastian as his lean body closed in with a menacing press. Resisting the urge to sink to her knees, Taylor drew a deep breath and turned around.

Her nose damn near bumped his chin.
Trapped between him and the counter, she had nowhere to go. Her throat bobbed with her hard swallow. Folding his arms behind his back, Sebastian stared down at her in silent expectation.

“I can explain…”

“I highly doubt that, Taylor. Finish cleaning up and meet me upstairs.”

He didn’t wait for a response.
Giving her a hard look of disapproval, Sebastian pivoted on his heel and strode up the steps. Not only was he livid, but thanks to Marx’s parting shots, he was all business. All business and still in uniform. An apprehensive tremble raced down her spine and made her stomach do flips. Her gaze darted down the foyer. The blessings she counted earlier now seemed perilously grim. Now would be a good time to take her chances and run, but she was smart enough to know she would never get away. Sebastian would find her…and if he didn’t, Marx would. Either way, the day would come and she would wind up praying for a night like this instead.

The thought was beyond terrifying. Not for the first time, she wondered what the hell she’d gotten herself into. Not that she had much choice.

“You got that right, sweetheart, because we’ll be watching you and listening. One word to anyone, and I will hunt you down and blow that pretty little face of yours right off…”

She shivered, recalling Josh’s words and the next conversation that followed:

“What did you guys do, bug me?”

His gaze hardened. “We don’t need to, though with that attitude, maybe Sebastian should. Let me fill you in on a little something. One push of a button and your government can zero in on anything, and our reach extends even farther than theirs so now would be a really good time to cut the crap.
”

Josh’s w
arning looped through her memory in a chilling echo from the past. Watching. Listening. Lurking at every turn. There was no point in fighting it or trying to walk away. Not if she wanted to live. There was no escaping SKALS reach or refusing Sebastian’s demands. Not since that very first day in the woods. She shook her head. She’d known it. She just couldn’t admit it to herself. Not then. Sebastian had saved her life, and unexpected or not, falling in love with him had made the situation somewhat easier to accept. It was the things that came after that made it difficult. Things like tonight. The fear, the tension, the absolute sickening sense of dread.

Releasing the breath she’d been holding,
Taylor scraped the leftover food in the trash, not wanting any reminders of just how disastrous the dinner had been. She paused before rinsing the dishes, her ears straining in search of any sounds from above. Much to her dismay, she didn’t hear the whir of the jetted shower. Usually a rinse and a change of clothes helped ease his black moods away. A mad laugh bubbled past her lips. Who was she kidding? There was no way a quick scrub was going to fix any of this.

After starting the dishwasher and wiping the
kitchen and dining room table down, she tossed the rag into the laundry with a disheartened sigh. There was no point in dragging things out. On her way back through the kitchen, she peered through the sliding glass doors one more time, her heart full of fear and longing. A timid voice in the back of her mind whispered it might very well be the last time she ever saw the rocky landscaping, wooded forest, or jagged mountaintop peaks again.

It took every ounce of effort and willpower she had to cut the lights and climb the stairs. She had to keep reminding herself that no matter how mad he might be, Sebastian loved her.
Her dangerous lover was a bad man, but he wasn’t the worst. Like Irene, she could have been leaving with Marx. Still, her hands shook as she pushed open the heavy double doors to the master suite.

Sebastian stood at the far end of the room near the chaise lounge. His back remained
turned as he stared out the window across the darkening grounds.

“I am going to be very generous here, Taylor
. You have one chance to explain. I suggest you use your words and time wisely. Whatever patience I had this evening is gone.”

Twisting the ring on her finger,
she lowered onto the edge of the bed. Her heart felt lodged in her throat. What was there to say? Knowing she’d be stupid not to offer something, she searched for her voice. “Nothing I can say will change what happened, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry Sebastian. I tried to get her out of here. She promised to be gone by the time everyone arrived, but you showed up early and then Marx told her to stay….”

The rest of her explanation locked in her throat as Sebastian
spun to confront her. His hands remained cinched behind his back as he craned his head.

“So this is my fault?”

Recoiling, her mouth fell open. “No! That isn’t what I was trying to say!”

His stare
constricted. Slowly prowling the room in front of her, Sebastian kept Taylor locked in his sights. His chin lifted as he came to a stop, his powerful hands settling on his belt buckle. She stared at it in horror, a combination of fear and panic rolling in her stomach.

“I don’t even know where to
begin. I have never been more disgusted in my entire life. Your friend completely humiliated me in front of my men. As disturbing as that ordeal was, that doesn’t even
begin
to touch the issues this is going to cause with Marx. Do you have any idea how badly her behavior reflected on me? On our
home
?”

“No, Sebastian.” Closing her eyes, she forced herself to breathe. “
I’m so sorry. I tried to make her leave. I told her she had to go…”

“That is not enough!”

