Chapter 12 Livy
LIVY
Idon’t remember the walk from the pub very clearly.
The world feels like it’s moving in slow motion, my head heavy against Sebastian’s shoulder as he carries me through the dark streets toward campus. Wind brushes against my skin, but it barely registers through the warm haze wrapping around my thoughts.
His arms are strong around me. Effortless, like he could carry me like this all day.
I curl a little closer without thinking, nuzzling my face into the warm curve of his neck. His skin smells faintly like clean soap and something spicy that makes my stomach flutter in a way I can’t register at this point.
I’ve never been this close to a man before.
Not with his arms wrapped around me like I belong there. Even the way his fingers brush the side of my breast, down my ribcage and squeeze gently feels so natural. If any other guy I’ve met at St. Killian did that, I’d slap them in the face.
The realization should make me panic.
Instead, I feel… safe.
Exhaustion drags at every part of me, the kind that comes from nights spent staring at the ceiling while my mind spins itself into knots.
I haven’t even been spending time in the research library like I wanted to.
I haven’t found any new information on my parents, and that’s really starting to bother me.
Not to mention everything else that’s been going on in my life.
The girl I found taking what could have been her last breaths has been heavy on my mind.
It turns out she’s Soph’s sister, Savannah, and they both live in town and don’t attend St. Killian.
She thanked me when I ordered my tea for saving her sister’s life, and I could tell how much of a toll this has taken on her.
I was surprised she was at work, but she said her sister was recovering, still in the hospital.
I didn’t want to pry, but I asked her if her sister remembered who attacked her. Soph said the last thing she remembered was being at a rugby party after the game, and she woke up discarded in the bushes. Soph is madder than hell, and she’s determined to find out who hurt her sister.
I’m committed to doing everything I can in order to help her.
“You still with me, baby?” Sebastian’s voice is low, husky, and the term of endearment rolls off his tongue so easily, like he’s been calling me that for years.
My fingers curl weakly in the front of his shirt. “I don’t sleep…ever,” I murmur, my voice barely more than a whisper against his throat. “I crash every once in a while. I’ll be fine.”
I don’t know what I’m expecting Sebastian to do or say about my admission, but when his lips brush the top of my head, I gasp.
It’s so soft and gentle, somehow even an intimate thing that surprises me.
The unexpected tenderness shocks me so much my eyes flutter open.
The way Sebastian is treating me sends warmth spilling through my chest, spreading all the way down to my toes as if someone flipped a switch inside my body.
I swallow hard and decide to tell him what’s going on. If he’s going to stalk me, we might as well pool our resources to find out if that text and Savannah's attack are connected.
“I got a text the night I bumped into you when I was leaving the pub. Basically calling me a slut for…,” I pause, my voice foggy with exhaustion.
“Touching your hand, I guess? It was threatening and from an anonymous number. When I found Savannah, it just made me wonder if it’s connected. If I’m next.”
His entire body seems to tighten. The easy strength in his arms doesn’t falter, but his whole vibe is different than it was minutes ago.
“I don’t know,” he finally says, “but I’m going to find out. I don’t want you worrying about anything anymore.”
My eyes are pulling shut again as we reach my dorm building. My head lolls against his shoulder as he carries me down the corridor like he’s done it a thousand times before. Somewhere through the fog in my brain, a strange thought surfaces.
“How did you know where my room is?” I mumble.
His answer comes immediately. “There isn’t much I don’t know about you, Livy.”
My eyes snap open, and his words slice straight through the haze clouding my thoughts. I lift my head, staring at him in confusion. “What?” is all I can muster.
But he’s already adjusting his grip on me, pulling my keys from my loose fingers before I even realize I’m still holding them.
“Kalen’s sister lives here,” he adds smoothly, sliding the key into the lock.
Oh.
Right.
Juniper.
The explanation settles my confusion instantly even through the feverish fog in my brain.
I relax again, letting my head fall back against his chest.
“I need a bath,” I blurt out suddenly. The words tumble out before I can think them through. “It’ll wake me up.”
Sebastian groans softly, and it’s not a noise of irritation. The low sound vibrates through his chest and into my cheek, making my face grow warm.
