The Price of Winning: London Calling Book Four (4 page)

Sebastian increased his pace. She was a rude, impossible woman, and he had no idea why he was trying to help her. She’d damn near blinded him. Yes, he’d scared her a little when she came to Jersey. But if she’d bothered to hear him out and listen, she’d have known it was a disastrous coincidence that he sent the same flowers her attacker had when he stalked her.
 

Sebastian never got a word in, just held out the shamrock plant he’d bought for her. She, in return, had felled him like a tree without so much as laying a finger on him. And then she’d taken the plant.
 

Unbelievable.

He had no idea how he’d ever thought her attractive. She was insane. Unconscionable. A menace to herself and others.

And yet he dreamed of her. Disjointed images of her fiery hair, pale freckled skin, and feline eyes were a welcome if surprising relief from his usual nightmares.
 

He checked his phone and realized he was just outside her building. He slowed to a halt, not sure how he was going to get an audience with her when she barricaded herself upstairs like a cloistered recluse. He still couldn’t understand how she’d gone from one of the most public, recognized faces of the last decade to this. And if he were honest, he knew that any responsibility he might bear for her state was unacceptable. He
would
fix this.

He peered inside the lobby only to see the same doorman from his last visit. He swallowed a curse.
 

Pacing in front of the building entrance, Sebastian almost ran into the man that came barreling down the sidewalk. Head down beneath a tattered umbrella, he was mumbling and panting a little, as if out of breath. He wore a dark overcoat that seemed unseasonable and warm.
 

Sebastian reached out a hand to steady him after they nearly collided. “Steady there.”

The man reeled back. “Don’t touch me!”

“Okay. It’s okay.” Sebastian held out his hands, palm outward. Something about the man bothered Sebastian. No matter, though, he had his own problems to work through. He stepped backward, moving away. “But you can take down your umbrella. The rain has stopped.” He was about to turn back to the building entrance when the man’s gaze snapped upward, locking onto Sebastian’s.
 

His eyes were brown, bloodshot, and deeply set. For the first time Sebastian noticed his shoes and pants. They were nice, like something a professional would wear. Obviously, Sebastian was wrong to be worried. It was just another harried businessman—distracted and probably trying to be in two places at once.

An older couple approached, heading for the building entrance. With a brisk nod to the other man, Sebastian stepped around him to open the door. The couple smiled broadly, murmuring their thanks.
 

“What a filthy day,” the woman remarked, albeit laughingly. “Madeleine better appreciate the fact we went out in this mess.”

Sebastian’s ears immediately perked up. Tilting his head, he stepped forward, closing some of the distance between them.
 

“She does,” the man’s voice was cheerful. Sebastian noticed he walked with a slight but distinct limp. “Besides, she’s our daughter, and you know you’d do anything for her.”

Sebastian saw his opportunity. He cleared his throat, approaching them before they reached the dreaded concierge who would most certainly recognize him and blow his chances of seeing Madeleine Price straight to hell.
 

“Excuse me.” They both turned, expectant. “Did you say you were visiting Madeleine? Madeleine Price?”

There was a brief hesitation and a loaded glance between the obviously married couple. The woman was the first to speak. “Yes, we are. Do you know our Maddy?”

Sebastian guessed the woman to be in her mid to late fifties. He could tell her hair, though faded and slightly graying, had once been a magnificent shade of red.
 

Like her daughter’s.

Sebastian matched their warm smiles, doing his best to exude friendliness. It must have worked, because both faces lit up in amicable acceptance.
 

“I do know Madeleine,” he said, seizing on an idea. He held out his hand, shaking first her father’s then her mother’s. “I’m Sebastian. I made Madeleine’s acquaintance during her recent trip to Jersey. She told me to look her up if I was ever in her neighborhood. I’m hoping to surprise her.” He smiled through the lie, secretly wondering what the hell got into him when he was within a mile of the woman upstairs.
 

He could only gamble on the hope Madeleine wouldn’t make a scene in front of her parents.
 

The pair in question now looked positively thrilled to see him. Again, the mother spoke first. “Oh, she did? Well that’s so nice!” She dropped her voice. “Maddy rarely invites people to visit, you know.”

Sebastian did know. “So you wouldn’t mind if I catch a ride with you in the elevator?”

Madeleine’s mother held up a finger. “One second, do you mind?” She pulled her husband a couple of feet away and whispered in his ear. By now the concierge had noticed them grouped in the building foyer. He stepped out, his friendly smile dying as soon as he saw Sebastian.
 

The situation called for quick decisiveness. And a silent wish for luck. “Mr. and Mrs. Price, shall we?” He reached out, ushering them toward the lobby entrance. The concierge hesitated a split-second, and Sebastian feared he was doomed for disappointment.
 

“Yes, let’s go, honey.” She took her husband’s arm, navigating him through the lobby. “I’m sure Madeleine will be happy to see Sebastian.”

The concierge visibly relaxed and led the way to the bank of elevators. Clearly, her parents were excused from all the security measures Sebastian went through a few months before. As the lift climbed to her penthouse floor, Sebastian exhaled the long breath he’d been holding. He’d avoided the first pitfalls. Now he just needed to get through her front door.

Unlike last time.
 

He didn’t know quite when he’d become so determined to see her. But she’d haunted him before Dominic insisted on this trip. Truth be told, Sebastian stopped himself more than once from trying to contact her in the past months. Ultimately, he would always convince himself that leaving her alone was best, even though she invaded his thoughts far too frequently. For some reason she’d taken a firm hold on his mind. Maybe this visit would allow him to shake her free.

With a subdued ding, the lift doors opened. Sebastian allowed Madeleine’s parents to exit then tentatively followed, keeping well back. He had no desire to be seen yet, and he wasn’t sure if they used the video monitor.
 

