Page 16 of Destined
Gathering her courage, she eventually nodded. A boyish smile lit up his features.
“Wonderful. I look forward to it. In the meantime, best we return to the ballroom before they send a search party for us.” As had become his habit, he put a hand to the small of her back and guided her from the room. Leading her over to the elevator, he continued, “It’s probably best if we return separately, to avoid causing any tongues to wag.”
“Yes, it probably would be best.”
He stopped in front of the elevator and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head before reaching over to insert the key to activate the lift’s descent.
Riding down, Serena absently rubbed a finger over her bottom lip. She could still feel his lips on her, still taste that unique flavour that was all Sebastian.
When the elevator stopped, she straightened her posture before exiting. As she walked back into the ballroom ahead of Sebastian, she looked around to ensure that all was well. She noticed Ginny standing to one side, eyebrow raised. She could actually feel herself blush as she met her assistant’s gaze. Giving her a shrug and a grin, she turned towards the bar for a glass of sparkling water. Glass in hand, she walked over to Ginny.
Serena wasn’t entirely sure she’d made the right decision in agreeing to spend the night with Sebastian, but she couldn’t deny she really wanted to. The best she could hope for was she wouldn’t regret it.
20
Sebastian
As agreed,Sebastian waited a few minutes before following Serena down to the ballroom. Just as he reached the door, his cell phone rang.
“Marino.”
A tearful tirade of Italian flowed from the phone as he held it to his ear. He listened without interruption until the words petered into silence. All colour left his face as the words sank in. In a brisk tone, he informed his mother he would be home as soon as humanly possible. Pushing through the doors, he scanned the room for any sign of Serena. Failing to see her in the ballroom, he searched for her assistant. Strangely, Ginny wasn’t anywhere to be seen either.
Hauling his cell phone back out of his pocket, Sebastian tried Serena’s number. It went straight to voicemail. In frustration, Sebastian disconnected and tried again. Once more, it went straight to messaging.
Serena, where the hell are you?He hated talking to voicemail. He’d try her again once he was on the plane.
Sighing, Sebastian ended the call. He placed the next call to Ari to collect him from the hotel and ensure his private jet be ready to depart as soon as he arrived at the airfield.
Impatiently, he scanned the ballroom one last time for Serena. When he once again was unable to find her or Ginny, Sebastian left the room and hurried across the lobby to the entrance. Ari was pulling up to the door just as he exited the building, and he hopped out to open the door for Sebastian.
“Fast as you can, Ari.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sebastian leaned back in his seat, suddenly feeling the familiar burden of responsibility weigh him down. He’d been able to forget for a while as he’d lost himself in Serena’s arms. Now, there would be no getting away from it.
21
Sebastian
As the jetstreaked through the clouds, Sebastian’s thoughts turned equally dark as the inky night sky. The silence that surrounded him, broken only by the hum of the plane’s engines, gave him too much time to think. He got caught up in the swirling maelstrom of emotion raging through him.
All his life, control had been essential to Sebastian. He craved it. It was vital to him. But suddenly he felt out of control, adrift in chaos. His orderly life was thrown into complete disarray, and it scared the hell out of him, laid him wide open. Made him vulnerable. An emotion he’d never been comfortable with.
His father’s health had been failing for some time already, but he’d pushed thoughts of his father dying to the back of his mind. He wasn’t ready to head up the family business yet. Yes, strictly speaking, he’d been doing it for the past couple of years as his father had become sicker and frailer, but he was always just a phone call away.
His mother’s call had brought home to him how little time was left. He wasn’t ready. Not to assume the reins, and definitely not to say goodbye. He and his father didn’t always have an easy relationship. His brother’s death had changed the man at a deep level. Still, he loved his father and couldn’t imagine a world without him in it.
And then there was Serena. Beautiful, vibrant, big-hearted Serena. He hadn’t been ready for her. She’d come into his life so unexpectedly. And now that she was in it, he was unprepared for all the emotion she stirred up.
Sebastian felt like he was always on the back foot when it came to Serena. Like he had no control over what he felt, how he reacted to her. He was all about the order, the control, yet when he was with her, all semblance of that legendary Marino control went up in smoke.
Take tonight. He’d asked her to spend the night. He never invited a woman to spend the night in his bed. He’d always gone to great lengths to either spend the night in theirs, or send her home well before the sun came up. He felt out of his depth.
The feeling left him restless and on edge.
There was something about her that made him want things that he’d not wanted in the longest time. When he’d discovered his ex-fiancé was nothing more than a liar and a cheat, he kicked her out. After that, he’d sworn never to give another woman that kind of power over him again. Yet here he was, vulnerable and feeling wildly out of control of his emotions.
