Possessed (8 page)

“Dance?”

She
began to shake her head no but then she looked up. The guy was handsome enough
to be a model. His skin was the color of dark chocolate, and she thought she’d
caught the hint of an accent. If she was going to forget Sebastian, she needed
to get back into dating. So with a nod of her head and a sip of her water, she
allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor.

Because
of the crowd, they were crushed closer together than she would have liked. She
could detect the scent of cigarette smoke on him—a real turnoff since her
father had died of lung cancer. “Is that guy your boyfriend?” He had to shout
in her ear to be heard over the thumping music.

Keva
shook her head in lieu of yelling. But when he grinned down at her, she
realized her mistake. She should have lied. He moved even closer, his hands on
her waist. “You’re beautiful,” he yelled. “My name is Nick. Do you want to get
out of here? Go somewhere we can talk.”

She
began to shake her head, but he ignored her. Grabbing her wrist, he began
tugging her in the general direction of the exit. Keva swung back but couldn’t
gain a strong stance in the three-inch heels Amy had convinced her to wear. She
tottered behind him, afraid she was going to fall.

A
strong arm wrapped around her waist, halting her forward trajectory. “Where do
you think you’re going?”

Keva’s
mouth dropped open as she was pulled into Sebastian’s arms. “What are you doing
here?”

“Coincidence.
Lucky for you.”

Nick
came back. “Hey, get your own girl. This one is mine.”

“Yeah,
what’s her name?”

Momentarily
stumped, Nick sputtered. “We were getting to know each other.”

“Her
name is Keva, and she’s mine.”

“Says
who?”

“Says
her pussy when it’s stuffed full of my cock.” Keva gasped and smacked the hand
that rested on her hip. She would have walked off but he yanked her back. Sebastian
and Nick were locked in a stare-off. They were of equal height and of similar
build. Keva looked around for her friends but couldn’t see over the crowd of
dancing bodies. It was doubtful anyone even noticed anything amiss. No one
seemed to be watching them.

“Looks
like she’s trying to get away from you, buddy. Why don’t you let her go so she
can be satisfied by a real man?”

“That
man being you?”

Nick
grinned. “Of course.”

“Mmm.”
Sebastian nodded. He put her in front of him and then lowered his mouth to her
neck. Keva inhaled as he hit a sensitive spot. Her eyes fluttered closed as he
licked and nibbled. One large palm coasted down to her lower abdomen as he fit
her hips to his so that she could feel his cock. The other hand cupped her
breast, his thumb stroking over an aching nipple. When he pinched the aroused
nub, she couldn’t contain her moan and she writhed against him. It was
embarrassing how quickly she reacted to his touch. “Does she look like she’s
not being satisfied?”

Nick
brushed past them. Next she knew, Sebastian was leading her off the floor. “Where—”

“My
house.”

“My
friends—”

“They’re
not very good friends if they were about to let a stranger drag you out of
here.”

He
stopped at a dusty white truck that probably hadn’t seen better days in a
decade and opened the door for her. She glared up at him, irritated with his
presumptuous behavior. “What makes you think I’m going home with you? As I
recall, I’m supposed to knee you.”

He
crowded her so that she had to tilt her head back to keep eye contact. “You’re
supposed to do that when I’m trying to use you, not when I’m saving you.”

“Is
that what you call feeling me up in public?”

He
looked away and shifted from one foot to the other. When his eyes met hers
again, they were full of sincerity. “I got a premonition that you needed me so
when I saw that guy forcing you to follow him, I went…a little ballistic. I
don’t want to leave you here when he might still be around.”

“Oh.”
Her anger at him evaporated. Fury was displaced by disappointment. For a moment
there, she’d thought he might be jealous. She refused to examine why she even
wanted him to be jealous. She got in the truck and pulled her phone out of her
pocket. She sent a text to Amy and Dean to tell them that she had left with a
friend. Sebastian got in and started up the truck. “When did you buy a house
here? I thought you and your friends were from out of town.”

