Chapter 15
ISABELLA
I didn’t know how things would go when I made it to Sebastian’s.
I knew I had a lot to apologize for. I’ve handled things so badly with him.
My brothers did not hold back once I explained what happened.
Luca was incredibly pissed. He admitted that Sebastian first approached him quite a few years ago asking about me, around the time Luca met Hannah, and joked that he couldn’t wait to see how long I made Seb wait.
Dominic said he’s known about Seb’s feelings since before he married my sister-in-law, Kate, and Alex claims he recognized interest six or seven years ago. He said Sebastian would always have me in his sights whenever he attended a family function.
All three of my brothers feel Sebastian is one hell of a stand-up guy, and they believe he’s the perfect partner for me.
They also very quickly told me they completely despised Rick, which was also news to me.
Granted, I didn’t exactly get warm and fuzzy feedback from them the first time they met Rick, but they’ve never been the warmest to any man I’ve brought around.
I assumed it was a brotherly thing to do.
For them to wholeheartedly root for Sebastian says a lot, because my brothers are excellent judges of character. They were clear to state that, should Sebastian end up hurting me, they have no problem helping Leo bury a body .
They gave me the confidence to come to Sebastian’s and grovel. In true Isabella fashion, however, I saw the busted picture frame and forgot what I was there to do, choosing instead to hurl a pillow at Seb’s head.
Considering he’s now kissing me as his hands seem to be everywhere at once, I think it’s all ending exactly as it’s supposed to.
“Are you sure? You want this?” Sebastian murmurs as he licks down my neck and nibbles on my collarbone.
“Yes,” I moan. “God, yes. Please.”
He chuckles against my skin, grabbing my ass and pulling me flush against him. “I’m not God, baby.”
“You can be whomever you want to be in this moment, Sebastian. Just please put me out of my misery.” Sliding one hand into his hair, I wrap my fingers around the strands and pull. The groan that emanates from his lungs is guttural.
“I only want to be yours, Isabella.”
Well, hot damn. I’m soaking wet now. “You want to be mine?”
His head pops up as he gives me a smirk. “Did you think I’d settle for anything else?”
I shrug. “You said you had been patient, so I didn’t know —”
He interrupts me. “You misunderstood. I was patient waiting for your feelings to catch up to mine. I was patient as you finally saw that I was here. That had nothing to do with my feelings, sweetheart. I told you before that I’ve always been yours. Now you’re ready to accept that.”
A wide grin breaks across my face, and he matches it. “So you’ve always been mine?”
He nods. “Always, mi amor .”
“I guess the real new information here is that I’m yours?”
“Are you ready to be mine?” he asks, and I nod. The responding smile is downright feral. “I hope you’re not tired. ”
“What? Why?” I ask with a breathy giggle.
“Because you aren’t sleeping much tonight,” he says, as he picks me up and tosses me onto his bed. I bounce once with a laugh, before he pounces.
“Wait!” I shout, and I see the wince before he schools his expression. “No, not about sex. We’re having sex tonight. But shouldn’t you shut the door? I don’t want Camila walking in.”
Sebastian lets out a relieved breath as his forehead drops to my shoulder.
“Fuck, you scared me for a second. She’s at my parents’ house.
While the interaction at your apartment didn’t go as I expected, I had every intention of the evening ending in this bed.
After that kiss on the sidewalk today, I knew we’d at least be making out tonight. ”
“Making out?” I cackle. “Aren’t we too old to be making out? If you ask me to go steady, Sebastian, I’m leaving right now.”
“The fuck you are,” he huffs, grabbing both of my wrists and pinning them above my head. “I don’t care what you call it, as long as a lot of our skin touches and I get to taste multiple parts of your body.”
The hand that isn’t holding my wrists trails up my ribcage, covering my breast. He groans as his lips find mine again, and I writhe against him, desperate to feel his skin. I need my hands on his body. “Please let me touch you.”
“You wanna touch me, baby?” he whispers huskily against my lips. “By all means. Have your way with me.”
Sebastian lets go of my wrists, but before I can get my hands on him, he sits up on his knees, straddling my legs.
Wearing a white button-down shirt, the top three buttons already undone, and a gold chain swinging from his neck, he looks like sex personified.
Dark hair hangs over his forehead, and I realize I’ve never seen him look so relaxed and happy.
