Black Platinum (In the Shadows Book 6) Read online

  “So…are you going to invite her?”

  I’m so surprised by his question, I stare at him for a couple seconds before I reply. “Are you serious? After what just happened here and the things I’ve told you she’s responsible for?”

  Nodding, he sits in the chair across from me and clasps one of my hands between his. “Talia, I’m not a perfect man. I’ve made mistakes in my past. Leaving you and your mother was the biggest one, and I’ll have to live with missing out on your childhood forever because of it. It would be hypocritical of me not to encourage you to consider inviting Vanessa.” I start to speak, but he interrupts. “Let me finish. You don’t have to forgive her or let her back into your life, but I can tell that she sincerely loves you and it would be a gesture of goodwill on your part to let the woman who raised you see you get married.”

  He cups my cheek with one hand, his eyes turning glassy. “If you hadn’t given me a chance to get to know you, we wouldn’t have a relationship. You and Vanessa may never be as close as you once were, but I’m a firm believer in second chances with all the cards on the table, eyes wide open…whatever the metaphor.”

  I lay my hand over his and squeeze. “I’ll think about it.”

  Releasing my face, he smiles and clasps my hands once more. “Vanessa had an excellent question, but I honestly didn’t know the answer. Are you walking yourself down the aisle, young lady?”

  Emotion wells and I sniff back tears. “I would love it if you would walk me down the aisle, but I wasn’t sure how to ask you.”

  “I’d be honored.” A huge smile spreads across his face, a hint of color riding his cheeks. “And now I’ll need a tux.”

  “That won’t be necessary. A nice suit will suffice.”

  “Not for this honor it won’t!” He releases me, eyes alight with excitement. “Well, I’ve got to get busy. I have a friend who owns a shop, but that means I’ll need to go see him tonight to get fitted.”

  Nodding, I stand. “Okay then, I’ll head out. Are we still on next month at Andres?”

  “I’d never miss a lunch with my Tally-girl.” I can’t help but smile at the sweet nickname, but when I start to walk out of his office, he says, “And Talia?”

  When I turn back, kind eyes hold mine. “Definitely think about that second chance. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s how they rectify them that says the most about their character.”

  Chapter 3

  Talia

  I mull my father’s suggestion about Aunt Vanessa the whole way back to my apartment. It’s not that I’m not a forgiving soul, but she has already ruined one relationship. I might be thankful that I didn’t marry Nathan, but I don’t want anything to mess with what Sebastian and I have. I love that man so much my heart twists whenever I think of him. I was lonely sleeping without him last night, but he’s so strong and domineering, if I don’t keep him on his toes and match him wit for wit, a tiny part of me worries that after such a turbulent relationship, now that we’re married, he might grow bored.

  Once I settle in for the evening, I’ll call and talk to him about today’s misunderstanding. I’m just glad that Cass has taken on handling all the wedding arrangements. My best friend is going above and beyond with her maid-of-honor duties. She says she considers it training for her upcoming wedding, but between today’s unexpected surprises with Banks and then my aunt, I don’t think I can handle wedding mishaps on top of everything else. I’m relieved I let her take the reins.

  As I reach into my purse for the apartment key, I pause and slide my fingers over the red silk I purchased for a wedding gift for Sebastian on my lunch hour today. The moment my gaze landed on the silk, the striking color sold me. I had to buy more than I needed since he only sold it in small bolts, but I’ve been searching for just the right color to have a tie made for my husband and I wasn’t passing it up. Sebastian already has a bluish-red tie, but this one will be much brighter.

  It’s bold…just like my husband.

  My phone beeps with an incoming message from Cass and I grab my cell from my purse, wishing my best friend was actually sitting in our old apartment right now instead of living at Calder’s house. We could curl up on the couch and eat an entire carton of ice cream while chatting about the irresistible but sometimes infuriating men in our lives.

  Smiling at the appealing thought, I click to read her message.

  Great pic on-line, but between that surprise wedding announcement, then you ditching your detail today…GIRL, what were you thinking? You know your husband won’t be thrilled.