“Sorry, I’m a bit slow yet.” Her father spoke, indicating his legs. “I had recent surgery, and I’m still rehabbing.”

Sympathy twisted Sebastian’s gut. He knew the bones of Madeleine’s story. A stalker had terrorized and eventually attacked her. Her father was shot and nearly killed. He wasn’t clear on anything else except for the fact she’d dropped her career and retreated from any sort of public life for the past seven years. Obviously, they had all suffered in different ways.

Sebastian nodded, lost for any appropriate words. Her father’s lips tilted slightly before he nodded too. “You’ll do.”

Before Sebastian could question his words, the door buzzed. Over everyone’s heads he glimpsed Madeleine. She was dressed for company, wearing slim pants that stopped above her ankles. A fitted, sleeveless top hugged her breasts and ballet flats adorned her feet. She was like a modern-day, titian Audrey Hepburn.
 

Sebastian nearly buckled as desire slammed into him.

Before he could cut and run, Madeleine’s mother crowded forward, kissing her daughter’s cheek. Words were hurriedly exchanged, but Sebastian missed them all, astounded and shell-shocked with the force of his continued response to Madeleine Price.

Until the end, when he distinctly heard her mother say, “So instead, we’ll leave you with Sebastian, honey. I’m sure you two have loads to catch up on.”
 

Without waiting for agreement, her mother was back at the elevators with her husband at her side. Clearly, Madeleine’s father could move fast when the situation warranted. The doors dinged, and her parents were gone before he could breathe a word of protest.
 

His eyes swiveled to Madeleine’s. They were bright green and nearly glowing with outrage. She moved, and Sebastian only just managed to get his foot inside when the door was unceremoniously slammed against it.
 

Grimacing, he looked down to see his shoe smashed against the jamb. His entire foot was throbbing, and Madeleine still pushed against the door, using heroic force considering her size. At this rate, she’d break a toe, at least.
 

“Enough!’ Sebastian’s voice boomed in the small entryway. He was gratified to feel the pressure lessen against his abused limb. He pressed his palm flat against the door, pushing enough to wedge it open a little further. He leaned in.

“Let go of this damn door, Madeleine.”
 

In reply, she renewed her efforts.
 

He was about to give up when she abruptly released the door. It swung open, banging back against the interior wall. She raced to the mounted security monitor and slammed her hand against a large, black button. A red light on the camera above the door came alive, and the lens rotated to their location with a quick, jerky movement.
 

Motion sensors. Sebastian took all this in, but not before Madeleine could step closer to the unit. She opened her mouth, and Sebastian knew she was about to scream the building down.

He did the only thing possible. Wrapping her into his arms, he lowered his head for a devastating, movie-caliber kiss in order to shut her the hell up.

CHAPTER TWO

O
UTRAGE
QUICKLY
MORPHED
into desire as Madeleine tumbled into the swirling passion of Sebastian’s kiss. He smelled of leather and rain, with a taste like temptation. He was big, his height and breadth surrounding her as he pulled her closer, enveloping her.

But rather than feeling overpowered, Madeleine felt alive and sexy. She placed her hands on his biceps, tugging and crowding him closer.
 

He was built, a giant of a man compared to her lithe slimness. She’d never understood the appeal of that contrast until now. He was so extravagantly male she couldn’t help but feel the differences between them. Where he was hard and muscled, she was soft and slender.

Madeleine parted her lips and delicately outlined his mouth with the tip of her tongue. Tracing the seam, she pushed a little, asking without words for him to allow her inside. Sebastian groaned and pressed his palm against her lower back. She felt his tongue touch hers, lightly at first then more insistently as she teased him by withdrawing then pursuing, receding then chasing.

Coming up onto her tiptoes, she linked her hands behind his neck and threaded her fingers into his short black hair. With a tug she brought him closer and fell further into the dark maelstrom of their heated embrace.
 

It had been so long.

Madeleine instinctively curved into him, thinking if she were only taller, it would be better for both of them. She pressed up on her toes but couldn’t get the leverage to hike herself any higher. Sebastian grunted and circled his hands around her waist, easing her back a little.
 

Oh God.

They were standing fully clothed in the middle of her foyer, practically glued together. She jerked her mouth sideways so that her cheek lay against his. Distantly, she heard the muted sounds of traffic and a helicopter flying somewhere overhead. She could feel Sebastian’s slight stubble and wondered if he shaved twice per day. Leaning farther back, she paused and looked at him.
 

Which was a mistake, because all she saw was his reddened lips, the scar that jagged across and under his chin, and the intensity of his inky, black gaze. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. More than a little confused, she lowered her eyes. The first two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing darkly tanned skin and a few sprinklings of hair.
 

A low and ominous rumble, louder than thunder, pulled them apart. Madeleine snapped her attention back to Sebastian, her pulse racing still faster. “What—”

He smiled, which she already knew to be a rare thing, and his face transformed. Handsome was too tame a description. Normally, he was strong and masculine with a dark, sensual magnetism. But now he was all of that with something more—a lightness that made him seem younger and slightly less overwhelming.

“Did you hear fireworks?” he teased. “Because I think I did.” He began to lower his head again, his eyes never leaving hers.

When he was like this, she forgot he could ever be intimidating. She could drown in him, steep herself in pleasure.

Except she was scared.

“I don’t think those were fireworks.”

No sooner had she said the words than another loud clap reverberated outside, this time accompanied by the sound of shattering glass. “Something’s wrong.” She shifted, anxiety overtaking her. “It sounded like an explosion.” She hated how weak she sounded, but loud noises threw her back into those awful moments years ago when her attacker turned his gun on her.