Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
LILY
In my attempt to avoid Sebastian over the last two weeks, I hadn’t been to the lads’ flat in a while. In that time, they’d decorated for Christmas. It was like a tinsel shop had thrown up in it. It was everywhere. The tree in the corner of the living room was practically suffocating in it.
Sebastian saw my amusement and chuckled. “Hey, at least we made an effort.”
“That you did.”
“You guys hanging out in here?” Zac asked, sounding almost hopeful.
I nodded, but Sebastian cut me off. “We’re going to hang out in my room. I’m making hot chocolate. You want some?”
Harry had already disappeared into his room and passed out drunk.
Zac swayed on his feet. “Nah, I’ll grab some water and head to bed, then.”
Five minutes later, I found myself curled up next to Sebastian on his king-size bed with a mug of hot chocolate between my palms. Alone with him, I was much more aware of how short my party dress was. I sat sideways so the skirt covered my thighs, but there was nothing I could do about my cleavage.
Sebastian glanced down at my breasts a few times before he quickly glanced away.
I didn’t think it meant anything.
Weren’t straight men genetically programmed to look at tits no matter who they were attached to?
He stared at the wall opposite the bed after taking a sip of his hot cocoa. “Are we all right?”
Ignoring a niggle of guilt, I replied, “Of course.”
Sebastian searched my eyes. “It doesn’t feel like we are. I feel like you’ve been avoiding me.”
“I’m not,” I lied. I am the shittiest friend ever. “I swear I’ve been stressed out about exams. I freaked out at that first one and I needed to go solo. Sometimes I do that. I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was avoiding you.”
“No, no. I’m sorry if I’m coming across like a first-class cling-on.” He rubbed the nape of his neck self-consciously. “Our friendship is really important to me, and I … I don’t want to lose you, so if I ever do something that upsets you, I want to know.”
Apparently, it was possible to feel more remorseful than I did already. “We’re good. I promise.”
Once Sebastian seemed convinced that all was right in Thorne and Sawyer land, we fell into easier conversation, catching each other up on the last few weeks.
It turned out his mum and dad were fighting so much over who was hosting him and Juno for Christmas dinner that Sebastian and his sister had decided to do Christmas brunch with their dad and Christmas dinner with their mum.
Their parents still weren’t entirely happy about it but had accepted the compromise.
“You finished?” Sebastian asked, gesturing to my mug.
I nodded and he took it, disappearing out of the room to put them in the kitchen.
I’d been in his room many times and always marveled at how cozy it was.
My exes’ rooms were usually practical and cold with little in the way of soft furnishings.
The room was not only big enough for a king bed but a two-seater sofa at the end of it, facing the TV on the wall.
There were cushions and throws, a rug, and even bed cushions.
There was framed artwork, a vase Juno made, and illustrated scenes from Steven Spielberg movies on the wall.
I knew from our many conversations Sebastian was a fan of the director.
“I know it’s not particularly cool to be a fan of a legendary successful artist,” he’d told me at the time.
“It’s cooler to admire the more obscure, lesser known. But I love his movies.”
“My dad would say it’s cooler to love what you love no matter what anyone else thinks,” I’d replied.
I remembered the conversation because Sebastian had looked at me in that way I found so confusing. That tender, awed way. Like I really was special to him.
It turned out Juno had added the ‘lived-in’ feel to the flat.
He’d returned one day to discover she’d decorated the living spaces and his bedroom with all the soft furnishings and artwork.
He said he didn’t mind. That she made it feel more homely.
Harry had blustered a bit but was the first one to hog all the cushions on the couch.
When Sebastian returned from the kitchen, he had a small, wrapped package in his hand. He gestured with it as he approached the bed. “I got you something for Christmas.”
Warm delight filled me. “Oh, I’ve left your present at my flat.”
He shrugged. “You can get it to me anytime.” He settled down beside me and held out the package. He seemed weirdly nervous. “Merry Christmas, Lily.”
Biting my lip against a pleased smile, I took the present. “Thank you.”
“I hope you like it.”
Excited to discover what he’d thought to buy me, I carefully tore open the wrapping … and then gaped at the jewelry box. The name of the jeweler was stamped on it, and it was a very old, prestigious jeweler in Edinburgh. Like … everything in that store was bloody expensive.
“Open it,” Sebastian demanded gruffly.
I did, my fingers trembling.