  I quickly text her back.

  I didn’t put that picture out there. I guess that means I can scratch YOU off my “you’re so dead list”! Mina’s next. And yeah, I really screwed my security up! Sebastian thinks I smoke-screened him, and that even this pre-wedding time we’re spending apart is just a ruse to keep him in the dark about an assignment.

  She immediately responds.

  Ugh, that sucks! Let’s get together and chat over drinks. I need to go over wedding stuff with you. Calder and I have a quick errand to run, but I can meet you at six-thirty at Fine Tapas.

  Please don’t let there be any hiccups with wedding stuff. I bite my lip and tap out a response.

  Sounds good. Thank you for keeping me sane. See you in a little bit.

  Sending that message, I dash off a quick text to Sebastian.

  No smoke screen. I had to go to an area of town that Den was familiar with. My client couldn’t come to me and I didn’t have time to debate with Theo. Everything went fine. I’ll call you in five minutes.

  My phone rings just as I start to drop it into my purse. Assuming it’s my husband, I quickly answer. “Hey.”

  But when no one says anything and then a hang-up click echoes in my ear, I glance at the Caller ID. Blocked call. That’s the second time in two days. It’s probably my aunt. I’ll call her tomorrow. I just can’t deal with trying to talk to her right now.

  Sighing, I drop my phone into my purse, then grab my key and walk into the apartment. I’ve got forty minutes to change into jeans before I have to meet Cass. The moment I shut the door, instant darkness surrounds me. Ugh, I guess the streetlight outside finally blew. It was flickering last night.

  With a sigh, I carefully take the couple of steps toward the couch table. Setting my purse on it, I dig blindly into its cavernous depths, pushing past my sunglasses case, hairbrush, checkbook, and notepad while groping for my phone so I can light my way to the lamp next to the side chair.

  The barest sound of movement hits me just before masculine cologne assails my senses.

  “Sebastian…” I exhale his name in a gasping, breathy whisper as he pulls my hips back. My dress’ thin material may as well be tissue against his hard erection imprinting on my ass.

  “I can’t decide which to make you pay for first: convincing me you truly believed we shouldn’t see each other before the wedding rehearsal, or the fact I didn’t sleep at all last night,” his voice rumbles in my ear. “Either way…” Strong hands fold tighter around my hips in a firm grip. “This sweet ass of yours is toast. Hot lips sear against the side of my throat, his fingers gripping me tighter. “I expect to hear you saying my name like that several times tonight.”

  I clutch my purse’s straps to keep from reaching back and digging my fingers into his hair and pulling him closer. “I planned to call you. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding earlier today, but you’re not supposed to see me until rehearsal. You promised.”

  “Like you promised to let Theo watch over you until then?” he says in an edgy tone.

  His deep voice and the sandalwood notes of his cologne are both comforting and arousing. I want to melt against him. I miss him too, which scares me how my happiness is directly tied to his strong presence in my life. I’ve become addicted to being challenged on so many levels with him. “I promised to let a detail shadow me, which I did.”

  “Are you really playing the ‘fine print’ card?” His hands tighten on my body and his mou
th moves to my ear, his tone unrelenting. “If you needed Den, then fuck promises and traditional bullshit. You should’ve called me.” He slides a hand to my stomach pushing me back against him, his tone softening. “You make it hard to keep my word, Little Red, but technically, I still am. I can’t see you.”

  His voice is husky, yet tense. Even though he’s angry with me, he still wants me. God this is hard. I want him just as much. “Now who’s working the fine details?” I say, letting amusement bleed into my comment. “How did you find me?”

  “When it comes to you, I’ll always be ruthless and unrelenting, taking every advantage.” He presses closer, his deep voice rumbling against my back.

  As I realize that he deftly avoided answering my question, familiar voices just outside the apartment door send me into action. I grab my purse and tug Sebastian’s arm, whispering, “Hurry, follow me.”

