31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
SEBASTIAN
Iwish I could say I wasn’t still livid.
I wish I was a better man. One that could forgive and forget, but I can’t.
Still, I chase after Veronica, because that is what we do.
She is the wildflower in the garden, the one I have been searching for every day for the past ten years.
One of the only people in the entire world who understands the real me.
No judgement or apprehension. Only adoration and kindness.
That was Veronica Beverly.
I’m livid, yes, but she’s still mine. Always was, always will be.
“Ronnie,” I hiss, following her through the dimly lit garden.
The grass against my bare feet makes me cringe, but I can’t let her get away, not this time.
For tonight, I can overlook what she did.
For tonight, I can be her Sebby, and she can be my Ronnie.
I don’t know what will come after, but right now... we both need this.
We need the comfort of each other. I need the comfort of her, the soft laughter and the light in her dark eyes.
I need to see the indents of the dimple on her right cheek that comes out when she talks about something she’s passionate about.
I need to hear her breathe beside me, mixing with the songs of crickets and flickers of lightning bugs.
I need to feel her warmth cover my skin and sink into my chest.
I need her.
Veronica runs without hesitation, navigating through the rows of bushes and patches of flowers. She does so effortlessly. Knowing she hasn’t forgotten her way around makes my heart thud faster. When I catch up to her she’s already stopped and I have to take in a breath to even look at her.
The soft glow of the moon illuminates her in an ethereal state.
Her porcelain skin a shade whiter, the softest dust of pink across the bridge of her nose.
Long dark brown strands ever so subtly swish back and forth against her shoulders and down her back in the light breeze.
Her chocolate irises a bit brighter as she stares up at the night sky.
I don’t see her as the little girl I used to cling to, nor do I see her as Victoria, the woman I’ve been forced to sleep with.
No.
Right now, I see a beautiful young woman. I see light at the end of a never ending dark tunnel. I see my future, my past, my present.
Veronica tilts her chin, eyes sliding to meet mine and for a second, I stop breathing.
Gone are the dirt-smudged cheeks and patched, tea-stained dresses. In their place stands a girl draped in pristine white, her hair cascading to the middle of her back rather than cropped short. Even the small gap between her front teeth… the one I knew so well… has vanished.
Despite all the differences, Veronica is there.
How did I not see it?
The only similarity I caught was that familiar pull, the one I couldn’t explain. Looking at her right now has all the pieces of the puzzle sliding into place.
I step toward her, and it is her turn to take in a breath, big brown eyes focused solely on me. She feels the pull, the one that was always inevitable. An invisible string connecting us after all this time, tied loosely around our pinkies.
Veronica takes a step closer and then I do, until we meet in the middle, our toes brushing in the freshly cut grass.
The world around us goes silent, only the harsh thud, thud, thud of our hearts beating as one cuts through that silence.
I’m not sure who moves first but our lips clash and it’s over.
Her fingers tangle into my hair, mine cradle her jaw to keep her locked against me.
My body ignites in an electricity I have never felt before.
It shoots from my lips to my toes. She’s kissing me with emotions I swallow greedily, our tongues and teeth viciously clanking together.
Every sound she makes I take in with a growl, the need to own this woman intensifies rapidly inside me.
It doesn’t register that we are out in the open, kissing like two long lost lovers finally back in each other’s arms. Though, I suppose it’s just the universe's plan, isn’t it? Only Veronica would come up with a half-concocted plan to come back after being banished. Only my little dove.
My knees sink to the ground, and I pull her with me, hands already moving, bunching the dress up to her waist. She impatiently slides each tedious button from their slot on my shirt before I hear the soft pops.
Insatiable little thing, my Veronica. My lips twitch into a smile against her mouth as the warmth of soft hands glides up my chest.
“This was my favorite shirt,” I tease and can practically hear her eyes rolling. I open them to see hers narrow.
“I’m sure you can afford another one, your majesty.”
Such a brat.
“What if they are no longer being made?”
“Sebastian, I swear to God.” Veronica fucking growls and my cock twitches against the zipper of my slacks.
