Page 94 of In Love with the Devil

"While I'm away, can I… May I call you?"

I don't know why my eyes fall to his lips but when they do, a heat rushes through me, from the tip of my clit to my cheeks. "Please," he begs and it's the best thing I've heard from him.

Julian’s gone, I tell myself and unconsciously nod. His hand wraps around the back of my head and he kisses my forehead.

"Thank you." The smile on his face is pure.

"Bye, Sebastian."

That very night, I search for another job but it's the off season. To get another job I'd have to move to another city, away from the coast. I love my current house. I just got it, God dammit. I may like Sebastian, but I can't risk his life. That wouldn't be fair to him.

***

Despite the time change, Sebastian calls me on my office phone every day he's gone, but I only pick up the last two times and keep it brief. When I first see him walking through the hotel again, relief fills me but I hide it. I’m typing away like crazy, in the zone, when I feel a presence at the door and resist looking. After realizing they’ve already broken my concentration, I lift my eyes. It’s him, Sebastian.

“We leave in thirty minutes,” he says with a serious expression on his face, one with no regrets.

“To?”

“To meet with the board. Are you ready?”

“Yes. I've been ready since the day you proposed the meeting.”

"Good."

I pick up ten folders with a copy of the reports and my USB so I can present to the others. In the limousine on the way to the heliport, we don’t say a word. The meeting goes spectacularly well. In the limousine, I realize that we’re taking a different route than before. “Where are we going?” I ask.

“To my house.”

Despite our short phone calls, I panic. “No we are not. Take me home.”

“Astoria, relax. There’s a storm coming and helicopter flights are not advised.”

“Take me home.”

Sebastian stares at me as if I've lost my mind. “Manuel, can you please turn up the volume on the weather report?”

The radio confirms everything he said. I let a long breath out and grind my teeth. When I peek at him, he’s studying me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath to calm my nerves.He’s not going to lock me in a basement. What are the chances? Calm down.But I can't. My breath will not equalize; my right leg bounces. I stare out the window while biting my thumbnail.It’s okay. I know how to defend myself now. I’ll fucking kill him.

“Sierra la ventana, por favor,” Sebastian requests of the chauffeur. (Close the window, please.)

After watching the window rise up, I turn my gaze to him and demand, “Get me a hotel room.”

“Why? What are you so scared of?"

I don't respond.

"God, you're such a pain in the ass. We’re going to my house and that’s that.”

After an hour’s drive, the car slows down and takes a right turn up a steep mountain. Our eyes meet. “We’re here.”

It’s a very modern white house, with a stunning view of the ocean. From this height, the ocean is flat, its violent waves seem like tiny ripples, and the sky has gigantic gray clouds, and lightning striking in the distance.

“Sebastian!” Two old ladies rush out of the house smiling with open arms.“Dios mio! Cuantos meses que no vienes!”(My God! How many months have we not seen you?) They hug him, squeeze his face and kiss him.

“Hola mama. Hola abuela.”

I’m left stunned. Julian didn't have family in his house. He’s not kidnapping me.

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