My body recognizes the words before my mind does, heat flooding my veins. My head empties, and I open my mouth, but nothing but a small, desperate sound comes out.
He’s not finished. Sebastian leans in even closer, his face suspended just above mine. “A man who’s never seen you come undone.” His hand lifts, fingers curling under my chin, angling my face up until all I can see is him. “A man who’s never known the pleasure of making you come. You think I could ever be jealous of a man like that?”
I can’t breathe. The air between us is too charged, and my heart is beating so hard in my chest I’m sure he can feel it, maybe even hear it.
“He doesn’t know what you like,” Sebastian tells me softly. His thumb passes over my lower lip, eyes flashing as they flick down to watch it move over my skin. “But I do. Don’t I, Sydney?”
A humiliating whimper escapes me before I can stop it. I remember it, remember the way he touched me, the feel of his tongue expertly unraveling me.
His finger presses against my lip, a little too hard. “Answer me,” he orders.
“Yes,” I gasp. He knows. He knows exactly what I want, what I need.
An expression I don’t recognize passes over his face. His lips curve, a slow, sharp smile spreading as he drags his gaze over my face and down my body. “God, look at you,” he murmurs, sounding almost awed. “You want it so badly, don’t you? All it took was a few words, and you’re practically begging for it.”
He’s right, and I hate it. My legs are shaking, and I press my thighs together desperately, trying to ease the ache building between them. I can tell from the way his smile widens that he notices.
He lets go of my chin, fingers trailing down my jaw and over my neck, threading in my hair. “I could take you into that back room right now, bend you over that table, and fuck you within an inch of your life, and you’d let me. Wouldn't you?”
“Sebastian,” I plead. I don’t know if I’m begging for him to stop or keep going. To make good on his promises or step away to give me space to breathe. He leans down, lowering his head until his mouth brushes my ear, and I have to bite my lip to keep quiet.
“And you’d love it,” he promises, his breath a warm caress against my skin. “The things I could do to you? You’d never forget them. You’d be thinking about them every time you close your eyes.”
I wet my lips without thinking. “Why don’t you?” I challenge, my voice breathless. The store is closing, I can hear the last of the book club saying their goodbyes, can hear Jade gathering her things to leave. He could have me, right now, if he wanted.
He makes a sound too dark to be a laugh. “Because you wanted time. You wanted space. And that’s what I’m giving you.” He shifts, his lips brushing against my cheek, then the corner of my mouth, when he answers. “Tell me right now if I’m wrong, love.”
His lips graze mine, and my eyes flutter shut, my head tilting back. He lingers against my mouth, a featherlight kiss. Then his tongue flicks out, tracing the edge of my lower lip, and every part of me threatens to come undone.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” he repeats, voice rough, hand tightening in my hair. “Just say the word. We can go back there right now and?—”
“Syd?” Jade’s voice cuts through the quiet, and we both freeze. “I’m heading out! But, hey, your quiet doc is around here somewhere checking the cameras and?—”
She makes a startled noise as she rounds the corner and finds us pressed against each other, his lips hovering above mine, his hand in my hair.
“Oh. You found him.” Her lips press together, like she’s trying not to laugh.
Sebastian lets me go and takes a step back, away from me, all traces of emotion on his face washing away. He takes his time straightening his sleeves, adjusting the cuffs.
“Jade,” he finally greets her, giving her a curt nod.
“Sebastian,” she answers, dipping her chin in a mocking nod of her own.
He looks her up and down, gaze pausing on her bright red hair. “I like the new color,” he says. “It suits you.”
She beams at him.
When he turns back to me, I can only imagine how I must look. My skin feels flushed, my legs weak. I can feel my pulse everywhere, in my throat, at my wrists, pounding between my legs.
His mouth curves faintly. “Let me know when you’ve had enough space.”
And then he’s gone, leaving me a breathless, trembling mess in his wake, painfully aware of every place he touched me.
21
SYDNEY
“MEOW!”
