Chapter Nineteen
Wild wanted to leave for the day, but he had some meetings that he couldn’t move.
So he called me an Uber back to his place.
I’ve showered, and now I’m curled up in his bed, emotionally drained from the morning.
But I’ll admit that it went better than I thought it would.
They weren’t combative or judgmental, and it seemed they genuinely felt for the two kids whose lives were changed in the blink of an eye, in one of the worst ways possible.
They wanted a couple of days to discuss, but his lawyer mentioned that not calling for the temporary removal of Wild as CEO while they decided was a good sign.
It’s been over a year since Wild and I have been sneaking out of our rooms in the middle of the night to see each other.
We do spend a lot of those nights kissing.
But on other nights, we just talk. Sometimes we listen to music very quietly.
Other times, we play cards or other games.
He taught me how to play chess, I taught him how to be better at checkers, and we both got better at poker.
Because learning how to bluff against the one person who could read you like a book meant you could fool anyone.
I can tell we are inching toward doing more than just kissing, but Wild has never pressured me to do anything.
Since the beginning, I’ve always made the first moves, and I’m sure that when I’m ready to take the next step to do more, I’ll be the one to initiate it.
We’ve talked a lot about what all of this meant and how we really shouldn’t tell anyone, because no one would understand.
People would think we were sick or weird because this was unconventional and taboo.
We didn’t feel like our feelings were wrong, but deep down, we knew we couldn’t take this relationship into the light.
I slip into his room and turn on my cell phone flashlight and note him sleeping soundly on his back.
He had a game today, so knowing he’s more tired than usual, I contemplate going back to my room and letting him sleep.
I have my hand on the handle in preparation to retreat when I hear him whisper my name.
“Halle,” he murmurs, and because he rarely calls me that, I realize he’s talking in his sleep—something he only does when he’s exhausted or anxious.
I move toward his bed and sit next to him, and his eyes fly open instantly.
“Hey.” He yawns and blinks his eyes a few times.
“How long have you been here? Sorry, I must have fallen asleep.”
“It’s okay. You need some rest,” I say before pressing my lips to his forehead and then his cheek and last, his lips.
His eyes flutter shut again as he nods his head, before leaning up to press his lips a little harder to mine and sliding his tongue between my lips once. “Stay with me?”
“I wish I could, but you know I can’t.”
“Just for a little bit? I… I need you, Saint. I love you,” he murmurs, and my heart soars hearing those three little words we’ve been saying to each other for years, but in the past year, they have meant something completely different.
It takes on a whole new meaning when it’s being whispered between kisses.
I look at my phone and note that the time is a little after three in the morning.
I know this is a terrible idea because I don’t want to accidentally fall asleep here, and setting an alarm runs the risk of Sara hearing it.
“Just until you go back to sleep,” I tell him, knowing that he’ll be asleep again before I’m even able to get comfortable.
But what I did not anticipate was him pulling me to lie on his chest and wrapping his arms around me.
His arms are warm and protective, and he still smells clean and fresh from his shower.
Feelings of safety and security wash over me, and I want to feel this forever.
I press my face into his chest and take a deep inhale.
His scent both calms me and makes my heart race.
He tilts my chin up to meet his face, then brushes his lips against mine, and before long, that gentle brush becomes full-on kissing.
At some point, he moves so that he’s on top of me.
I don’t know how long we've been kissing before a burst of light in the room makes us break apart, both of our eyes wide and unblinking as we turn to the light switch to see Sara staring at us, her eyes wide in horror and her mouth ajar.
And then, everything changed again.
The feeling of someone sliding my underwear down my legs pulls me out of sleep, and when I open my eyes, I see Sebastian on his stomach in front of me, pressing kisses to my inner thighs. “Shit, I didn’t even realize I fell asleep. What time is it?” I ask, my voice still thick with sleep.
“A little after four. I got here as soon as I could.” The last time I looked at the clock, it read just after twelve thirty, so I must have been sleeping hard. I rarely nap with grad school, which makes it practically impossible, so whenever I do, I’m usually out for hours.
