I barely caught him before his knees gave out. We hit the floor together, and I cradled his head in my lap, hands slick with his blood.
My tears splashed onto his forehead.
“You stupid man,” I sobbed. “You can’t leave. You don’t get to leave.” I pressed my forehead to his. “I just found you. Sebastian, please. Stay with me.”
His eyes fluttered, unfocused but still there.
“I’m here,” I whispered. “I’m right here.”
And this time, I meant it for both of us.
Chapter 34
Sebastian
Leather cuffs held Mira’s wrists and ankles. Black leather and fur against her ivory skin, holding her open in a way that made both my pulse and cock throb. The shadows in the dimly lit room danced across her curves. Her head was bowed, hair falling forward, breath slow and steady. She trusted me completely.
“Mira,” I murmured.
She lifted her head, and her gaze met mine. They held no fear. Never fear. Just a familiar mix of challenge and surrender that always undid me.
I stepped closer. Reached for her. The world narrowed to the stretch of her skin, the rise and fall of her chest, the quiet promise in the way she waited.
Then, her expression changed.
Her mouth moved, but no sound came out.
“Mira?” I said again, sharper now.
The room fractured.
A high, insistent beep cut through the silence. The room didn’t hold any warmth, and the dim light was bright white instead, breaking through my closed eyes.
I sucked in a breath, and my eyes flew open.
Ceiling tiles. Fluorescent lights. The steady, unforgiving rhythm of a heart monitor.
Pain bloomed in my side, dragging a groan from my throat as reality slammed into place.
Mira. Cyberattack. Stan. Gun.
A hospital.
I tried to turn my head but couldn’t. My throat was dry, pulse racing, and someone had put a fifty-pound bag of flour on my chest.
“Mira,” I rasped, the name tearing out of me before I could stop it.
The monitor spiked.
Someone moved at my bedside.
“Easy, man,” Ethan said as he came into view, lifting a cup with a straw toward my mouth.
I took a drink without thinking. My mouth felt like a cotton factory.
Safe.
I tried to speak, but my throat locked up. I took another sip instead, wetting my lips, grounding myself.
