She looked exhausted, but she wasn’t leaving. And I sure as hell didn’t want her to go.
“I want to give him a bath, but I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try that by myself.” I smiled lopsidedly—an offering of vulnerability.
She cocked her head and smiled back, and my world shifted back into alignment. “Between us, I think we can handle him. Have you thought of a name for him?”
I gestured for her to come inside, following her in and closing the door behind us. Having her in my space again felt right.
“I’m thinking Robin. When we were riding home, I felt like we were Batman and Robin.”
She chuckled, and the sound warmed me from the inside out. “I guess it fits.”
In the kitchen, Jesse surveyed all the supplies Candi had brought—dishes, a pink cat bed, food, toys, and various cat gadgets.
“Do you think he’ll mind sleeping in a pink bed?” she asked.
“He’d better not. From what I’ve read, cats can’t see colors beyond shades of yellow, gray, and blue.”
“I didn’t know that.” She picked up a sparkling blue thing with two pointy ends. “Holy shit. Is this… a tiny shower cap?”
I moved closer to look. “God, Candi.” I shook my head, caught between amusement and disbelief. “I am not putting that on Robin’s head. Do you want a drink? Something to eat?”
I wanted to keep her here, to give myself more time to figure out if this was really happening, if she was really giving us another chance.
She hesitated. “Do you have any Pepsi?”
“Sure.”
Relief washed through me at this small sign that she was staying. I put Robin down in the pink bed and went to the fridge, returning with two cans of Pepsi. I opened a can of cat food and ladled it into a bowl. Robin attacked it immediately with single-minded determination.
Jesse and I sat drinking our sodas in silence, watching the kitten stuff his tiny face into the bowl.
After a few minutes, Jesse turned to face me. The vulnerability in her expression made my breath catch.
“I’m sorry I acted like an idiot, Sebastian.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sebastian
I removed my glasses and set them on the table, feeling the weight of the past few days settle heavily over me. Everything ached—my eyes from lack of sleep, my chest from the constant anxiety, my head from replaying our fight over and over. I rubbed the bridge of my nose where the frames had left their mark, keeping my eyes closed because I wasn’t sure I could face her yet.
The days without Jesse had been torture. I had been ready to beg her to take me back long before she’d knocked on my door.
“Jesse, I’m the one who should apologize,” I began, my voice rougher than I intended. “I shouldn’t have contacted Malcom without asking you first. I really did think I was doing something good for you. When he responded so positively to your work, I kept telling myself I’d explain everything. But as time passed, I couldn’t figure out how to bring it up without making things worse. Part of me knew I was being a coward, that keeping it from you was wrong, but I just... I was stuck.”
She took my hand, and the simple touch nearly undid me. How had I survived days without this?
“I know you meant well, Sebastian. I overreacted. But from now on, let’s promise to be completely honest with each other. That is, if you still want to… be with me.”
If I still wanted her? Was she serious? These past few days had shown me exactly how much I wanted her, wanted us. I’d been miserable without her. I’d barely eaten, couldn’t focus on work, found myself staring at my phone, hoping she’d call or text. Every time I walked past her door, I looked at it like some lovesick teenager, just hoping I’d bump into her.
I opened my eyes and looked at her. Even exhausted, she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I stood abruptly and pulled her against me, unable to hold back anymore. The kiss was everything I’d been desperately craving—fierce, hungry, unrestrained. My tongue swept into her mouth, and she responded immediately, grabbing fistfuls of my shirt and pulling me closer as though she needed me as much as I needed her.
Relief flooded through me so intensely I felt dizzy. She was here. She’d come back to me.
My hands roamed over her body, relearning every curve, every soft place I’d been aching to touch. I gripped her ass and pulled her firmly against my erection, needing her to feel how much I wanted her, how much these days apart had cost me. She molded herself to me, pliant and eager, her fingers sliding under my shirt, nails dragging across my back. The sting only heightened everything else.
This reunion was nothing like I’d imagined during those sleepless nights. It was better—more intense, more desperate, more real. I moved my mouth to her neck, teeth grazing her skin, tongue tracing the curve of her shoulder. I was completely absorbed in her, drowning in the taste and feel and scent of her. Nothing else mattered—not that she hadn’t showered or changed, not that we were in the kitchen, not that Robin was probably watching us. All that mattered was that she was back where she belonged, in my arms again. I should never have let her leave.