I nod and sit up before opening my arms so he can climb up my body and hold me. I wanted him to fuck me too, but I wanted to cuddle and hear him tell me that everything was going to be okay, especially after that memory.
Sara screamed a lot that first night we got caught.
Then she grounded us both and then spent the next week practically sleeping outside my bedroom door.
I felt like a prisoner in my own house.
I think I did for the next three years until I moved out.
“You okay? You rarely nap,” he asks, concern etched on his face.
“I know, just drained and exhausted, I guess.”
“I can imagine. But it went really well. My team is hopeful, and maybe we will be able to put this whole thing behind us very soon.” He presses his face into my neck and squeezes me tighter.
“I moved our reservation until tomorrow. I was going to cancel it, but I know you want to go. I just figured once you weren’t answering my texts that you were asleep and that maybe we had more important things to do tonight,” he says, dragging his tongue up my neck. “Things we should be alone for.”
He grabs something from the bedside table and hands it to me, and my sex immediately gets slick when I realize what it is. “Now? Soberly?” I ask with wide eyes because of all the times we’ve done this, we’ve never been completely sober. Especially Wild, who usually needs a few shots to loosen up.
“We can have a few drinks, but… I think after the day we’ve had, hell, the week we’ve had, we both could use this tonight.”
“Do you think you need to do this in order to fuck me in the ass? Because I’ll do it without you doing this,” I explain.
Wild rarely needed any convincing to do something.
He was always down for whatever I wanted.
But this wasn’t something we did often, and I wanted to make sure he wanted it as well.
“No.” He shrugs. “I enjoy this as much as you do. I like exploring this with you because I trust you more than anyone else in the world.”
I nod in agreement. “I trust you more than anyone else too.”
He kisses me hard, pouring all of his passion and frustration into our kiss. It’s wet and sloppy and aggressive, and when he pulls away, my lips are wet and slippery. “I’m going to go take a shower, and then I’ll be back.”
I pour myself a glass of wine while he’s gone and then a second.
I’m pouring my third when he comes down the stairs wearing only a pair of gray briefs that do nothing to hide his erection.
His hair is still wet from the shower, and I watch as tiny droplets fall onto his shoulders and slide down his torso.
Once he’s closer, I note a droplet trails over his abs before hitting the floor.
I was wearing only one of his T-shirts with nothing beneath, and I couldn’t wait for him to discover that fact.
“I poured you a drink,” I tell him, handing him the tumbler filled with his favorite whiskey. He shoots it in one swallow before he sets it down and boxes me against the counter.
“I don’t need that. I just need you.” His hands find the hem of his shirt, pulling it up slowly, and I can hear the tiny catch in his breath when he realizes I’m completely naked underneath.
“Jesus, you’re so beautiful,” he whispers before he lifts me onto the island in the kitchen.
“I was so proud of you today… I’m always proud of you.
But I know today wasn’t easy, and I could tell you were nervous, but you handled everything so well, baby.
” He pushes me gently onto my back, and I hiss when the cool marble hits my skin.
“I’d do anything for you.”
I lift my head slightly when I hear the bottle opening, and he takes a swig.
A drop slides down his chin and neck, and I sit up and drag my tongue up the trail to lick the stray drop.
“You want some?” he asks, and I nod, starting to feel the effects of drinking two and a half glasses of wine in twenty minutes.
“Lie back,” he tells me. I oblige, and then he’s hovering over me, his mouth an inch above mine as he lets the amber liquid flow into my mouth.
I moan at the flavor, especially when he slides his tongue into my mouth, and I can taste it from there as well.
He strokes my tongue with his, letting the flavors linger with each lick against mine.
The whiskey makes me even warmer and tingly, and I know it’s only a matter of time before nasty Halle makes her appearance.
“Anywhere else you want to put that?” My words come out light and airy, and his nostrils flare before he slowly tips the bottle over and pours some over my torso. I hold still, so it doesn’t drip down my side before he has a chance to take the body shot.