Lockout (The Alpha Group 2)

"Oh, so that's what I have to do to earn a spanking is it?" I asked, shaking my hips a little.

"Aww, feeling neglected are you?"

I grinned. "Just curious, really. It's been a while since you brought out the heavy artillery in the bedroom. It's enough to make a girl think you've gone soft."

He returned my smile. "I believe I showed you exactly how hard I can be just a few minutes ago."

That made me laugh. "That you did."

"But seriously," he continued, "not every dominant is the same. I have to be in control in the bedroom, that will never change, but we're not all leather wearing, paddle wielding machines. Don't get me wrong, I love a little kink when the mood is right, but truth be told, I think I often used that really hardcore persona as a kind of shield. It was always much easier to keep distance between my partners and I when I was playing a role. But with you, I just want to get as close as possible."

It was still novel hearing him express his feelings for me so openly. It made me tingle all the way down to my toes. "So no more tie up then?" I asked cheekily.

He slipped in behind me and pinned my arms to my side, stopping me in my tracks. "Oh I wouldn't say that." I closed my eyes as I felt him brush his lips gently against my ear before nipping softly at my neck. "There are still plenty of things I want to do to that body of yours. I'm just waiting for the right moment."

"Then I guess I'll just have to be patient," I replied, my voice suddenly breathy.

"Exactly."

We walked in silence for a while. I'd been expecting him to lead me to the beach, but instead he veered off down another side street. My confusion mounted when he turned again, this time off the road all together, onto a narrow dirt path that wove between two houses. Canopied and devoid of street lights, I could barely see more than three feet ahead.

I paused at the opening. "You said you liked horror movies, well this is exactly how most of them start."

He smiled. "Trust me."

We walked for about a hundred feet, the incline growing steeper with every step, until eventually we broke through the other side.

"Wow," I said for the second time that night. The view in front of me was nothing short of spectacular. The hidden track had opened out onto a wide expanse of headland that looked out over Manly Cove. We could see everything; the moonlit shoreline, the forest of yacht masts in the bay, even the electric outline of the city in the distance.

"How did you even find this place?" I asked.

"Luck." He looked sheepish. "Or perhaps stupidity. I'd spent a night at Mi Casa with some friends and we indulged a little too much. I went for a walk, got turned around finding my way back, and somehow wound up here." He gazed out over the churning waves. "I'm kind of glad I did though. I love this view."

"It's beautiful," I agreed.

He led me over to an open space a few feet from the lip of the cliff and we sat down. Leaning in, I laid my head on his shoulder and snuggled close. Although the breeze was even more intense up here, with my body pressed against his, I no longer felt cold.

He nodded towards the docks where several sleek white boats were slowly swallowing and disgorging passengers. "The thing I like most is the ferries. I've always loved ships, even since I was a kid. There's something about the beginning of a journey that fills me with hope."

I couldn't help myself. "You know they're just going to the city, right? Half of them are probably going to wind up throwing up in a gutter in a few hours."

He laughed. "Come on, where's your sense of wonder?" His expression shifted from amusement to something more reflective. "The truth is, I actually got away on a ship."

I hesitated. I could tell straight away that we were venturing into darker territory. It had been such an amazing night, and part of me didn't want to do anything to ruin that perfect vibe, but he'd brought me up here for a reason. I'd said I wanted more openness. I couldn't deny him now. "Got away?"

He licked his lips. "Like I said earlier, I didn't have the easiest time growing up. The place I lived... well, it wasn't exactly fit for kids. Or anyone, for that matter. There were no trains, no buses, not even any real roads. But there was the sea. I used to sit on a point a lot like this and stare at the boats that pulled in and out of the docks on the other side of the bay. I always loved the thought that they were going away. I didn't even care where. Just, away. Eventually, when I was old enough and strong enough, I swam out and stowed away on one and never looked back."

I spent a few seconds processing this. It was a lot to take in. "I thought you said you were from Spain."

He gave a sad little smile. "A lot of people don't realise how much poverty there is in big European countries. My parents and I lived in a little shanty town about an hour outside Barcelona. There's more of them than you'd think. France has hundreds. Portugal too. Entire groups of people who have just slipped through every support network available, until they land in the only place that will take them."

"A shanty-town?" I asked uncertainly.

He nodded, then grimaced. "Our house was made mostly from old plywood doors held together by nails. The roof was a single sheet of corrugated iron. I remember that whenever it rained, it used to make the most awful noise, like a clap of thunder that lasted the entire night."

"Fuck," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "I can't even imagine living like that. Why didn't your parents do anything? I know if I had a child, I'd do everything in my power to get them away from a place like that."

He nodded. "I used to hate them for that, but I don't anymore. They were good people, I know that now. That sort of life just has a way of sapping your willpower. Everyone there had been defeated so many times they'd almost given up. Besides, when you fall in with those sort of people, even if you do want to leave, it's not as easy as just packing up and hitting the road."

I understood the implication, but the strain in his voice told me not to delve any further. Whatever his parents had or hadn't done, it didn't change the sort of man Sebastian was.

"Well, you got out," I said, smiling and squeezing his hand. It awed me knowing that he'd been through so much and still managed to turn into the magnificent, confident man sitting next to me.

"That I did."

"And you've done rather well for yourself since then. How does one go from shanty town urchin to professional jet-setting millionaire anyway?"

He smiled. "That's a story for another time, I think. Can we just enjoy the view for a while?"