I take the time to review the room and from my perch, notice a few areas that needed attending to - I probably wouldn’t have seen them had I not stopped and I make a mental note to crack on with them later.
Checking my watch I can see that I’ve dallied for too long, its been twenty minutes and I haven’t five, let alone twenty to spare in my ridiculous schedule, so on a sigh I’m about to get back to it when the door to the suite is thrown open with a bang and Sebastian blasts into the space like a whirlwind.
“Where is she? Fuck! Lu?” His dark chocolate eyes scan the room before resting on me with open relief. “Lu! Ah, Lu… baby… Are you OK?”
My head snaps up at his noisy entrance and I put my hands up in defence. “Whoa, I’m fine. What are you doing here?”
He’s on me in seconds, his hands on my body, my neck, at my face, inspecting every part of me, his face pained and jaw tense until finally his examination complete, he enfolds me against his body so tight I struggle to breathe.
I push against his chest in defiance. “Seb?”
“What the fuck, Lu? I thought you’d fallen off the bloody ladder that’s what I’m doing here. Why are you climbing ladders? That’s why I sent Dave and the lads to help you finalise things, so you wouldn’t be in this position?” His face is tense, as he rubs his hand across his head anxiously and my eyes drop to his mouth which is a firm line of disapproval.
“Seb I’m fine. I’m just not good with heights. You didn’t need to come rescue me.”
“I’ll be the bloody judge of that.”
Ever the control freak.
“I’m OK.” I mumble, annoyed at his dramatics. “I can look after myself.”
“I know that. But now I’m here, so you don’t have to. Do you still feel dizzy?”
“I don’t think so - I’ve just got a bit of a headache. I’ll take some paracetamol in bit.”
“Where are they?”
“In my bag, why?”
He scans the room and locates it in the corner of the room, then brings it to me and flicks his hand in the direction of the fastening.
“What?”
“Well, take the pills then.”
“Oh for goodness sake. I’m fine, really.”
“Well, you’ll be even better after you’ve got rid of your headache.”
On a frustrated sigh I unzip my bag, rummage around and lift out the strip of pills I’d grabbed this morning off the counter, then pop two out and throw them in my mouth angrily. He hands me my tea and I take a gulp, cringing as some of the coating from the tablet grates against my inner throat. “Happy?”
“Very.”
He steps forward and I automatically step back. “Sebastian…” My voice trails off as I watch him remove his suit jacket and tie and place them over the chair arm, before first rolling up one sleeve, then the other of his pale blue shirt. “What are doing?”
“Mucking in! Now where’s your list?”
“What list?”
His eyes full of mirth he raise his brows. “Don’t play games, Lu - well not now, maybe later.” I try not to give-in to my smile at his sexy wink. “The inordinately detailed and ridiculously anal list that you carry round with you, that you tick off as you complete each task. You know the one and so do I, you always have a list. Now cough up?”
I chew my inside lip in annoyance at his excellent detective skills, before reaching across to my file and extracting the most up-to-date, snagging to-do-list for the The Ashton and pass it over to his outstretched hand.
He exhales loudly. “Thank you. Now you sit. I will go see what the men are up to and we’ll see about getting these rooms ship-shape.”
“They are nearly completed, I’m honestly fine.” I add quietly. Part of me is over the moon that he is being so alpha and caring, the other is frustrated that all of a sudden I can’t seem to manage in all areas of my life without him. I swore I’d never rely on a man so heavily again.
“Well, if that’s the case then we’ll get sorted sooner. This benefits me too you know? I won’t have you draining yourself to the point of exhaustion at work - there’ll be nothing left of you for me to enjoy. No, the draining part is my job - exhaustion should come from sexual pleasure not work, baby. Work can cause tiredness, yes and gratification but I will be the one to make you dizzy - make your head spin and knees buckle. Do you hear me. No. More. Ladders! Ok?”
“Ok.”
“Good. I’m here now, baby. Let me in, please and let me fucking help. God this holiday couldn’t have come at a better time! You are going to relax, even if it means tying you to the bed for the whole week.”