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after their divorce, he married my mother. That’s when Trey and I entered the picture.”
“Trey is your brother,” Sebastian guessed.
“My twin. He favors the Calder side of the family—tall and big-shouldered, with dark hair and dark eyes; hard, angular features. While I—”
“Take after your great-great-grandmother,” he inserted.
“Who may or may not also be Lady Elaine,” Laura finished.
Sebastian smiled at that and returned to the original subject as the elevator doors opened on the designated floor. “So you are traveling with your father’s ex. That’s a bit unusual.”
Laura laughed at the understatement. “Over the years it has raised more than a few eyebrows.” She exited the elevator and added over her shoulder, “Tara definitely isn’t popular with the rest of my family or anyone else on the ranch, for that matter. My grandfather is convinced she is a horrible influence on me. My mother has never actually said so, but I know she agrees. I think she long ago reconciled herself to the fact that I am my own person.”
“That”—his mouth curved wryly—“is very obvious.” He inserted the room card into the slot, waited for the light, and opened the door, then stepped back to admit her.
Laura sailed past him into the suite, paused long enough to deposit her bundle of clothes on the sofa’s damask-covered cushion, then walked straight to the steps that led to a private terrace without ever once glancing back at him.
After an instant’s hesitation Sebastian returned the room card to her purse, entered the suite, and closed the door behind him. By the time he crossed the room, Laura had already disappeared onto the terrace. He left her evening bag with her clothes and followed her outside.
She stood at the outer wall, gazing into the night, indifferent to the terrace’s spectacular view of the Spanish Steps and the sprawl of Via Conditti.
He wandered over to the wall and briefly surveyed the view. A smattering of stars dusted the sky, their light dimmed by the city’s bright glow. The view of the city and its landmarks was a familiar one, though the same couldn’t be said about the woman beside him.
Angling his head in her direction, he let his glance run over her and studied the play of light and shadow on her face, accenting the high, strong line of her cheekbones and marble perfection of her skin. The night gave a silvery sheen to her hair, lightening the color of that glorious blond mane tumbling about her shoulders.
At that moment she had the cool, untouchable look of a goddess, beyond the reach of any mere mortal. But Sebastian knew she had but to turn those sultry dark eyes on him and the impression would change to that of a siren, tantalizing in her beauty, with glistening lips promising rapture.
He smiled inwardly at such fanciful thoughts while simultaneously aware that there was more than a little truth in them. Just being near her aroused all his male instincts. Sebastian suspected he was in danger of completely losing his head over this woman. But that only seemed to add some spice.
“You seem to be in deep thought,” he observed, seeking to pull her attention back to him.
She drew in a long breath and released it in a slow and soft exhalation. “I guess I was.” A small curve lifted the corners of her mouth.
“What could possibly require such heavy contemplation at this late hour?” he asked in mild jest.
“The future,” Laura replied without any hesitation and continued to face the city. “I have some important decisions that I need to make.”
“Such as?” Sebastian prompted, determined to engage her attention.
With a slight toss of her head, she turned at right angles to face him and leaned a hip against the terrace wall. “Oh, very important things,” she assured him in mock earnestness and dipped her chin, her head cocking in a pose that was provocative and alluring. “Whether to travel the world or rule it, whether to feed the starving children in Africa or . . . go to bed with you.”
Heat surged through him with rocketing force. Desire was a hard, stony ache in his loins that somehow managed to thicken his voice. “Personally, I am highly in favor of the latter.”
Her smile widened, Cheshire-like. She moved toward him, maintaining her hold on the blanket edges as she opened her arms, the material winging from them in a gesture that reminded him of an exotic butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. But his view of her body was brief as she curved her arms around his neck, wrapping him inside the blanket with her.
Head back and lips parted, she challenged huskily, “Show me.”
His hands had already moved around the bareness of her waist to mold her more firmly against him. This time her skin was hot to the touch, but just as silky smooth as before.
Before he could take possession of her mouth, she began eating at his lips, taking playful bites of them with her teeth. In all such previous occasions, Sebastian had been the one doing the seducing. But Laura was the aggressive one now. Something told him that was a dangerous precedent. Seeking to claim the initiative, he scooped her off her feet and swung her toward the suite entrance.
Laughter gurgled in her throat. “How masterful,” she purred and stroked a hand along his jaw before sliding her fingers into his hair.
“I assure you I am well-equipped for the role,” he murmured, matching the racy lightness of her tone.
His response surprised a laugh from her, and her dark eyes took a new measure of him, a suggestive gleam in their depths. “Is that boast or brag?”
“I’ll let you be the judge of that.” He negotiated the steps into the suite’s sitting room.
