It’s not like she had never kissed Sebastian before, but that was ten years ago, and she was pretty sure that they had both been each other’s first kiss. Now, Sebastian was all man, and he had not spent the last ten years abstaining from sex because—good God!First of all, he liked to talk. Nothing like Phillip who only spoke to give commands. Sebastian liked to talk about how he felt, and how good she felt, and he moaned when he liked something. And the man’s temperature ran hot so kissing him was like swallowing lava cake fresh from the oven.They of course started on the floor with soft tender kisses. But she was bent over at an odd angle so before there was even any tongue, he had pulled her onto his lap bridal style. He was a large man, thick and muscular, and he lifted her with ease.As he dipped down giving her hot kisses, he began licking and sucking her bottom lip and moaning and talking and it was not long before she was squirming to straddle him so she could get better acces
The sun shone onto the large windows in the guestroom Celine was sleeping in, but the blackout curtains and controlled temperatures ensured Celine’s circadian rhythm did not register it was morning. So, she slept well past her usual wake-up time. Which was why when her phone rang at eight in the morning, she was still asleep.Tangled in the bedding, Celine struggled to find and silence the horrendous ear-piercing noise and when she did, she looked at the screen and saw it was her father. So instead of throwing the phone like she wanted to, she answered it.She put her ear to the phone, “Hello?”, Celine said. But before her father could answer there was, what sounded like, a shotgun loading and then discharging. For a second, she thought things had gone very badly with the reporters. “Dad. What’s going on? Dad.”, she yelled into the receiver.There was shuffling, and then, “Celine. Guess what we are doing?”, Dad, asked.Celine sat up and her head spun. She put a trembling hand to her fo
“I have some news.”, he said. “I know who went to the press. And I want to know how you want to handle it.”, Sebastian said.Celine grabbed a lock of black hair and began twirling. Of course, she wanted to know, even though she was 99.99 percent sure it was Chanel. Who is it?”, Celine asked.Sebastian took out his phone squinted his eyes and read. “Chanel Brittany Aston, aged twenty-seven, second daughter of William and Bethany Aston. She lives in New York City. Unemployed. Graduate from Princeton with a bachelor’s degree in communication.” Sebastian said. “Do you know her?”As soon as she heard Chanel, Celine began grinding her teeth. That little bitch. Wasn’t it enough that she ruined her marriage? “I know her.”, Celine said flatly.Sebastian’s eyebrows rose and his jaw dropped. “You do? How do you know her? What is her motivation? She looks harmless, like your typical trust fund brat.”“She is far from harmless.”, Celine said, then abruptly stood up and started pacing. “How do you k
Celine was lying on top of Sebastian’s grey bedspread on her phone, searching the news for anything about her and Phillip. In the background, she could hear the murmurs of mother and son talking, but she couldn’t make out what they said. Until they moved to the dining table below a vent that was connected to Sebastian’s bedroom and Celine found she could hear what they were saying, clearly.“I spoke with some of the shareholders, and they have agreed to put your marital status as an agenda item at the next board meeting.”, Sophia said sweetly.Sebastian said something but he was out of earshot. Celine sat up“You need to get ahead of this Sebastian, so I have some candidates for you.”, Sophia said. She heard the shuffling of some papers. “Come, take a look.”Sebastian must have come to stand next to his mother, but he sounded bored when he answered. “How does my marital status reflect on my ability to lead Gale Hospitality?”, Sebastian asked. “Is my leadership lacking?”Celine punched
One good thing about being a billionaire was when people trespassed and took pictures, there was security to handle it. Celine did not know if Sebastian paid the reporters off, threatened them, or both but not a peep of a story with their names in it ever went to publication. For a moment, Celine prepared for a world where she and Sebastian were outed, and in a way, it would have solved the problem of Sebastian’s mother and the board. But Sebastian handled everything neatly and they were able to stay incognito.That same night, Sebastian took Celine home via his helicopter saving her a three-hour drive, another perk of being a billionaire. They landed in the same field and before they disembarked, Celine handed Sebastian one of her flashlights and thought it was odd that her father was not there to greet her. After all, how often do they have a helicopter land on their property? Sebastian was taller than she was, so he saw the cars first. “Do you recognize those cars?”, Sebastian ask
Winter was Celine’s favorite time of the year. It was the season when people were kind, the landscape was covered in snow, and there was a stillness that spoke of staying warm at home with family. Winter was when the Beaumont family usually closed the equestrian center, and everyone came home from wherever they were to celebrate the holidays.This year was different; to make money they turned their property into a winter wonderland. They had free hot chocolate, horse-pulled sled rides, snow tubing, snowman contests, hayrides, ponies, and more. It did not make up for losing clients, but it helped them breathe.For once, things were looking up for Celine. She was lowkey dating Sebastian. They video-chatted every night, and he came to see her once a week for his riding lesson and a date. Her father begrudgingly accepted him and sometimes date night was family dinner night, and it almost felt like the old days when Sebastian used to volunteer in the summers. Except one very important perso