“This
is my second house here. It’s a flip.”

Her
eyes widened. “You’re flipping houses in this market?”

He
chuckled. “I buy them cheap and do most of the repairs myself.”

“You’re
a man of many talents.”

His
eyes cut to her and then back to the road. “Yeah, I thought we’d already
established that.” She couldn’t tell from his tone if he meant his psychic
abilities or his talents in the bedroom.

****

Keva
followed Sebastian from room to room. He told her about the repairs he’d made
as he gave her the tour. She was appalled to find out that he’d been sleeping
on the floor since he’d purchased this house. In the bedroom he’d been using,
he’d tacked a blanket to the window. When they finished the tour, he led her
back to the kitchen. She couldn’t help but notice the violin leaning against
the wall since there was no furniture. “It’s beautiful,” she told him. “But
you’ve got to be exhausted living in a place with no furniture.”

He
shrugged. “There’s light, there’s plumbing. If it doesn’t sell quickly, I’ll
have it staged. If that doesn’t work, I’ll rent it out.” Sebastian opened the
fridge and removed a bottle of water. He held it up. “You want some?” She nodded
and he dove back in for a second bottle.

Their
hands touched as he handed it to her. She felt needy and on edge from when he’d
touched her earlier, but if he was affected, he didn’t let on. “Um, thanks for
your help earlier.”

“Don’t
mention it. What are friends for?”

She
smiled, but she wouldn’t have described them as friends. She uncapped her water
and took a long drink. Weary and a little depressed, she was ready to turn in
for the night. Amy had booked a hotel room so that they could remain close to
the action for the entire weekend. “I should call a cab.”

“Nonsense.
I can take you.”

“You
really shouldn’t. I’m sharing a hotel room with a coworker. It wouldn’t be wise
for her to see you with me. She’s a Channel also and she’d be able to sense
your abilities.” Deciding he deserved to know everything, she continued, “I was
called in for a Channel review meeting Monday morning. Your file has been
closed but one of the doctors is far from satisfied.”

“I’m
sorry that you’ve had to lie for me. I’ll never be able to repay you for what
you’ve done for me.” He stepped forward and raised his hand to touch her cheek.
“Keva, I—” Whatever he would have said was interrupted by the doorbell.

He
excused himself. The second he opened the door a cute blonde plastered herself
to him, wrapping slender arms around his neck. Sebastian’s hands went to her
waist. “Hey, I saw your truck. I was hoping you’d come over for dinner again if
you weren’t too busy.” Her gaze met Keva’s over Sebastian’s shoulder. “Oh,” she
said and gave a trilling, little laugh. “I didn’t know you had a guest.” She
crossed with her hand outstretched. “I’m Sebastian’s neighbor, Becky.”

Keva
shook the other woman’s hand, certain that Becky did know she was here and that
was exactly why she’d popped over. But if Sebastian had had dinner with her
previously, maybe they had something going on. Judging from the greeting, it
was likely. “Hi, I’m Keva.”

“Nice
to meet you. I’d invite you too, but I’m afraid I only have enough for two.”

“That’s
fine. I was about to call a cab.” She held up her phone.

“You’re
not,” Sebastian objected, snatching her cell. “I’m driving you. I brought you
here. I’ll take you back.” He pocketed her phone and grabbed his keys and cell
off the counter. He walked them both out and locked the door behind him.

The
drive to her hotel was made in silence. She insisted that he drop her off in
front of the lobby. He seemed like he wanted to say something but she held out
her hand for her phone. She smiled. “Thanks, Sebastian. See you around.” She
climbed out and shut the door behind her. Though she wanted to, she refused to
look back.

Their
hotel room was empty. She showered and climbed into bed. Closing her eyes, she
willed herself to sleep. She didn’t want to think about Sebastian and what kind
of relationship he might have with his neighbor. Nor did she want to
contemplate the fact that he was only interested in her when he couldn’t
control himself. And then his only interest was sex. She didn’t want to think
about any of it, but she did until her head ached from holding back tears.

