Chapter 17 #2
At first I don’t understand the question, but then the sound of the door opening and closing echoes in my ears. I meet Sebastian’s dark brown eyes and drown in rich milk chocolate.
His smirk melts my bones.
He draws a large circle around my clit, purposefully missing my most sensitive spots.
“May I?” he asks again.
“Yes. Please, Sebastian. Please,” I beg.
He groans and teases every inch of me as I gasp and writhe on the table. When he lifts my clit hood by the piercing and flicks directly over my clit, lightning zaps straight to my core. My orgasm rips through me, and I call out for the only person I trust to catch me.
Sebastian stays with me as I weather the storm of pleasure. He whispers words of encouragement, growls his praise, and worships me with reverent fingers as I slowly return to earth.
Shaking and spent, I reach for him. He kicks the rolling stool out from underneath him and drops to his knees.
Concern infiltrates my euphoria until he pulls a jewelry box out of his pocket, snaps it open, and offers it to me.
My favorite ring from the jewelry store glitters in the fluorescent lights.
“I love you, Penelope, scars, piercings, and all. Will you marry me?”
I don’t need to think. The answer leaps to my tongue without hesitation.
“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you, Sebastian Sterling. I love you,” I vow.
He’s my safety. My control. My place of belonging. I want everything with him.
He slips the engagement ring onto my finger and takes my mouth in a hot, searing kiss.
A small sound of complaint escapes my throat when he pulls back.
“Put a ring on my finger before I get jealous, sweet pea,” he growls.
I quirk a brow.
“Men don’t wear engagement rings,” I say.
“I do. I want the world to know I belong to you.”
He lifts a second case, and sure enough, a masculine version of my ring sits inside. My hands shake as I take it from its pillowed bed and slip it onto his finger. I kiss his thick knuckles and scowl at the abrasion on the side of his hand.
“If I were a braver woman, I’d scold Mr. Carter for hurting you,” I say.
“Then I’m glad you’re not a braver woman. That old man tossed me around like I was only half his weight,” he chuckles.
He closes his fist around my forearm and tugs me forward.
I hiss as my new piercing gives a delicious, throbbing burn.
His wicked smirk as he wraps his arms around me and leans so close his breath warms my upper chest nearly makes me cream all over the table.
Even with the elevated table and him on his knees, our height difference renders his head only a few inches below mine.
I shiver and curl my fingers into the collar of his shirt.
“Plus, my pipsqueak deserves all the love and protection in the world. I’m happy you have Mr. Carter looking out for you. Same for Peter,” he rumbles. “And now you have my ma and nana alongside your parents. You never have to suffer in silence again, sweet pea. Understand?”
The tightness in his voice matches the vice gripping my throat. I nod and force myself to swallow.
He seals his vow with a kiss so soft and emotional tears of wonder stream down my face. I enjoy the silky strands of his hair between my fingers and the hardness of his body between my legs, and even as he pours his love and devotion into me, my core aches for his invasion.
With slow reluctance, he pulls his face back from mine and wipes my tears away with his thumbs.
“No more crying or they’ll think I’m being mean to you. How long will it take for the piercing to heal?”
Disappointment flows through me as I realize I won’t have the pleasurable stretch of his cock inside me until my piercing heals.
“Four to six weeks,” I grumble.
At my pout, he gives a tortured chuckle and braces his arm around my back. With the slightest dip of his head, he teases his lips back and forth over the flesh above my collar.
“Don’t worry, sweet pea, I’m too addicted to you to keep my hands off you for that long. There are so many things I want to do to you,” he growls.
Liquid desire puddles under me. I huff and tug his hair.
“Stop talking dirty. You’re making a mess. Let’s go home,” I say.
His smile melts my heart.
“I’m already home, Penelope. Wherever you are, that’s where I’m meant to be.”
A shudder wracks through my soul and spreads outward to my body, causing a ripple of sensations. I trace his masculine features, avoiding the scrapes on his cheek, and clear my throat before I can speak.
“That’s how I feel, too,” I admit. “But this isn’t the place to continue.”
He sighs and nuzzles my breasts.
“You’re right, sweet pea. Just give me a minute to enjoy this and then we’ll go.”
I drop my cheek to the top of his head and stroke my fingers over his scalp. His deep, contented sigh matches the happiness in my heart. The expansion and deflation of his lungs shifts us both. I wriggle to enjoy more of the deep, pulsing ache of my new piercing.
He sneaks a lick of the top dermal piercing over my sternum before pressing his lips to my collarbone and breathing me in.
My nipples harden to stiff peaks. His swallow causes his Adam’s apple to brush over my right breast. I groan and push him away.
“Let’s clean up before we leave,” I insist.
His thick brows scrunch in mock refusal before rising in amusement as he helps me off the table.
The mess smeared over the black vinyl cover fills me with embarrassment.
Sebastian bends down, kisses the jewel near my temple, and urges me toward the privacy screen with a massive hand on my naked butt cheek.
I hiss and wrap the sheet back around me before rushing to my clothes.
My panties prevent my thigh from catching on the piercing, but the pressure teases me with every step. Even when Sebastian leads me out onto the busy sidewalk, I can’t force my senses to focus on anything beyond the delicious ache and the man behind the escape.
His fingers dig hard enough to leave bruises on my ribs as he redirects us. The itchy sting of my burn scars rips me out of my reverie. My heart leaps into my throat when Sebastian pulls me to a stop and swings me around.
The grime of the subway fills me with dread. My trek from apartment to the tattoo parlor requires only a quick stint in the underground tunnels, but it’s always my least favorite portion.
With a gentle but insistent push toward the stairs, he growls for me to run.
I reach for his wrist, capture only his finger, and clench down with all my might.
Five thugs scrape their heels on the concrete as they shuffle closer to us, obviously ready to cause trouble. Two more linger at the mouth of the nearest transfer corridor.
“Come with me. Now,” I demand.
He scans the area. I tug. A shadow falls over us from a man at the top of the stairs. Sebastian’s low curse sends chills down my spine.
With overwhelming power and strength, he lifts me off my feet with an arm around my waist and lunges up the stairs four at a time. I cling to him while trying to prevent my legs from bopping against his knee.
He shoves the stranger out of the way and barrels toward the nearest crosswalk.
A white transit van screeches to a halt in front of us. The door slides open. My focus narrows on Michael’s shit-eating grin.
His appearance makes no sense, but there’s no denying his presence.
The men from the subway converge and shove Sebastian toward the van. He growls and pivots, trying to shield me from their hands and the pistols they aim at us through their pockets. My head swims. I wrap myself around Sebastian and vow to never let him go.
A skinny, pale face peeks out from the back of the van. His crooked teeth and pitted face curdle my stomach.
“Found you, bitch,” he gloats.
Even without confirmation, I know without a doubt this is jerkface hater dude.
Dread rises from my toes and threatens to consume me. Only Sebastian’s arms wrapped tight around me prevent me from succumbing to my panic.
In broad daylight, a nightmare worse than the demons I’ve fought for years unfolds.
As Sebastian crawls into the van with stiff, cautious movements, my soul cries out at the cruelty of fate.
I finally found where I belong, but monsters want to take him away again.
I won’t let them. Sebastian is mine. He’s in danger because of me.
I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure his safety.
Anything.
A terrifying calm flows through me.
Sebastian Sterling is mine. My fiancé. My future. My home.
No one will take him from me. Not some pathetic online stalker. Not the bully who humiliated and hurt me. Not the unfairness of the universe.
Nothing will stop me from living a long, happy life with my behemoth of a man.
Nothing.