“Oh no,” I rush to say, suddenly mortified.
“I wasn’t asking you to…I didn’t mean…” My words trip over themselves as I realize how that must have sounded.
“I didn’t eat anything today, and only drank that tea…
I think that’s not helping the brain fog.
I just felt sick and couldn’t force it.” Ugh.
I need to stop talking. I’m only making this whole situation worse.
Sebastian purses his lips in disapproval at my admission. Heat floods my cheeks even more, and it’s definitely not from the fever.
Why am I getting this comfortable with a man I barely know?
Sebastian chuckles under his breath. “You don’t strike me as the type of girl who lets strange men from the pub give you a bath.”
I sputter immediately at his choice of words. “No! No one has ever given me a bath, no one has ever…” The words catch in my throat before I can finish the sentence.
Touched me.
I look up at him without meaning to.
His green eyes seem to darken, even just slightly, and my pulse stutters in my chest. Suddenly I have the very distinct feeling that the idea of being naked with me in a bathtub doesn’t sound unappealing to him.
Sebastian smirks faintly, pushing open the door to my bedroom. “Nothing to be embarrassed about, baby,” he murmurs. “I’ve never given anyone a bath either. Or touched anyone else, for that matter.”
A laugh bubbles out of me before I can stop it, but when he makes no indication that he’s joking, I say, “You can’t be serious.”
Sebastian narrows his eyes slightly, his lips forming an exaggerated pout that I’m certain he picked up from Kalen. “What’s funny about it?”
“I just…” I gesture vaguely at him. “You’re… I mean… you’re taller than a building and built like a Greek god and—”
Sebastian cuts me off by looking down at me with an intensity that steals the breath from my lungs.
“And waiting for you, Miss Rhodes.” His voice is completely serious. “All of those things can be true at once.”
My eyes widen.
I press the back of my hand against my forehead.
“Am I hallucinating?” I mutter. “Do I have a fever?”
Sebastian snickers quietly as he carries me into the bathroom.
“I literally do not want you to give me a bath,” I mumble weakly. “I don’t even know why I said that to you.”
My favorite stalker ignores me completely. Setting me carefully on the edge of the sink, he steps closer until his tall frame boxes me in on both sides. His hands rest on the counter beside my hips, trapping me between his arms.
For one dizzying second, I think he’s going to kiss me.
My heart jumps, but instead of kissing me, he only leans down slightly, his voice low even though we’re alone.
“I’m going to start the bath,” he says. “And while you get settled in, I’m going to get you something to eat and drink. Since I clearly can’t trust you to handle that yourself.”
I gasp at his audacity. “You can’t trust me? A literal man who practically admits to stalking me?”
He shakes his head slowly, his expression grim, but I can tell he’s being playful and not serious. “I think we’re going to have to stay in constant contact so I can make sure you’re staying hydrated.”
At least? I think he’s joking until I realize he’s not.
“Do you not… have classes?” I ask incredulously. “A whole sport you play? Hobbies?”
I’m not actually asking because I already know the answers. I’m just pointing out how ridiculous he sounds.
His thumb brushes gently across my cheek, pushing a strand of hair out of my eyes. The simple touch sends warmth spilling down my spine.
“Nothing that matters more than you,” he says quietly.
And then he steps away, leaving my jaw to plummet to the floor.
He turns on the tub faucet, adjusting the temperature carefully before adding a dash of soap that quickly turns into a soft layer of bubbles.
I sit there with my mouth slightly open as he tests the water with his hand like he’s done this a hundred times before.
When he looks back at me, his expression is brooding again.
This man is actually offended that I forgot to eat and drink enough today, and I don’t even know what to think about that.
“I’ll knock before I come back in,” Sebastian says, “Get settled in. I’ll be a few minutes.” Then he leaves the bathroom, presumably to find food.
I’m left sitting on the counter, wondering how my life got so strange that a giant rugby player just scolded me for dehydration and started running me a bath.
Considering this isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to me today, we gotta see it through.
I slip off my clothes and toss them in my hamper, and slip completely naked into the perfectly hot water and say a little prayer that I won’t regret this.