Chapter 7 Sebastian
Sebastian
Iwas practically pacing in the foyer of the house.
I’d waited for enough dates in my day, but this one seemed different.
Perhaps the biggest difference was that I hadn’t truly asked Kayla on a date.
I couldn’t shake the anticipation that was exactly what was happening.
Maybe I hadn’t really asked her at all. More told her.
That thought gnawed at me slightly as I strode back and forth.
The smell of the furniture polish in the foyer tickled my nose.
It was like almonds, and my stomach grumbled in response to the sweet fragrance, an old biological reflex.
There was a housekeeper here somewhere, although I hadn’t met her yet.
Next on my list of staff to add to the household was a butler.
Opening the front door all the time was for the birds, and Temple had started just letting himself in, which needed to be nipped in the bud.
Chef was also here somewhere, having made himself at home after he heard there was another human to cook for. He was less than happy about my taking her out tonight, but it likely meant that Kayla’s breakfast would be a banquet fit for a queen.
Or, in this case, a princess.
I was only a prince after all.
But I shook away my fanciful thoughts. Kayla was the house witch, hopefully. Just as Nic would want. Nothing more.
I studied the hardwood floor briefly, the intricate pattern of the parquet blocks almost mesmerizing. I had no idea how Nic had picked up this house at such short notice, but it was perfect for access to the club and suited the way I liked to live.
A noise from the top of the stairs drew my attention.
I glanced up half expecting it to be the mysterious housekeeper or Kyle, and I was stunned completely still by what I saw.
My gaze met Kayla’s before I allowed it to travel the length of her body.
She wore a deceptively plain black dress that left everything to the imagination but teased of all that lay beneath, and her dark hair tumbled in unruly curls over her shoulders and down her back.
My fingers itched to tangle in that hair, to tug just a little so that she’d gasp.
“You look amazing,” I spoke before I even thought about what to say, but the words were a simple truth.
She smiled in acknowledgment, a blush spreading across her cheeks and even onto her neck.
I wanted to trace that pink tint under her clothes to see how far it went, but she noticed me watching her, and the pulse in her neck kicked up, drawing my attention even more intensely.
My gums ached as my fangs pressed against them, and I averted my gaze, not watching as Kayla descended the stairs.
My cock twitched in my pants. Damn it. My whole body seemed to have plans beyond business for this witch. There was something about her… something compelling.
Something… No, I didn’t want to compare the way I was looking at Kayla now to the way I’d previously seen Leia.
My infatuation with Nic’s mate had been ill-advised—juvenile even.
Dangerous and personally damaging. There had been a darkness there, something desperate, but with Kayla, I had none of those feelings.
She was pure, even in her spunkiness, and there was an innocence about her that I didn’t understand. Something drew me toward her—no matter how far apart we were, something tugged inside me.
“Have you had a nice day?” I asked, offering a meaningless question while each of my muscles tensed, waiting for the moment when I’d turn to look at her again.
Her scent teased at my nose. Not the perfume it smelled like she’d bathed in but her natural, jasmine scent… and below that something provocative and wild. I wanted to heave a deep breath and draw that scent deep into my lungs, but I resisted.
“Yes, thank you.” Her reply was perfectly pleasant, but the words gave nothing away about what she’d done all day.
I already knew she’d holed up in the library, though. The security in this place was pretty good, and her lingering scent in the room had given her away. But I didn’t ask her about it. I didn’t want her to think I was spying on her when she hadn’t done anything wrong.
For some reason, it was important to me that she felt at home here. She wasn’t a prisoner. Not really—even though she was a flight risk and I needed her to stay in New Orleans.
But I also wanted her to stay, and for that, I wanted her happy here rather than merely trapped.
“I thought we’d take the car,” I said as I gestured toward the door.
“Oh?”
I met her gaze as her mouth pursed a little.
“But the club is just around the corner.”
I glanced at her heels then back to her eyes. “Would you prefer to walk in those or sit in a car?”
Her lips relaxed into a grin. “Well, put like that...”
I automatically reached for her as she arrived at the bottom of the staircase, and she slipped her fingers into mine briefly as she stepped level with me, just inches from where I’d been waiting.