  The moment we stumble into the tiny bathroom and I quickly close the door, pressing my ear against it, my husband rests his hand at the base of my spine, his deep voice sliding along my skin like a lover’s caress. “This is new.”

  “Hold on,” I quickly say as Cass and Calder enter the apartment talking. By their discussion, they’re apparently here to take the new coffee table she’d bought a few months ago. She’s asking Calder to carry it over to the house while she meets up with me for drinks.

  A couple seconds pass before Sebastian speaks next to my ear, “Why the hell are we hiding in the bathroom from Cass and Calder?”

  “Whisper,” I insist as I turn to face him, pressing my back against the door. “Cass is convinced that we can’t last three days apart.” It’s hard not to react when he slides his thumb enticingly down my cheekbone.

  “She’s right. Come home, Little Red.”

  The intimate nickname, said in his sexy deep timbre, liquefies my insides, but I force myself to remain strong. “Despite what you think, I actually do respect this tradition.” My voice shakes as his fingers trail down my throat, discover the buttons on my dress and pluck the first three open. “Sebastian…”

  “Hmm.” He inhales against my hair as he cups my bra, his thumb sliding it aside to tease my nipple.

  “This isn’t fair.”

  Rolling the sensitive bud between his fingers, he kisses my temple. “All playing fair got me was: a foul mood, a raging hard-on and a dull ache in my gut that hasn’t gone away since last night. I don’t plan to repeat that for two more nights.”

  “You’re going to have to,” I say, trying, but failing to remain unaffected. I’ve never throbbed so much. The man’s nearness and sexy smell alone is enough to put me in pre-orgasmic anticipation.

  His hand stills, fingers pressing harder on my nipple. “Tell me you don’t miss me sliding inside you.”

  I swallow and gasp at the sharp pleasure/pain. Even though I can’t see his face, I know his blue eyes are glittering with brutal sexual intent. The man knows exactly what he’s doing to my body. I twist my fingers around my purse’s leather strap to keep from touching him. “I—I can wait a couple of nights.”

  “Liar.” He bites my earlobe, his hand brushing my purse aside to slide along my thigh, lifting the hem of my skirt. Before I can stop him, his fingers press against my underwear. “I fucking knew it. You’re soaked.”

  I grab his wrist just as he touches the edge of my underwear, my tone desperate. “There’s a bet.”

  “What bet?” he says, sounding suspicious.

  “Cass bet me that I can’t abstain from having sex with you before the wedding. I told her I plan to remain traditional. If I win, she has to take care of selling all the furniture in this apartment and negotiate with the landlord to get out of the lease. If I lose, I have to do it.”

  “I’ll pay the damn balance of the lease,” he says in a curt tone.

  “If I lose, then you’ll barely see me until all the furniture is gone, the place is spotless, and yes, the lease is taken care of. That could take a lot longer than a couple of days, Sebastian.”

  Rumbling his displeasure, he moves his mouth close to my ear. “Then you’d better be very quiet when you come, sweetheart,” right as he slides a finger deep inside me.

  To say my toes literally curl inside my heels when he adds a second finger is an understatement. My head falls back against the wood and I have to clamp my lips together to keep from moaning my pleasure.

  “See what you’re missing, gorgeous?” he says, pressing his lips against my jaw.

  I can hear his smug confidence as he moves his fingers with arousing erotic intent. With each stroke, he goes deeper until he hits my g-spot and my knees start to wobble. In less than thirty seconds he has me in a panting, hip-moving frenzy. If I don’t counterstrike soon, in another minute, I’ll be begging him to take me against the door.

  Releasing his wrist, I quickly clasp his rock hard erection through his dress pants. “Turn about is fair play.”

  “That’s a hell of a grip,” he grunts, pulling his hand from my body to cover my hand with his.

  Now that my brain can reengage, I let him go, only to trace two fingers from the base of his cock all the way to the tip. “Just checking your temperature.”

  “Definitely boiling point.”