I scoot up so my back is against the headboard, and tentatively reach out to touch his shirt.
When he doesn’t move, I unbutton his shirt slowly.
With every inch of skin exposed, tattoos weaving an intricate design across his chest, my hands shake a little more.
Sebastian senses my discomfort, taking my hand and pressing it to his chest. “Feel this?”
I nod.
“It’s for you, Isabella. My heart beats for you. There is nothing you can say or do that will change that. I already know you are going to be the best I’ve ever had. There is nothing that could ever possibly top tonight, because it’s you, and I’ve never wanted anyone as badly as I want you.”
I sigh as my thumb strokes across his pectoral muscle, watching it twitch.
Reaching with my other hand, I slide it underneath the shirt, across his clavicle and onto his shoulder, and revel in how his muscles pulse underneath my touch.
He’s so strong, and I honestly can’t believe he’s mine. And that I’m about to see him naked.
“You’re wearing my shirt,” he rasps, drawing my gaze up to his. He points to the shirt I’m wearing. “I bought that for you three years ago for your birthday.”
“What?” I look down at the simple white shirt I’m wearing, with a V-neck and ruffles along the sleeves and hem. “I thought one of my brothers gave me this.”
He shakes his head. “I’ve gotten you something for the last few years, and had Luca give it to you. I knew you wouldn’t accept it from me, but I needed to see you wear something of mine.”
In disbelief, I ask, “What about last year?”
He moves my hair, thumbing my ear, and the simple cupcake earrings I wear every day. “These earrings.”
Emotion clogging my throat, I choke out, “And the year before that?”
He leans down, caressing my cheek. “The mixer that is downstairs right now. ”
I gasp. “My stand mixer? That was from you?”
He nods. “I told Luca to tell you he’d gotten it super cheap from somebody who worked at a store going out of business.”
“But,” I say, tears filling my eyes, “I’ve never given you anything for your birthdays.”
“You’re giving me everything I ever wanted right now, Naranja . There is no comparison.”
Unable to verbalize a response, I pull him down and press my lips to his.
Sebastian immediately takes over, his tongue sweeping between my lips to tangle with mine.
I take great pleasure in allowing my hands to roam over his shoulders and back, feeling the muscles ripple in the wake of my touch.
When I tug on his shirt, Sebastian briefly sits up, reaches over his shoulder and rips the shirt off.
As he’s about to stretch out on top of me again, I put both hands on his chest, stopping him.
Sebastian doesn’t say a word, but a soft smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, telling me he knows exactly why I stopped him.
The tattoos. A few I’ve seen parts of, like an elaborate tribal tattoo around his bicep that now continues onto his chest, and a couple initials Luca told me are of some of Sebastian’s friends who have passed away.
But this close, I see dates in Roman numerals. Lightly tracing the first one, he smiles knowingly. “Camila’s birthday.”
“And this one?” I ask, moving down to one on his ribcage, where the Roman numerals are written within a cross.
“My grandmother’s birthday.” He takes my hand, dragging my finger across his skin to another tattoo.
“I’ve hidden the date my parents were married within this tattoo.
It’s called a Taino tattoo, for the indigenous people of Puerto Rico.
The spiral one on my arm and shoulder is also a Taino tattoo, representing energy and vitality. ”
Captivated, I lightly trace the tattoo, finding the hidden numbers within a tattoo of what appears to be an animal or person. “What is this supposed to be?”
“It’s for abundance. And the one here,” he points to a figure that is part of the elaborate swirling on his shoulder, “is essentially like a witch doctor. It’s for Abuela . That mysterious woman can solve every health scare known to man with a sewing kit, an amulet, some herbs, and a drum.”
“Why is this one slightly red?” I ask, my fingers dusting over an intricate design in the shape of a mandala. Tilting my head, I see a cupcake. Then a cookie. And a cake. Then the letters BBB.
“Bake, Batter, and Bowl,” Sebastian says quietly. He takes my finger, placing it lightly underneath the circle of cupcakes. “And this part is pink because I added your initials.”
Emotion clogs my throat as I try to find my voice. “But no birthday in Roman numerals?”
He chuckles, then sits higher on his knees. As he begins to take off his belt, he says, “I lost a bet with your brother. I’m not telling you which one —”
“Luca,” I interrupt, deadpan. I know my brothers, and this has Luca written all over it. Whatever ‘this’ is.