Her cheeks pinked again, and she dropped her touch from mine, seeming to realize how close we were.
Or maybe she felt that certain rush of something between us as well when our skin touched.
I walked ahead of her to the car I had waiting outside and opened the door for her to slide in.
The ride was silent and uncomfortable, the air between us thick somehow, the main scent emanating from her floral, like jasmine, but with an undertone of undeniable lust and that heavier, warm aroma. I tried not to look at her. It wouldn’t do to lose control.
I couldn’t fucking lose control again. That had been too dangerous with Leia.
I’d thought I’d known what I was doing… Thought I was taking my chance when I’d just been ruining my life and creating this exile as my future.
It was too risky to take the same chances with Kayla, to give in to greater urges and instincts.
I was supposed to be using this time to prove to Nic that I knew better now.
And even though my gums ached and my cock had a fucking mind of its own every time I so much as thought of Kayla, I did know better. I really did.
I just didn’t know if I could trust myself to be better.
But as we sat beside each other, we seemed to edge closer together like two magnets helplessly trapped.
Our thighs brushing each other, sparking warmth through me every time one of us shifted to try to find additional space until we gave in and just sat pressed together, although neither of us acknowledged our position.
When the car drew up outside the club, I got out quickly, swallowing and rearranging my pants to hide my growing arousal. I helped Kayla from the car and led her to the new front doors, which were opened by the project manager, as if he’d been watching out for us.
I nodded at him, and he held the door open wider. “Things are coming along nicely,” he murmured.
I nodded but didn’t reply. I’d be the judge of how well the renovation was doing. Well, me… and Kayla. Suddenly, her opinion really mattered. But only because she was our new headliner, of course.
She followed me into the club, and I stopped abruptly when she gasped. That was the kind of reaction I was looking for. I grinned but hid it before I turned around to face her.
“What do you think?” I forced genuine curiosity into my tone. I didn’t need her to know I found her so easy to read.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered as she turned a slow circle. “But are you still calling it that dumbass French name?”
I nodded, surprise stealing my words for a moment. “Yes. Did you have anything better in mind?”
She grinned and it was like the sun coming out. “Give me a minute. Let me take a good look at this beautiful place.”
I looked around and nodded. She was right. Ben’s contractors had done a great job so far.
“Wow.” She was still whispering as she pointed to the stage that stood in the center of the room. “Will I sing there?”
She wandered toward it, her steps slow and sexy like she was ready to perform right now. Something sultry, most likely. A crowd pleaser. My cock twitched again at the idea of her low voice filling in the room, her body swaying in time to the music.
That was a sight I wanted to see.
She stepped onto the stage and walked to the middle before doing a slow spin so she could see the space for the club members all around her. “Everyone will be watching me.”
I silenced a growl of irritation at her words, at the idea that other people — other men — would watch Kayla as she stood on that stage.
I wanted her performances. All of them. Only for me.
“And just look at this place.” She turned again and held her hands to the ceiling where the tiny lights glittered. “It will be like the stars shining for me every night.” Her grin was radiant as she looked at me. “The entire place looks like the most perfect night.”
And she was right. The contractors had finished the bar now, and it gleamed like the milky way, the epoxy resin finish shimmering in the low light.
The floor shone like a reflective black pool, the tiny stars showing even there.
It was all perfect. The chrome, the black, the elements of space.
It created the most perfect cocoon of night.
“You need to call it Nightfall,” she murmured.
I jerked my head toward her, the movement sharp. “Nightfall…” She was right. It worked on every level.
And every night would be the perfect date.
People would be hidden here.
Anonymous.
They could let themselves go and be what they wanted.
The new club would be exactly what I wanted it to be. It was exactly what we needed to establish Nic’s reign here in New Orleans.
“I really, really love it.” Kayla was more enthusiastic than I’d ever seen her. Excitement radiated from her. “I can’t wait to sing for everyone here.” She glanced around again. “Can I go take a look around at the rest of it?”
“Sure.” I gestured her forward. “The finishing touches aren’t all in yet but go see what we’ve got so far.”
She nodded and walked away.