****

Sebastian
tightened his hand on the steering wheel as he drove about aimlessly in hopes
of clearing his head. He could feel Keva withdrawing from him. It was what he
wanted and what needed to happen, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. He’d
seen the look on her face when Becky was over and he’d wanted to straighten out
the misconception. Sure, he’d gone to Becky’s for dinner, but only because he
hadn’t been able to think of a good enough excuse to get out of it. In the long
run, it was best this way. Maybe if she was angry, Keva wouldn’t give in to his
demands next time.

After
driving around for about an hour, he headed back to the house. The first thing
he saw when he walked in the door was the violin. In no mood to look at it, he
grabbed it by its fragile neck, marched it outside, and flung it into the cab
of his truck. Maybe he’d get lucky and someone would steal it.

“Refill?”
Dr. Larsen asked with a nod of his head at her half-empty glass of white wine.

Keva
shook her head. She’d been nursing the same glass for the last hour. When it
came to liquor, she was a lightweight. She could already feel a pleasant buzz
from the small amount that she’d consumed. She needed to keep her wits about
her. She’d felt the eagle eye of Dr. Garcia on her throughout the evening. Keva
imagined the woman would love for her to become soused so that she could
interrogate her further. Others didn’t have the same qualms as she. Several of
her coworkers were taking advantage of the free drinks.

IOP
had announced this after-work mixer two weeks ago. It was supposed to serve as
a welcome to two new doctors on staff, though they had actually been on staff
for a month. They were in the IOP lobby, the only room open enough that could
fit all the staff. Decorations were minimal—a banner welcoming doctors Kline
and Fuchs.

“You
need to learn to relax,” he said with a kind smile that made his light blue
eyes twinkle. He had boyish good looks that gave him a youthful appearance,
though Keva would have put him at about forty.

“Oh,
I am relaxed. I’m trying to avoid being comatose.”

He
chuckled. “Now that the speeches are over, hopefully the threat of that is
reduced.”

Keva
laughed. “They were rather dry,” she agreed in a low tone.

“No
need whispering. It’s not a secret.”

“No
IOP get-together would be complete without a lengthy talk before the
festivities can commence.”

“Of
course not,” he said with a straight face. “Don’t want the employees to enjoy
it too much.” Finally his grin broke through. “But the free liquor helps.” He
lifted his glass and emptied it in a gulp.

Keva
shook her head. “Be careful. You don’t want to end up like that.” She indicated
Dr. Miller with a nod of her head. The man was well on his way to being drunk.
His face was florid, and he seemed to be swaying on his feet. Tomorrow was a
workday. IOP scheduled these events midweek in the hopes that the staff would
take that into consideration and not overindulge. In the case of Dr. Miller and
a few others, it wasn’t enough of a deterrent.

“Never
that.”

Taking
a last sip of her wine, she placed the glass on the tray of a passing waiter.
Glancing at her watch, she determined that she had done her duty. She’d been seen
by the higher-ups. She’d welcomed the new doctors. She had no desire to hang
around and watch people embarrass themselves. “Well, I’ve had enough. I’m
heading up.”

“I’ll
come with you.”

“I
don’t want to pull you away from the fun.”

“Please
do. You’d be doing me a favor. But if you insist on feeling guilty about it,
you can invite me in for coffee.”

“Tonight
is not your night,” she said, leading the way to the elevators. “I’m out of
coffee.”

He
slid into the elevator with her. Leaning casually against the railing, he said,
“I’ll take tea instead.”

She
smiled. But then she noticed his admiring expression. Her breath caught.
He
likes me.
He’d always been nice to her but she had no idea that he was
interested in her romantically. Though he was handsome, she wasn’t attracted to
him. “Um, I’m not really a tea person. Maybe some other time?”