His body moves in, closer to mine, eliciting a delicious warmth that spreads through my bones like honey. I want to scream. What is this?Whois this? Because Sebastian’s not looking at me in the way I’ve grown used to. With disdain, mistrust … hatred. No, he’s looking at me like he wants to reach around my front, collar my throat in his large, scarred hands and yank me into him. Hell, at this moment, I’d let him. Just the thought has heat coursing straight to the middle of my thighs.
‘You were reckless today,’ he says against my shoulder. His hot breath skates across my skin. ‘Why’d you do it?’
I inhale sharply as I feel his fingers glide up my spine. I assume he’s asking why I ran back into the forest, so I give him the first answer that comes to mind. ‘Because it was the right thing to do.’
I’m caught in his snare, watching him digest my answer as if he’s so used to people acting one way, that the thought of me putting myself in danger for someone else is unheard of. ‘And here I was thinking you wanted to prove yourself,’ he whispers darkly. ‘You can’t do that if you’re dead.’
My cheeks are pink, and so is my chest. It’s starkly obvious against my usually pale complexion. My mouth opens to say something. What? I don’t know, but the words are stripped away when I feel him take hold of the edge of the bandage. He rips it off in one swift movement.
‘Fuck!’ I yelp, back arching forward at the sudden sting. I know I said to go fast, but god, that hurt! I whirl around to give him a piece of my mind, but the second we’re facing one another, his mouth crashes down against mine.
He swallows my gasp. His warm hands capture the sides of my face as he pushes me backward until my tailbone hits the porcelain sink. The coldness makes me shiver, but Stars, I don’t care. I’d lay my back on a bed of rusty nails if this was my reward.
Sebastian kisses me feverishly. Urgently. Like he is coming undone at the seams and I’m the needle ready to stitch him back together again. His tongue swipes along my lower lip, then pushes against the seam of my mouth forcing it to open for him. The second I give in – parting my lips – it’s like a beast is unleashed. Sebastian dives in, swirling his tongue against mine. He sucks and bites and licks, putting me into a frenzy for the mere taste of him, until my fingers finally release the towel that I’ve had my hands fisted into at my chest. I need to touch him – I fear I’ll die if I don’t. Based on the way he holds me against him, it seems like he shares that notion. The second the towel drops to our feet, Sebastian groans. It’s low and masculine, right at the back of his throat.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sound like it. And I do – like it, that is. So much that it makes my toes curl.
My hands search for something to grab onto, his hard chest, his sculpted arms, his rounded shoulders.Anything.
Suddenly, I feel his hands scoop behind my thighs as he dips low. I’ve barely taken a breath before he’s lifted me up and place d my ass on the edge of the sink. I start to wonder if it can hold my weight but then his wet tongue is on my bare breast, he’s sucking my nipple in his mouth and stars burst behind my eyes.
My head falls back as I moan, hitting the mirror with a dullthud, and all I can do is wrap my legs around Sebastian’s waist and hold onto his shoulders and neck as he flicks my nipple with his tongue before he bites down,hard.
‘Oh, Stars,’ I whimper, feeling my hips start to rock forward, searching for friction. Desperate to feel more of him. He tugs me closer, as if he can read what my body wants, what itneeds, just by touching me.
‘No Stars here, Ria. Just us,’ he pants against the underside of my breast as he leans down to bite the swollen flesh.
Ria.
The name is like a slap in the face, waking me up from a dream I didn’t mean to fall into. I pull back from Sebastian and look at him,with clear eyes. Not ones clouded by the emotions of the day or the temptation he elicits from me.
‘W-what did you just call me?’ My voice is a whisper, though I could be swallowing glass for all I know. I push him back by the shoulders, watching confusion settle between his brows as he stands to his full height. I wrap my arms around myself, covering my breasts as self-consciousness sets in.
Sebastian’s lips are puffy and swollen. It makes him look … softer. My heart squeezes in my chest. I don’t give him time to answer, instead I slide off the basin and storm out of the bathroom, shouldering past him as I cover myself. Regret seeps in, sinking its poisonous teeth into me.
He could never want you. You’re nothing to him. You’re magicless. Useless. Imagine what your brother would say …
I dig through my dresser for a shirt, grabbing the first one I see and shoving my limbs through it. I’ve only just pulled the hem down to cover my stomach when he storms into the room.
‘What the fuck just happened?’ he demands. I see his arms spread wide as I glance over my shoulder.
My eyes close as I turn away, squeezing tight. He called meRia. How do I explain that that one name brought back an onslaught of memories. A torrent of secret desires and hopes that I once had. Hopes and desires that involvedhim. It reminded me of the trust I lost, the pedestal I made just for him inside of my naive mind, which came crashing down, crumbling into pieces of rubble on ceremony day.
‘Nothing,’ I say, my voice dejected, void of emotion as I lock them all down. ‘It’s been a long day and I need to sleep.’
His fingers curl around my elbow, soft yet firm at the same time. I bite the inside of my cheek as he walks around, coming to face me.
‘Nothing?’ he cocks a dark brow. ‘You’re going to stand there and tell me nothing happened? When one minute you’re moaning into my mouth, and the next you’re shoving me off you as if I’ve burnt you?’
‘Youdidburn me,’ I suddenly shout, shocking himandmyself.
His eyes widen. ‘What? Where?’ He starts to scan my arms, my face.
I push his hands away when he reaches to touch my hands. ‘No. You can’t see the wounds, Zain. They’re hidden.Ihid them. But they’re there. I feel them, in here,’ I press a hand to my chest.
If I could pry my flesh open and show him, I would. The scars of his betrayal are written in my veins. Carved into my bones. Its fuelled me in this place, while it drowned me at the same time. And I just let it all slip away for a kiss. For a touch. For a fucking taste ofhim.
His eyes darken right before my eyes, black swallowing green as my words sink in. ‘This is about Lukas,’ he snaps.
