Chapter 89
Chapter Eighty-Nine
APRIL
“Stay where you are,” I warn Sebastian, already inching to put the bed between us.
I feel the moment his mood shifts from a concerned lover to a predator stalking his prey.
It wasn’t my intention to come to this when I slapped accusations in his face, and for a stupid reason, a thrill goes through me seeing his heated gaze.
Goosebumps cover my arms and legs, and I place most of my weight on mutt, who diligently stays by my side.
“You realize both of you are insane, right?”
“Do you wish to run, Tesoro?” The tone of his voice is much deeper, and he tucks his chin down, looking at me through his thick lashes.
My stomach does a somersault, dropping at my feet.
Smoothly, which should be impossible with his large, muscular body, he glides to the door, opening it.
It’s all done in one fluid motion, and he stands there smirking at me as if daring me to bolt, which is what I really want to do.
My eyes dart from him to the open door and back, debating the wisdom of it.
Maybe mutt will jump to the rescue if we make a dash for it.
So, I do.
The longer I’m in his presence, the harder it is to resist the pull I feel from him, so running sounds like the best option.
I don’t want him to scramble my brain so I can’t think and be mad at him.
If I want to be angry, then I’ll stay angry, damn it.
With that thought firmly set, I streak across the room, my gaze set on the hallway, which will be my salvation from the stupid hormones raging inside me.
As I pass him, I can see him move from the corner of my eye, and I redouble my efforts, my heartbeat in my throat.
His low chuckle right behind me lifts the short hairs on my neck at attention.
Hair streaming behind me like a flag, I run like my life depends on it through the empty hallway, the walls blurring from the speed.
Just as I think I lost him somewhere along the way, an arm snakes around my waist, yanking me to a hard chest with a loud oomph.
All the air is pushed from my lungs, and I gasp for breath and kick my legs so I can wiggle out of his hold.
“That’s enough.” The asshole is not even winded. “We tried this like you wanted, now we will be doing it my way.”
An embarrassing squeak passes my lips when he spins me in his arms and throws me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Mutt is nowhere to be found, probably running around looking for me.
If I want to, I can punch him in the kidneys and get away, but I realize I don’t.
All the fighting for my life, finding Andrei alive, and then getting him unchained has made my blood reach the point of boiling, and Sebastian, more than anything else, can stop me from burning to ashes.
So I hang limply, my hair brushing the back of his thighs as he strides in the direction of our room. Anticipation makes me giddy, so when the slap comes on my ass, his large hand no doubt leaving a red mark under the fabric of my pants, I gasp like some outraged damsel.
“You asshole.” I seethe through clenched teeth.
The deep chuckle does stupid things to my body, and wetness gushes between my legs.
I can hear him take a deep breath through his nose, and the low rumble that starts in his chest makes me dizzy.
Sebastian’s hand is still on my ass, and he rubs the flesh gently, pebbling my skin. I wish the pants were not in his way.
Instead of dumping me on the bed as I expect him to, he takes me to the adjacent bathroom, placing me on top of the marble slab stretching across the entire side of one wall.
Nudging my legs apart, he wedges his narrow hips forward, pressing his erection at my center.
My moan bounces and echoes in the large, tiled bathroom, lasting much longer than it should.
“You’ll be the death of me,” he murmurs, nuzzling my face.
“Literally.” I can’t stop the jab even if it does sound breathless.
“Let’s get one thing straight. Right here, right now.” Pulling back, he pinches my chin, firmly holding my face up so I can’t look away. “I made you a promise a long time ago that I will not let anything or anyone hurt you. Do you remember that?”
When I just watch him unblinking, he narrows his eyes on me.
“I made you that promise when you were still human and none of our lives were tied to yours.”
A long time passes while we stare at each other, so I relent. “I remember.” I don’t remind him that when he made that promise, I knew my fate was sealed and he would never let me go.
“I do understand betrayal, Tesoro.” His penetrating gaze is so intense I can feel it reaching for my soul.
“I understand it better than you’ll ever know.
So, I hear your words, and I do know how it burns you inside and makes you want not to trust anyone.
With that being said, I ask of you one thing, and one thing only. ”
There is a lump I can’t seem to swallow, so instead of saying anything, I nod as much as his grip on my face will allow me.
The pinched look on his face softens, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing as he blows out a deep sigh.
It expands the lump in my throat that I try my best to push down.
“Regardless of what happens and where this situation with the mages leads both of us. Bound together by blood or not”—his gaze flicks between mine as if he is searching for something, and I hope with everything I am that he finds whatever it is—“I do not wish to live without you.”
My gasp is just a small breath sucked in, but it’s too loud in the silent room covered with tiles. “Sebastian,” I breathe his name, but he shakes his head.
“If you dare think you can escape me by death, be sure that I will follow. Not even death will have that right to take you from me.” I can see it.
The truth is so visible in the deep color of his eyes that it takes my breath away.
“If you want to believe in anything, mia redenzione, believe in that.”
With that, his mouth crushes mine, and I’m lost in the taste of him.
We have kissed many times, from gentle to passionate to angry at times.
But this sealing of lips has so much potent power behind it that it feels like a branding.
Like through one kiss he wants to mark my soul and etch his name across it, claiming it for his own.
“I’m dirty.” I try to move away so I can clean up first, but he won’t let go.
“No, April. You are mine.,” he growls the words, kissing me again.
I can’t take air to fill my lungs, so I breathe him in.
His need is so strong it pulls me under right along with him, and I drown in everything that is Sebastian.
Strong hands clutch my body, running over every inch he can reach none too gently.
His fingers crawl under the fabric of my shirt and burn a path everywhere they pass.
My skin feels too tight, and I press closer to his chest, needing to feel him everywhere.
A whimper escapes me when he pulls away, but it’s short lived.
Sebastian only yanks the dirty shirt off me, throwing it on the floor before his lips are on mine again.
Tongue twining with mine, he jerks harshly on my pants, and when they don’t move as fast as he needs them to, he takes two fistfuls of fabric, tearing them at the seams. The ripping of fabric makes me shiver, along with the chilled air in the bathroom brushing over my bared skin.
Sebastian picks me up, shredding my panties in the process, and we stumble into the shower with our mouths fused.
He fumbles with the taps while I run my hands over him, taking his clothes off to reveal the ridges and dips of sculpted muscles they are hiding from me.
A giggle bursts out of me when a blast of ice-cold water pours over our heads, and he chuckles while adjusting the temperature.
Seeing droplets clinging to his lashes and running like rivulets down his handsome face makes my chest feel tight. So I kiss his smiling lips, as he jerks and twists until he finally kicks his pants off.
As the temperature of the water turns warm and soothes my stiff muscles, we finally press together skin on skin, his hard erection hot and burning as it pokes my lower belly.
I don’t want to waste time with foreplay when I have him naked in front of me.
I already feel like I’ll explode into nothing if he doesn’t fill me.
Throwing one leg over his hip and tilting forward, I try to bring the head of his cock to my entrance.
His hands clamp on my hips, holding me in place, and he rocks back and forth, his shaft gliding over my wetness but not entering me.
“Sebastian,” I say his name like a demand and a plea at the same time.
“April,” he rasps, his voice so deep it sounds like it’s coming from an abyss.
“Don’t be an ass.” I gasp when the head of his cock pokes at my entrance, and my channel clenches as it grasps at air. “I need you.”
“Ah, not so fast, Tesoro.” My nails dig deep in the skin of his shoulders, but he only smirks. “Not tonight. Because by the time I’m done with you, you’ll never doubt my words and loyalty again.”
Despite myself, I shiver at his words.