Especially when he sends me a text that reads…
Sebastian: Don’t rush back. Spend as much time as you need. Glad your father is having a good day.
That’s honestly the warmest, kindest thing the man has ever said to me. Kinda sad, right? And yet I am epically crazy about him. Since we called our truce last month in the bathroom, things have been good between us. He’s trying. I mean, he’s still him. Crass and broody and abrasive. I won’t even lie and say I hate that about him because I don’t. I like talking back to him. Ilike our back-and-forth. I like his impassioned gaze on me, invasive and brutally fucking intoxicating as it is.
There is so much beneath his layers. I’m dying to peel them back one by one and explore each hidden fragment of him. A thousand-piece puzzle that frustrates you and exhausts you, but at the same time, you can’t quit it, because you know once you put that final piece in place, it’s going to be the most gorgeous thing you’ve ever seen and worth all the blood, sweat, and tears that got you there.
I want to be the one to put his pieces back together. To see what sort of masterpiece he can be.
I know I’m not the only one feeling this either. He so much as admitted he wants to fuck me. But it’s more than that. I catch him watching me when he doesn’t think I notice. He smiles at me, and his eyes…they’re different with me than they used to be. Some of his ice thawing. When he looks at me, there is fire there instead.
Not the kind that burns, but the kind that draws you in, warms you from the inside out until you’re craving more of its magnificent heat.
Still, I’m no fool. Falling for Sebastian is asking for more loneliness. More heartache. More pain. I’m falling in love with a family that’s not mine. A family that will never be mine.
I try to stop it. I try to rationalize it away. I tell myself I’ve survived worse, I’ll survive him.
For now, I pop into a café and grab myself something to eat. Enjoying the solitude and quiet for once. Until something catches my attention.
I don’t think twice. For the first time in my life, I decide to truly follow my heart. I race across the street. High with a druglike euphoria. Ready to start doing what my father said. Ready to take the first step for myself and start living the life I choose.
An hour later I’m all smiles as I exit the shop. Giddy andexcited with a bubble of energy inside me as I make my way to the bus stop. I text Emily and Althea, letting them know I’m heading back now. I hit Send just as an expensive-looking SUV with black-tinted windows pulls up in front of me. The window slides down, and someone leans over the passenger side, his face coming partially into the light from the streetlamp.
I nearly gasp aloud. “What are you doing here?”
“I was worried,” Sebastian admits, frowns, and clears his throat. “Visiting hours ended at the facility your father is in two hours ago and I hadn’t heard back from you.”
“What do you mean, you hadn’t heard back from me?”
“I texted you asking where you were almost two hours ago, and you never replied.”
I blink at him, a little surprised. “Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t see it.”
“Are you going to get in?”
I smirk. “I thought I’d take the bus instead. Seems safer.”
He rubs at a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “Be that as it may, I’d like you to get in the car now. Please.”
Please?Did he actually use that word with me? What in the absolute fuck?
He glances around, and I realize there are people watching this exchange. They can’t see him, he’s too well hidden, and the windows of the car are nearly black. But if they heard his voice or realized who he was, it wouldn’t be so good for him.
The king hasn’t left his palace in?—
It hits me, and it hits me hard. He hasn’t left his palace since his wife died, and instead of sending Javier to get me, he came himself. The king of Messalina got in a vehicle with no security and drove half an hour to come and get me. Because he was worried about me.
Quickly, I open the heavy door and climb in, shutting it behind me. The window goes up, and I’m cocooned ineverything wonderful. Warm heat blasting from the vents. Soft leather. His fucking scent. I take a deep inhale, unable to stop it and not caring if he catches me.
It’s heaven. It’s hell.
“You could have sent Javier if you were that worried. Or tried calling.”
His eyes flash to mine before they return to the road, and he pulls away from the curb. People are staring at the car. It’s not a typical sort of vehicle for Tourin, but I doubt they’d ever consider that the king is driving.
“I left the palace when you didn’t return my text. I didn’t want you taking the bus this late. I’ve been…driving around since.”
“Oh.”For almost two hours? And he came for me himself?
