Never Gonna Happen - Cynthia Eden Page 0,64

require the right leverage.

Luckily, Dex now knew exactly what mattered to Sebastian. And when you knew what mattered to a man, you could control him.

Life, after all, was all about control. So was power.

***

The bedroom door opened soundlessly. A faint sliver of light spilled inside, and Sebastian’s gaze immediately went to the figure who was trying to sneak into the room.

The figure crept across the carpeted floor and headed straight for the bed.

“You’ll want to stop right there,” Sebastian told him, keeping his voice a low whisper.

The figure stilled. “Why?” Dex asked. “Is Alyssa naked?” His voice was just as soft as Sebastian’s had been.

“You won’t find out.” But, yes, beneath the covers, she was.

So was he. Hell, he didn’t even remember ditching his shirt. The jeans and shoes, yeah, he’d kicked out of those. When had he lost his shirt? Not that it mattered.

“We need to talk,” Dex murmured.

“I snuck in the window.” The window to the right. “You think I’m going to leave her alone so that some other asshole can sneak in that way, too?”

Alyssa didn’t stir. Her breathing remained nice and slow. Her hand was still over his stomach. She was soft and warm. Perfect.

Her scent was on him. His was on her.

“My best guard is watching the west area,” Dex groused.

Like that was supposed to impress him?

“And I engaged the upstairs alarm.”

“I got past the alarm earlier.”

“I activated some alarm functions that weren’t in place before because I knew you were on the way. No one will get to her without us knowing.” He heaved out a sigh. “You’ll just be right outside the bedroom door. I’m only asking for a few minutes.”

Sebastian’s jaw hardened.

“Go,” Alyssa told him.

His gaze immediately whipped down to her face.

“It will give me a chance to shower,” she added with a yawn.

“How long have you been awake?” He could have sworn she’d been sleeping the whole time.

“Since Dex came in and started his loud whispering.”

Sebastian felt his lips pull into a smile.

“I need to shower,” she muttered. “Go talk to Dex. Trust me, if anything happens, I’ll scream loudly enough for every guard to hear.”

“Dex, get the hell out. I’ll join you in a minute.” Not like he wanted Dex to watch her slip naked into the bathroom.

Dex hurried out.

Alyssa pushed up in bed beside him. “We’re going to catch this guy, aren’t we?”

“Yes.”

She eased from the bed. Wrapped a sheet around her body. Totally unnecessary. It was dark, and he freaking loved her body.

She hesitated. “What happens then? As soon as you get him, do I immediately go back to living my life? You know, I get to return to my business and my home and…everything else?”

“You get your life back.” He climbed from the bed. Hauled on his jeans. Zipped them. Snapped the button. “But, maybe…just to play it safe…you should keep staying with me for a few days.” He moved to stand in front of her. “To make certain everything is okay.”

“So…after the bad guy is caught, you want me to stay at your place?”

Stay or move in permanently…really, wasn’t that just semantics?

“For how long?” Alyssa asked.

Forever didn’t seem to be the appropriate reply. He wasn’t trying to scare her away, and Sebastian didn’t think she was quite ready for that step so he hedged with, “How long do you want to stay?”

The sheet rustled as she stepped back.

He realized she hadn’t answered him.

And she was moving for the closed bathroom door.

“Alyssa?”

“I think staying with you will be a good idea. For a few days, anyway. You know, just to make certain things are safe. But, of course, we have to catch the perp first.”

She opened the bathroom door.

“We’ll get him,” Sebastian vowed.

She flipped on the light. Looked back.

“I wanted you from the first moment I saw you.” This wasn’t the time to confess, but he did it anyway. “I hate that I hurt you on your birthday. You were the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen, and all I wanted to do was have you smile at me.”

Her lips parted.

“I screwed things up then, and I’ve been screwing things up ever since. I tried to keep my distance because when you get too close to the thing you want so badly, it’s hard. Hard not to touch. Hard not to try and take what is right there.”

Her head tilted toward him.

“I don’t want to screw up with you anymore.” That was the last thing he wanted. “Call me on my bullshit.”

“You can count on it.”

He smiled