  I love that his wit never diminishes even in moments like this. The hoarseness in his voice makes me bolder and I set my big purse on the floor, then face him and tug on his dress pants’ zipper, freeing his cock from his silk boxers. I clasp his warm erection fully, and a part of me wishes I could see his expression, but then another part loves that we’re exploring with only knowing touch to guide us. There’s something sensually intimate about knowing your partner’s body so well.

  Sebastian slides his hand into my hair and yanks me against him. Groaning his pleasure against my lips, he thrusts his tongue deep, his hips pressing me against the door.

  I bite his bottom lip, then accept the arousing twining of his tongue with mine. I’ll never get enough of his dominant intensity, not ever. It’s one of the things I love most about my husband.

  “If you don’t stop kissing me, I can’t use my mouth on other parts of your body,” I say once he gives me a chance to breathe.

  Strong hands clasp my jaw, his breath sawing. “Are you sure?”

  “Can you stay quiet?”

  “Can I make you scream?”

  The sheer arrogance in his comment makes it hard not to smile. I love a challenge. “If you make even one sound, I’ll have to stop.”

  His hands tighten on me, his tone gravel-rough. “Once you start, you’d better not fucking stop, Little Red.”

  “Then you’d better remain silent, Mister Black.” I press a quick kiss to his jaw before I lower to my knees on the thick bath rug.

  The moment my lips surround the tip of his cock, Sebastian’s fingers slide into my hair, his hands cradling my head. I smile at the sudden intake of his breath and deep exhale out of his nose, then let him move my mouth along his silky erection several times, setting the building pace.

  When the tension in his hold tells me that he’s holding back his moans of pleasure, the devilish side of me decides to kick it up a notch. As he pulls his hips back, sliding me fully along his shaft, I suck and coil my tongue around him all the way to the tip.

  “Goddamnit woman!” he rasps quietly, his hands fisting tight in my hair. When he grows impossibly hard and his knees bend slightly, I squeeze his muscular thighs and then move up and down his length twice more, before taking him fully down my throat.

  A low, fierce rumble rushes past his lips as he goes over the edge.

  When he’s fully spent, Sebastian clasps my hand and quickly pulls me to my feet, his tone less tense, but somehow more lethal. “Learning just how creative you can be when I’m not allowed to fuck you senseless for two more days doesn’t sit well with me.”

  “I’ve got to save some surprises for the wedding day.” I shrug, smirking. “And you’re welcome.”

  My husband clasps my face, big hands spreading
along my jawline. Tilting my chin up, his warm lips hover close to mine. “Be glad we’re already married or I’d kidnap you and make you marry me today.” He kisses my lips, then my forehead before tugging me into his warm embrace, exhaling in a low voice, “I fucking love every part of you: body, mind and soul, Mrs. Blake.”

  I wrap my arms around his waist and bask in the sensation of his strong arms around me. “I love you too. And now that you’re a bit less um…tense, I want to tell you about the article I worked on that should be releasing soon.”

  Just when I finish revealing who I interviewed for my article, the sound of the apartment door closing and a key turning in the lock only highlights the tense silence hanging between us.

  The bathroom light suddenly snaps on. Releasing the switch, my husband zips his pants up while scowling at me from his towering height. “What the hell, Talia.”

  “I had no idea about your connection to Banks,” I say, holding my hands up. “Not until I got there. I promise that I wasn’t digging into your background.”

  “I don’t give a shit about that—” He cuts himself off, his displeasure evident. “First, that neighborhood is not safe for you to be in—”

  “Hence Den,” I remind him, but he just talks over me, going full steam ahead.

  “Second, Banks and I not only have past history, but we have some recent history as well. Stay away from him.”

  “And whose fault is it that I didn’t know any of this?” I ask, putting my hands on my hips.

  “It was related to my mom’s case.” Grunting, he runs a hand through his thick, black hair, leaving the short strands looking disheveled but even sexier. “As far as I’m concerned it’s over.”

  “Ah, at least now I know why he was curious to know which Blake I’m married to.”

  “You told him?” His blue eyes hold mine until I nod, then they narrow to determined slits. “Pack what little you’ve brought here. You’re coming home.”