I slide the spare key into her door, but before I can turn it, the front door suddenly bursts open behind me.
Whoever it is is fucking loud, and I already know what’s happening before the very animated Miranda stumbles inside, dragging Ronan behind her by the wrist. She laughs breathlessly, already pulling him down the hallway toward her bedroom not bothering to say anything to Juniper or Kalen who have now scrambled apart.
The guy barely has time to kick the door shut before she’s hauling him past the living room.
I shake my head slightly and let myself into Livy’s bedroom. I don’t want to deal with the two of them tonight, but it only solidifies for me that Livy is going to move to my place because I don’t want that asshole this close to her. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was using Miranda to gain access to Livy.
The room is dim, illuminated only by the warm glow of the green twinkle lights strung along the wall above her bed.
My chest tightens the moment I realize she’s turned the main light off. Livy only sleeps with the lights off when she feels safe.
I step inside and close and lock the door behind me.
For a moment I just stand there, taking in how beautiful even if I can tell she’s not fully rested. Livy is curled beneath the covers exactly the way she was on the camera earlier, one arm tucked beneath her pillow while the other rests loosely across the mattress beside her. Her breathing is slow and uneven, the faint crease between her brows telling me she never fully settled into sleep.
Someone wants to hurt this beautiful girl, and she’s lying here completely vulnerable. That alone is enough to send something protective and violent curling low in my chest.
I step closer to the bed and gently pull the blankets back.
The sight that greets me makes my breath catch. Even with all the camera angles, I hadn’t realized she changed her clothes from when she was working at her desk earlier in the night. She’s now wearing one of those little tank tops she sleeps in sometimes, the thin fabric hugging her soft curves and giving me such a good view of her full breasts. She’s paired it with tiny sleep shorts that ride up slightly where she’s curled on her side, leaving the globe of her cheeks exposed just for me. Thank fuck she was under the covers when my room was broken into, because I’d have to stop what I’m doing right now, hunt them down and pluck their fucking eyeballs out.
Out of everything, it’s the socks that really make my brain short circuit.
Tall white knitted socks that climb high above her knees, hugging the soft meat of her thighs in a way that makes my mouth go dry. Tiny heart patterns run through the knit, and at the top of each one a little mint-green bow sits against her skin.
Jesus Christ.
They’re innocent.
Sweet.
And somehow the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
A low groan slips out of me before I can stop it as I imagine peeling them slowly down her legs, inch by inch, until her soft skin is bare beneath my hands.
Before my brain has time to catch up with my body, I’m already moving.
I reach down and lift her leg slightly, tugging one of the socks down just enough to reveal more of her thigh.
That’s when I see it.
Her lip liner is sitting on the nightstand next to some other contents that have been clearly dumped out of her bag
It’s not the same type that was used to write the note in my room, and I wonder if the missing lipstick is what she was looking for when she dumped everything out.
Something dark flickers through my chest as I reach for it. The cap pops off with a soft click, and before I can second-guess myself, I lean down and press the tip to the soft skin of her upper thigh.
MINE.
The word stands out against her skin in messy mauve letters.
Livy shifts slightly in her sleep, letting out a soft little sound as her head turns on the pillow.
“Sebastian…please.”
The sleepy mumble of my name sends a sharp pulse of heat straight through my body. My cock strains painfully against the denim of my jeans as the realization sinks in.
My girl is dreaming about me.