Pushing through the crowd, Celine made her way to Sebastian. She couldn’t believe he came to the Hamptons and found her. For a second, he disappeared in the throng, and she couldn’t see him. But like a parting sea, a break appeared, and her way was clear.His eyes were on her and she saw his scowl had faded into a smile. Feeling light and joyous she leaped without a thought into his arms. And of course, he caught her and swung her around. The kaleidoscope of people, music, and smells was muted and there was only Sebastian.“You’re here.”, Celine said breathlessly.Sebastian hoisted her up until their eyes were level. Then he claimed her mouth, surprising her with his passion and Celine opened to him eagerly. The kiss electrified her and was over too soon. It made her compliant and supple in his embrace, so she did not object when he carried her over to the table. Where Kim and Collette sat with wide gaping eyes and mouths.Depositing Celine in her seat, he possessively came to stand be
It was Christmas Eve, and Celine, Collette, Dad, and Kim just finished eating a traditional dinner of baked ham sweet potato, and greens. After they tidied up the girls changed into their matching pajamas all ready for their usual Christmas evening out on the enclosed patio with their favorite holiday drink, Hot Pumpkin Pies. A drink her mom used to make.This year, Celine and Collette were teaching Kim how to make Hot Pumpkin Pies. “Do we have all of the ingredients?”, Kim asked rifling through the pile of items Celine put on the counter.“Yep.”, Collette said. She started listing things off. “We have milk, light brown sugar, and Rum Chata.”, Collette rolled her Rs when she said rum, and Celine rolled her eyes at Kim who giggled.“Are you sure you haven’t been secretly hitting that bottle?”, Kim asked teasing.“Not yet.”, Collette sang. “Whipped cream, pumpkin spices…Dad, do we have nutmeg?”Dad looked up from his crossword. “Darn it. I knew I had forgotten something. Look in the cabi
When she heard her voice, Celine burst into tears. She had been rescued. Somehow, against all odds, she had been found. Like a newly born fawn, she stood on wobbly legs and burst into tears. “Kim,” she said, barely able to get her best friend’s name out.When Kim did not open her arms and come to her, she tried to run into her arms, but Kim put her hand out, “Stop.”Confused, she obeyed and did not stop to think much about it. She was filthy, so… She was just so thankful. Waves of emotions overwhelmed her exhausted body, too many for her to contain. So, she stood in place, shaking violently in relief, ready to do whatever Kim told her to.But Kim did nothing to rescue her. She did not smile, offer her the long coat she was wearing to cover her nudity, or even offer her comforting words. Kim’s eyes were hard, her arms were crossed, and she looked at Celine like a cockroach she discovered in her silverware drawer.Dread silenced her tears. Had they captured Kim too? “Kim, are you okay?
It’s strange to have a traumatic event she couldn’t recall. It’s even stranger to have a crippling phobia and not know why. For as long as she could remember, she has been terrified of the dark. It was so bad that her parents took her to a psychologist, where she was diagnosed with PTSD and trauma-related Nyctophobia with panic-induced cognitive impairment. AKA She freaked the fuck out like a cat who got their tail caught in a mouse trap when she was in the dark.According to her parents, this was why. When she was four, they visited a friend’s farm, and she was sent to play outside with Collette. After a while, Collette returned alone, crying hysterically. Alarmed, her parents went looking for her, and when they couldn’t find her, they called the sheriff, and people came from all over to help find her. They searched night and day until a search and rescue dog found her trapped in a crawl space under an old, abandoned shed.When Celine had what her parents called “a fit,” she sometime
When she opened the door to her truck, the interior was covered in a thin layer of dust. The culprit was the passenger window. It was left open a crack over the last year, and while the truck was in storage, it slowly allowed fine dirt to accumulate. She grabbed an old rag and began wiping down the driver’s seat, but the only thing she accomplished was creating a dust storm that erupted in the truck cab, causing a coughing fit. Frustrated with the delay, Celine opened both doors, did a quick clean, and then drove with the windows open until the dust stopped swirling around the cab.After Sebastian fought with his mother, Celine called her dad. He was at the house in the Hamptons with Collette and had taken over supervision of the equestrian center rebuild. Her dad had poopooed her worries about Sophia but allowed John and Jacob to stay in the house with them to placate Celine. Every day, she called and checked in with him, and after a week and a half of hearing that everything was fin