I hum into her mouth, wanting to savor that attitude I’ve missed before pulling away.
Reluctantly. She’s lucky I didn’t copy her and tear the dress from her body.
Her lips are swollen and red, cheeks flushed, as I get the dress off her.
The cream bra color is a stark contrast against her pale skin and I can’t help but trace my finger against the line of one strap.
Veronica shudders, her body reacting to my simple touch like I haven’t already had my hands on her. This is different, I have to remind myself of that. This is how it was supposed to be.
Our eyes meet and I move in, one hand cradling the back of her head while my other hand slides the hooks from their respective slots on the back of her bra.
I guide Veronica down until the grass is pressed against her bare back.
My fingers find their way under each loosened strap, bringing them down until her small breasts are exposed to me fully.
The bra is tossed, resting with the discarded dress and my now ruined shirt, as I sit back to take in the sight of her. Her cheeks are flushed a dark shade of pink, the color spreading down her neck to her collar bone. She squirms under my gaze and I can’t help but smile at her nervous movements.
“Beautiful,” I murmur, her chest rising and lips parting.
Her nipples pebble and I circle my thumb around one of them, feeling the sensitive nub bunch tighter in response to my touch.
Veronica gasps, her dark eyes widening. I grip her hip with my free hand, keeping her body pinned in place.
I find myself sucking in a breath because the woman below me is the most gorgeous being I have ever seen.
“Sebastian…” Veronica’s voice sounds so small.
She’s scared. I can’t blame her. Not when I’m fucking terrified.
I shake my head, keeping our eyes locked. I need her to understand. There’s nothing I could say right now to make this any less daunting. The only thing I can do is show her exactly what I feel. How the need for her is so great I could crawl out of my own skin.
“Sebastian, I’m sor–”
“No.” My voice is firm; she stills. “Not right now, okay? Please.”
Veronica’s quiet before she nods, swallowing her words. I can’t think about what happened before, not in this moment. I just want to live in it.
With her.
Her nipple is warm against my tongue when I capture it between my lips.
She gasps, short nails gripping my shoulder blades in a way that elicits a soft grunt.
The sound vibrates against her and the most delicious sound releases from her mouth, making my balls thump with the unrelenting need to claim this woman.
My eyes flutter closed and I unclasp the buckle of my belt, shoving my slacks down until the pressure against my cock releases.
I grunt as the cool night air hits my aching cock, and I have to wrap my fist around it to give a relieving pump.
There isn’t time, but I don’t want to rush this. Veronica deserves more, even if it isn’t feasible. If I have my way, this won’t be the last time I’m able to touch her like this. Not when there are so many things I want to do to her. Livid or not, I will do those things.
With time.
Releasing her nipple, I press kisses across her chest until I’m sucking the other one between pursed lips.
My tongue swirls around the nub before I pop off and look down at her.
With slow strokes of my fist around my cock, I swear I could cum right now just by staring down at her half-dazed appearance.
She’s drunk on desire, it’s written all over her face, and soon I know that frustrated side of her will emerge.
The one that shows up when she isn’t getting what she wants. That fire that spreads through those brown eyes, when she is ready to do anything to get it.
I press my chest to hers, feeling the hard points of her nipples.
She shudders at the brush of our skin and it takes every ounce of willpower I have left not to fuck into her.
Veronica is practically begging to be taken with the way her body moves restlessly beneath me.
With one last stroke, I release my cock so it rests against Veronica’s stomach.
Her legs part for me on instinct and the pads of my fingers run along the waistband of her panties before sliding down to feel the damp fabric against her heat.
She’s fucking soaked for me. I groan and my cock twitches, pre-cum dribbling into her naval.
The urge to crawl down and taste her is so great, it’s almost unbearable, but I can’t.
Not right now. I won’t make it. One lick, one taste and I know I’ll cum from that alone.
I’m entirely too worked up. It’s not even due to her naked state or the pleasure that’s inevitably coming.
No.
It’s the sheer fact of who is below me.
Because of her.
“Ro–” I start.
“Seb–” She cuts in.
Our eyes meet and it’s over.