Page 25 of His Obsession
Her eyes open. She looks wrecked already with her lips parted, face flushed, and all that sharp self-control shaken hard enough to show me the heat underneath. One of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
She shakes her head and it’s all the encouragement I need. I kiss her again, slower this time for all of half a second before she makes a small, desperate sound and I lose patience with slow altogether.
I force myself to keep one part of my mind clear even while everything else narrows to her mouth, her body, the way she moves against me. We can’t lose ourselves in the middle of the goddamn club. One paparazzi picture reaching Nico and this is over. Also, I’m dangerously close to getting arrested for public indecency.
Reluctantly, I pull back just enough to grab her hand and lead her off the dance floor. She doesn’t fight me and doesn’t hesitate. She follows until we’re at the edge of the crowd, where we can actually hear each other.
“Let’s go somewhere.” My voice comes out rougher than I intend. “Anywhere you want.”
“Okay,” she answers with a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Your place or mine?”
9
VALENTINA
Iagreed to go out tonight for one reason and one reason only, and it was not this.
It was not to end up pressed against Sebastian DeLuca in the middle of his nightclub with his hand firm on my waist and my body moving against his like I’ve lost every functioning thought I walked in with.
It was not to kiss him until I can barely remember my own name. It was definitely not to look up at him under flashing lights and think, with all the clarity of a woman making a terrible decision, that maybe I’ve been overcomplicating this from the start.
I came out tonight to get him out of my system. That was the whole point. Put on something hot, let Gia drag me somewhere loud, flirt a little, have a drink, remind myself that Los Angeles is full of attractive men who are not my brother’s best friend and do not make every bad instinct in my body sit up and beg.
Instead, the second Sebastian walked up to the bar and looked at me likethat, every good intention I had dissolved.
Now I’m standing on the dance floor with my heart hammering against my ribs and my mouth still warm from the last kiss, and the worst part is I no longer remember why I thought this was such a catastrophically bad idea in the first place.
No, that’s not true. I remember. Nico. Common sense. The part of Sebastian’s business I don’t ask about and he doesn’t volunteer. He’s a walking red flag. He literally sets off sirens in my head.
But those thoughts are strangely far away while he’s standing this close. A thought strikes me so suddenly, so completely, that I nearly laugh. We can sleep together one time. That’s all it will take to get him out of my system. One time, and then this whole thing goes away. The gala is tomorrow, and after that I never have to see him again.
It’s such a stupid thought that it circles all the way back around to brilliance. Maybe that’s the answer. Maybe I’m not actually developing some awful, inconvenient, brother-destroying attachment to Sebastian DeLuca. Maybe I’m just horny. Maybe I’ve spent weeks working too hard and thinking about him too much, building this whole thing into something dangerous when really it’s just chemistry. A problem with a very obvious solution.
Avoiding him hasn’t gotten him out of my system, so screwing him seems like the only alternative. One night. No harm, no foul. No feelings. No mess.
I look at him again, how tall and dark and composed he is in a way that somehow makes the heat between us feel even more reckless and think,yes.That’s the answer. I will sleep with him exactly once, and then I will be done.
“Tell me to stop,” he says again, his voice low enough that I feel it more than hear it over the music.
I don’t even hesitate this time. I shake my head.
He kisses me again, gently this time. When he pulls back, his eyes stay on mine for one beat longer, then he takes my hand and starts moving. I barely have time to glance toward the bar before Gia sees my face and looks like she’s about to scream in glee.
I lift my free hand in a vague gesture to tell her we’re leaving. She grins like a maniac and waves me off.
Outside, the night air hits my skin cool and sharp after the heat of the club. The city glows around us in slick gold and white from the blinding headlights, neon, and illusion. Bellissimo spills music onto the sidewalk behind us, but Sebastian doesn’t lead me to a car. He turns us down the block toward one of the luxury hotels that sits like a polished jewel against the street, all glass and warm stone and discreet doormen.
Of course he has a hotel down the street. Of course the staff all know him. The man at the entrance straightens when he sees Sebastian, and the woman at the desk offers a smooth, respectful greeting that tells me this is not a rare occurrence. I register all of it dimly. Suspiciously. I should probably care more than I do.
I’m too wound up, too far gone, too aware that I’ve spent weeks wanting this and pretending I didn’t. The elevator doors close behind us with a soft whisper, and the second they do, Sebastian turns to me.
There’s a split second where neither of us moves, and then I’m on him. Or he’s on me. Maybe both. It doesn’t matter. My hands are already fisting in his shirt, his mouth is on mine, and whatever last scraps of caution I had left get swallowed whole.The kiss is even hotter than what occurred on the dance floor, maybe because we know this isn’t hypothetical anymore. There’s nothing stopping us from getting exactly what we want. We don’t have to be mindful of watchful eyes. I back into the mirrored wall with a small sound that disappears into his mouth when he follows and cages me there, one hand braced beside my head.
This is exactly what I wanted. My pulse is out of control. His hand slides down my side, and the heat of it through the thin fabric of my dress makes me arch toward him before I can stop myself. He makes a rough sound low in his throat that goes straight through me. I kiss him harder because thinking has become impossible, and because I want the clean, easy certainty of pure want. Nothing emotional. Nothing complicated. Just bodies taking what they need.
The elevator dings, and we break apart just enough to breathe.
I laugh once under my breath, wild and shaky.
