Page 58 of Shark’s Pride

“That’s not necessary, Sebastian. You’ve said more than enough already.”

“Abbi.” Hard inhalation. Deeper exhalation. “Please.”

Well, that got her attention. A word she’d heard less than six times since we met—but like rain in LA, certain words had special effects when they were finally uttered. I watched as her arms went slack and she let them drop to her sides.

“Please, Abbi.” So maybe I was exploiting the effect now, but I didn’t care. At least her gaze was full of me and not her cell screen. “Come here, baby. I need to apologize to you. I—”

My throat clutched, cutting off the rest of the words. I needed her to be the one taking the steps now, coming the rest of the way to me. Showing her forgiveness. Making the final move and stepping into my open embrace.

A moment stretched by.

The wind kicked up a little more, tossing some strawberry curls across her cheek.

Come to me. Say I didn’t totally fuck this up between us. Come to me, baby.

Her shoulders sagged.

If she hadn’t heard my soul’s plea, she’d at least seen the evidence of it in my unblinking gaze.

Thank God.

Finally, she stepped forward. Only one step at first, though her stare was planted firmly on mine. Then another step as she let out a heavy sigh, seeming to give up some internal fight. Her last three strides were quicker before she collided into my chest. The force had me bracing against her impact but doing so with a face-splitting grin. I’d accept her clutch even if she had a bomb strapped to her back.

She wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her cheek against my chest.

And I held on in return. So fucking tight.

I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, all but burrowing my fingers into her skin. She was shivering and covered with goose bumps. The night temperatures had dropped considerably since we’d come out of the pottery studio, and she hadn’t brought a jacket.

“You’re cold.”

“Hmm, yes.” She sighed into the base of my neck. “Better now, though.” And then snuggled tighter against me.

“Let’s get back in the car.” But I made that semi-impossible by burying my face in her hair. I couldn’t get enough of the spicy scent. I breathed deeper, working to mix the sugar from her skin into the redolent mix.

“I’m so sorry.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. While letting it out, I leaned back to fully see her face. “Stop,” I ordered.

“But—”

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I do, Bas,” she persisted. “I do, and I need to—”

“I said to stop.”

But my growl didn’t deter her. She kept up with the clutch around my waist, and this time I was the one giving in. Why try to coerce her when it felt so good to hold her in my arms?

What the hell is happening to me?

I couldn’t understand it. Sure as hell couldn’t explain it. What did this woman have that all the others hadn’t? How had she already embedded herself so deeply into places I’d locked off from world?

I’d never felt like this before in my life. Utterly lost without. Perfectly whole with.

And beyond unsettled with those admissions.

While I was indulging those selfish ruminations, her teeth began to chatter.