“I can do it,” I said when he started wrapping the bandage around one of my swollen hands.
“It will be quicker and tighter if I do it,” he answered, not giving me an ounce of eye contact.
I could smell him—his scent was one that I hadn't even realized I'd been missing, and holy hell, it broke my heart.
“Why are you being nice to me?” I asked, genuinely curious, but also trying to segue into my long-winded, overdue apology speech.
“I’m not being nice. You're just staining the mat,” he said impassively.
I frowned, taken aback. “Oh.”
He finished both hands then set me free without so much as even a small glance at my face.
Avoidance.A tactic I knew well.
Sebastian bent down to tighten the laces of his boots. “Are you almost done here? I’m going to do some sparring with Kohen in a few. If not, I’ll come back later when you're gone.”
Ouch. Understandable, but still.Ouch.
I cleared the congestion in my esophagus. “Um. Yeah. I just have to finish cleaning up.”
I picked the broom back up, sweeping my dead mannequin into the dustpan.
Come on, Maeve. Say something. Don’t wimp out now.
I emptied the stardust into the trash, then returned the broom to the storage room, where I took a few calming breaths and gathered my thoughts. I could do this. Ihadto do this. I owed him at least that much, regardless of the outcome.
Putting my head down I started out of the room, only to be stopped by a hard, rigid chest.
“Fuck,” I swore, jumping back a few paces. “Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Clearly,” Sebastian hissed, his tone very reminiscent of when we had first met.
He side-stepped past me, stopping in front of the wall of training swords.
My anxiety placed its cruel cage around my lungs, but I powered through. I stormed for the door, shutting it behind me and then pressing my back against it, where I stayed and crossed my arms over my chest.
“We need to talk. And no one is leaving this room until we do,” I pressed, my voice as stern as it allowed.
Sebastian's head turned painfully slowly towards me. He raised and widened his eyes. “Are you trying to give me an order?”
I pointed my chin up, one brow arching and one falling. “Yes?”
A hardy scoff pooled from his nostrils when he took a step towards me. Just one. “A word of advice. When you're giving someone orders, especially your superior, don't sound so unsure. Confidence is vital when giving a command.”
“You're not my superior anymore,” I replied.
Sebastian, cockily, shrugged a shoulder. “I kind of am.”
This time, I took a step towards him. “You stopped being my superior when we started sleeping together.”
He chuckled, fighting an eye roll. “Well, we aren't sleeping together anymore now, are we? And if you're going by that logic, then tell me, how did Sawyer react when you told him that he wasn’t your superior? Guy is on a much larger power trip than me.”
My jaw ticked, but I held my composure. “I didn’t sleep with Sawyer.”
Sebastian clenched his fists, his knuckles paling from their lack of blood flow. “You know, for someone who has given me hell for weeks about lying, you sure are a hypocrite.”
Keep your cool, Maeve.