Celine burst into Sebastian’s home office, frustrated and seething. Spinning to face her in his office chair, Sebastian seemed startled by her abrupt entrance and raised an eyebrow.She flung herself dramatically onto his lap, nuzzled into his chest, and said, “I want to elope.”He put his arms around her, and she felt herself calm. She nuzzled, greedily inhaling his scent.“What happened?” he asked.It was his mom. She kept adding people to the guest list, telling Kevin they were essential additions. Every time she did, they had to redo seating arrangements, and now Sophia’s additions were so numerous that they would need to change the venue to accommodate her.When Sophia first expressed an interest in being involved with the planning, Celine decided, against her better judgement, to allow it. To keep the collaboration less hostile, they had Kevin act as a go-between. And at first, that had worked. Kevin had years of experience dealing with the atrocious woman, and she did not bothe
Her mother once told her, “All living things reproduce. What we do afterward separates us. Children do not owe us filial love and fidelity for the gift of life. It is something we earn every day.” But she knew that Sebastian’s parents did not prescribe to that gentle philosophy. They believed the stark opposite because not even love was afforded to Sebastian; still, they demanded his obedience in all things.Celine had never met Sebastian’s father. Not even when they were children; it was as if Brandon Gale was more of a legend or a concept than a man. So, she was surprised to see him at their engagement party. According to Sebastian, “He never attended any of my birthdays or milestones. He didn’t even show up for my college graduation. Brandon only had me to procreate his genetic material.”Until meeting Sebastian’s father, Celine would have said Sebastian was a male version of his mother. Now that she met Brandon, she saw some of his features subtly represented in Sebastian, like hi
Tender feelings filled Celine’s chest as she watched Sebastian dancing with Amara. He gently maneuvered the tender youth around the dance floor carefully and thoughtfully, and Celine wondered where he had learned to be so loving and gentle with children. He certainly hadn’t learned from his parents. Seeing how giant Sebastian seemed compared to Amara made Celine laugh out loud. His massive hands dwarfed hers, and he seemed to swallow up her little body in his enormous arms when he picked her up and swung her around, dangling her several feet off the ground—Amara’s ringing laughter brought smiles to anyone within earshot.A sweaty Amara and Sebastian returned to their seats. Sebastian leaned into Celine and kissed her cheek. Surprised, she looked at him. He was beaming, and his gray eyes reminded Celine of the light in a moonlit landscape. He was happy, and the satisfaction of seeing him so joyful gave her a sense of contentment. Breaking their eye contact, Sebastian scanned the table,
The micro-beaded silk draped down her body like a shimmering column, from the gown’s rose neckline to her perfectly manicured toes. Her sleek black hair was bound in a classic French twist, and her makeup was effortless. She looked elegant in her Oscar de la Renta gown, like she belonged to the world of the ultra-rich.Glancing in the mirror, she saw a woman whose beauty was otherworldly, and for the briefest of seconds, she saw herself as something ethereal and worth looking at. But then she blinked, disbelieving her eyes, and she was simply Celine again, all done up and dressed in a gown that cost beyond her comprehension. An artfully crafted deception, an imposter.She heard Sebastian enter their bedroom. He was impeccably dressed in all wool, velvet, and satiny sin. His grey eyes, like the mists that clung to the peaks of mountains, and his mouth reminded her of sensuous kisses and unbridled pleasure. They gazed at each other, and she knew he was drinking her in. Studying her, me
The elevator dinged, and yet another person squeezed into the packed elevator. “Is anybody getting out?” asked a hopeful-sounding voice. Celine almost laughed out loud. The guy was only echoing what they were all thinking. There were too many people on this elevator, and it was stifling. But nobody got out, and the shiny chrome doors closed, crushing their dreams of personal space.“Something smells good.”, the same voice commented. A few passengers laughed at that. Celine blushed. They were smelling the homemade lunch she had made for Sebastian. Lately, he had been working long hours, coming home late and leaving early, and she missed him. She checked with Kevin, and he told her Sebastian had a few minutes free, so she begged him not to schedule anything. Now, she was on an elevator with some home-cooked love, ready to surprise him.Only a few people got off with her on the executive floor, and she groaned when she saw Yuri was one of them. He was going to talk to her. She just knew
She would have recognized his scent anywhere, so she wasn’t scared when Sebastian grabbed her from behind. Vlad, on the other hand, didn’t know who Sebastian was and exploded into action, ripping Celine out of Sebastian’s arms and twisting Sebastian into a submission hold within seconds.“Vlad, no. VLAD.” People ran and screamed around her. Security appeared and began clearing a circle. Sebastian struggled, his face red. He didn’t look like he could breathe. Celine begged Vlad to let Sebastian go, but he didn’t listen to her. She tried hitting him, but it was like hitting a brick wall.Before she could think about it, she leaped onto Vlad’s back and screamed into his ear. “Let him go. That is my fiancé.” Vlad let Sebastian drop, and Sebastian began to cough. Desperate to get to Sebastian, Celine tried to scrabble off Vlad’s back, but Vlad did some twisty thing with his body, and he had her dangling, like a kitten, in front of him. Green eyes, so like her own, looked quizzically at her