She flinched, her heart hammering from his slow enunciation and forceful roar. Rage simmered in Sebastian’s eyes, the heat almost palpable. Despite his efforts to change, it was never far from her mind how dangerous and brooding he was, how he was capable of ending her life if that was his whim. It took everything she had not to slide off the edge of the bed and prostrate herself at his feet.

“What you are telling me is not enough,”
Sebastian warned, grabbing her chin. His long fingers wrapped around bone and bit deep enough to draw a wince. “You know I can barely tolerate her lewd behavior. The minute you heard Marx was coming, you should have sent her away. Why would you even put us in that position, Taylor? Are you
trying
to get us
killed
?”

“No! I tr--”

“I don’t care if you tried,” he warned, cutting her off. “She should have been gone. End of story. Instead, you let her drag things out and that mistake is going to cost your friend her life. Not to mention what it might cost us. Fair or not, her actions were a direct reflection on you and the things I allow to go on in my home!”

She felt the blood drain from her face
. Trying to stay strong, she trapped a hoarse sob in the base of her throat. “Sebby, please. What she did was awful, and I don’t ever want to see her again, but he can’t…”

Releasing her face, he flung his arms out at his sides
with an abruptness that made her flinch. “What is it you want me to do here, Taylor? Do you want me to go in there and stick my neck out after the way she betrayed you? Is that really what you are asking me to do?” Sebastian plowed his hands through his hair with a wry snort. “I don’t believe you,” he muttered. “I really don’t. It doesn’t matter what people do or say, you think everyone should be forgiven for everything. I have news for you, sunshine. That’s not the way the world works.”

Taylor hung her head
. It sounded so ridiculous when he put it that way, yet that was exactly what she wanted him to do. Not because she felt sorry for Irene, but because it was what was
right
. As horrible as the woman’s actions were, she couldn’t accept that a death sentence was what was deserved. If for no other reason than to preserve her own sanity. Another part of her whispered the bitch deserved it, and she hated that part more than anything. It was a poison that needed purged. She didn’t know if it was jealousy, hurt, or SKALS talking, but it wasn’t how she’d been raised. The conflict she felt was sickening.

She opened her mouth, but came up short when Sebastian jabbed a forefinger at the tip of her nose.

“No,” he said, silencing her
with the stern point. “That is enough. This conversation is done. Take off your clothes.”

“Sebby
, it’s not my fault! Don’t do this…”

His hands locked around her arms
, dragging her off the mattress until she stood nose-to nose with him.

“
Oh I’m not going to beat you, darling. I am going to take my anger out in a much more productive way,” he said, tracing the slender column of her neck. “You had better pray I find every last one of your efforts pleasing, too. A mere taste of what your friend is suffering will have you begging for my belt instead.”

T
error paralyzed her. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. She wasn’t too sure the belt wouldn’t be the safer alternative. A tense ache spread through her muscles and dinner threatened to reemerge as she wondered what he had planned. With shaking hands, she slowly peeled out of her dress. Sebastian’s hard stare burned into her and brimmed with impatience as she shimmied out of the matching lace undergarments.

His face darkened on a frown.
The gentle glide of his fingers over her bared hip was startling. Confused, she searched his eyes. They lent no insight to where his mood or thoughts lie. The emotions brewing there were ones she couldn’t place, but the sight brought a new lump to her throat. He looked so uncertain and torn that her heart ached and she couldn’t help being scared. Not for herself, but of whatever had him feeling so out of sorts.

“
Before we start, tell me one thing…were you sick again today?”

She barely managed a mute nod.
Sebastian’s shoulders slumped and he hung his head. His curse took her by surprise as he took a step back and scrubbed a hand across his nape. When he lifted his head, his eyes swung up to hers. The fearful anguish there was almost more than she could take. His jaw clenched as he studied her, his gaze trailing over every exposed inch of her from head to toe then back again. He closed his eyes for a long moment, as if silently pleading for something, and when they opened again, he cupped the side of her face.

“
Talk to me,” he said softly. “Is there something else going on with you? Something you aren’t telling me?”

“
No. It’s just nerves.”

“
No, Taylor. It’s not. This has been going on for far too long. How have you been feeling otherwise?”

She shrugged. “Tired.”

Nodding, he let his hand fall from her face. Taylor’s breath caught as he trailed a finger across her abdomen, his expression pensive. “I think it’s time we consider the possibility that you may be pregnant.”

“
What?”

“You heard me,” he stated quietly.

“No. That can’t be right. I was on the shot.”

A
wistful smile carved his face. “You were supposed to go back in January. Every time we went to make an appointment, things came up. The blowback from Todd, Laychee, and then the break in. As good as our intentions were we just haven’t had the time.”

“Seb…no…” she said, her stomach doing a rapid flip. “
It could still take six to nine months before I could get pregnant. It has to be something else. It has to be.”

Something fleeting flickered through his eyes. Hurt or relief. The emotion was so rapid it was hard to say. His lips pursed and he straightened. She
took a step back, uncertain how to take the curious tilt of his head.