Sebastian doesn’t answer right away.
Instead, he reaches toward me, and for the first time since I can remember, I don’t flinch or run away. Those are my typicalresponses to sudden movements, but it’s like being close to him has rewired my brain.
A loose piece of my hair has fallen across my cheek, and I’m completely oblivious. That is until he catches it between his fingers and lets the soft strand slide slowly along his skin before tucking it behind my ear.
The small touch sends a shiver straight down my spine and some other places I don’t even want to think about.
When he finally speaks, his voice is quiet.
“I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”
My head snaps up to look him in the eyes.
Shock floods through me.
No one has ever said something like that to me before.
Not like that.
Not like it’s a promise.
And the strangest part is that he says it like he means it, he’s not being flippant or doing whatever that fake nice guy thing is Ronan does.
It’s like Sebastian has already decided that I’m his to protect.
But he doesn’t know me.
Reality hits me like a freight train, and all I can hear is Juniper yelling, “Red flag, red flag, red flag!” every time a man does something in public she doesn’t like…which is most things men do in general. Like smiling or breathing.
“I… I have to go,” I blurt quickly. “Thank you again.”
My heart is racing so fast I can barely think straight.
I turn and hurry down the sidewalk before he can say anything else. When I reach the corner to head back to my dorm, something is pulling at me, telling me to look back.
Sebastian is still standing exactly where I left him. His hood is pulled up now, shadowing part of his face. But those green eyes are still locked on me.
BASH
The rain begins as a soft mist, barely noticeable at first. It settles slowly over the narrow street outside The Red Boot, turning the pavement slick beneath the yellow glow of the streetlamps.
Livingston walks ahead of me now, unaware that I’m there. Unaware that this is a ritual for me, that I have been following her more times than she could ever fathom. My fingers are still tingling from getting to feel her soft skin. It wasn't something I intended to happen, but I’ll never forget the feeling. I was ready to murder my teammate right there in front of her just to have a few more seconds of her undivided attention.
I keep enough distance between us that she would never hear my footsteps over the quiet rush of the wind and the distant laughter spilling out of the pub behind us. Even if she turned around, the shadows would swallow me easily enough. I’ve spent most of my life learning how to move unseen, how to slip through any situation without drawing attention to myself.
Tonight is no different.
The hood of my sweatshirt is pulled low over my head, the damp air clinging to the fabric as the rain begins to fall harder.It soaks into my hair and runs down the back of my neck, but I barely notice.
My attention is fixed entirely on her.
I can’t get the sound of the way she gasped when I touched her out of my head.
The way her breath caught when she looked up at me outside the pub.
For a moment she was completely startled, those sea-green eyes widening as recognition flickered across her face. Before she even understood what she was reacting to. Her long lashes brushed the soft curve of her cheeks when her eyes fluttered closed, and the memory of it hits me now with the same quiet force it did a few minutes ago.
I’ve replayed that moment at least twenty times since she walked away.