Tears of surprise, dismay, joy, and confusion blurred my vision. I blinked rapidly to clear them and held the jewelry box up for a better look. On a delicate white gold chain was a small white gold lily encrusted with diamonds. It sparkled beautifully in the light.
“Well … do you like it?”
My lips opened and shut like a gulping fish.
“Sawyer?”
I looked up at him, eyes wide. “This is too much.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “No, it’s not. I saw it and I knew it had to belong to you. If … if you don’t like it, I can return it.”
“I love it.” I clutched it protectively to my chest. “It’s so beautiful and thoughtful. Thank you.”
Sebastian’s expression melted into a sexy, relieved smile. “Good. I’m glad. May I help you put it on?”
Slightly discombobulated by the extravagant gift, I nodded and handed the box to him. He carefully removed it, and I shifted onto my other hip.
His fingers tickled against my upper back as he gently swept my hair aside. I shivered as his fingertips caressed the nape of my neck and hoped he didn’t notice. My friend took his sweet time making sure my hair was out of the way.
Then his arms were around me, the necklace dangling from his fingers as he settled it against my chest and then clasped it at my nape.
I glanced down at the glittering lily, a wee bit in awe. It took me a second to realize Sebastian’s palm clasped the back of my neck. Then he squeezed it affectionately and a shudder of arousal moved through me.
Oh hell. I really hoped he didn’t notice that.
“You like it?” he asked gruffly.
Desperately trying to ignore the tightening in my breasts, I nodded and cleared my throat. “It’s stunning. Thank you.”
He released his hold on my neck, and I settled back against his headboard, slightly shaken by how quickly one little touch from him had turned me on.
Sebastian stared at the lily nestled against my cleavage, and he swallowed hard. “Looks good.” His voice was hoarse.
“It’s still too much.”
“Hmm?” He reluctantly drew his eyes up from my chest to my face. “What?”
“The necklace is too much.”
“Nothing’s too much for you. You deserve beauty in your life, Lily.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, overcome.
“Stay. I’m exhausted and I know you must be. I’ll set my alarm so you get back to Maddie in time.”
I shouldn’t.
I really, really shouldn’t.
The diamond lily felt warm beneath my fingertips as I touched it. “All right.”
It was not atypical of me to wake up during the night after an evening of alcohol consumption. It nearly always disrupted my usual good sleeping habits.
When my eyes fluttered open, it wasn’t only the lingering alcohol in my system that woke me, I knew. I was too hot. There was a giant hot water bottle surrounding me.
It took me a second to get my bearings.
To realize I was in Sebastian’s bedroom.
And that the giant hot water bottle wrapped around me was in fact Sebastian Thorne.
His arm rested over my waist, his palm curled into my stomach, his face nuzzled in the crook of my neck, his breathing light and steady, warm and damp against my skin. His chest was pressed tight to my back and—
“Oh …” The sound wheezed out of me before I could stop it.
There was something hard prodding my arse.
Sebastian’s dick.
My cheeks flushed as my inner muscles rippled with excitement. An answering tingle flared to life between my thighs. Breasts suddenly tight with awareness, my breathing increased beyond my control.
Calm down, calm down.
It’s just an erection.
An erection that was turning me the heck on!
I shifted against his hold and Sebastian’s arm tightened. He drew me closer. This caused his hard-on to push between my ass cheeks and I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped me.
Sebastian suddenly groaned in my ear and flexed his hips against me.
Rhythmically.
Heat scored through me. My lower belly clenched, and I felt the rush of dampness wet my underwear. “Sebastian.” His name escaped my lips in a tone I didn’t even recognize. Needy. Wanting.
Totally turned on.
Sebastian abruptly froze.
“Lily?” His voice was hoarse with sleep.
Call it mindless desire, but all rational thinking fled my mind.
I shifted my lower body, pushing my arse into his dick.
His fingers flexed on my belly and he groaned, his head burying deeper into my neck.
It wasn’t enough. I needed more.
I flipped over in the dark, barely making out his features in the sliver of light escaping the crack in his curtains.
More boldly than I’d known I could be, I clenched the front of his shirt into fists and pulled him toward me as I hooked my left leg over his hip.
He’d changed into sweatpants to sleep in, and his dick strained against the material as it met the heat of my underwear.
“Oh God, Lily,” Sebastian gritted out. He gripped my hip, drawing me against him.
The pressure wasn’t enough. I needed more stimulation. I rocked my hips against him. “Sebastian …” I sounded breathy and pleading.