Page 84 of His Obsession
He drags a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry.”
“No, please. I love making declarations while men laugh at me.”
“Loving you scares the shit out of me, too.”
That shuts me up. It’s not romantic in the traditional sense. Probably the least polished thing he could’ve said, which is exactly why I believe it.
“Well,” I say after a second, “there you go.”
“I love you,” he says again. No qualifiers.
He stands, and I stand, too, even though I’m not sure why until he’s in front of me and his hands are at my waist. He moves slowly enough that I can say no. I don’t.
When he kisses me, the basement flashes through my head for half a second, and my body stiffens before I can stop it. Sebastian pulls back immediately.
“I’m okay,” I say quickly.
“You don’t have to be.”
“I know. But I am. I just need a minute.”
His thumbs move lightly against my waist. “We don’t have to do anything.”
“I want to.”
“Valentina…”
“I want you,” I say, and that comes out steadier than I expect. “And I can’t let my fear stop me from having what I want.”
Something in Sebastian’s face hardens, then softens just as fast.
“If you want me, I’m yours,” he says.
“Good.”
“And I’ll stop the second it’s too much.”
“I know.” I reach up to kiss him again.
Our bodies press together, perfectly aligned. It takes seconds for my brain to empty of every thought but his lips on mine, his tongue sliding against mine. He becomes my air, and then he’s backing me toward the stairs, the two of us making a slow, sloppy path back to his bed.
Clothes get discarded on the staircase. I consider, for just a moment, that I don’t want any of his staff finding them, but then I realize I couldn’t care less. There’s only room in my head for the way his skin feels against mine.
We only make it to the top of the stairs before I stumble and he follows me down, hovering over me on his strong arms. I can’t help but laugh as he looks down at me with concern.
“This is probably good,” I mutter, reaching up to pull his face down to mine.
“I have, like, ten guest rooms,” he says between kisses. “We can do better than the floor of the landing.”
“We have time,” I remind him. “We can have sex in literally every bedroom, on the landing, and even in the kitchen.”
He chuckles and rises, his bare chest brushing against me. He’s already stripped down to his boxers, and I can’t help but admire the view as his broad chest rises and falls as he catches his breath. He reaches down to pull me up, then hoists me over his shoulder and carries me to the closest bedroom.
He sets me down on the bed, then slides out of his boxers and climbs back over me. His hands travel up and down my body, caressing and stroking in sharp contrast to the firm press of hismouth on mine. I writhe against him, my whole body on fire from his touch.
I press my hand to his chest and push gently. He stops immediately, sitting back on his heels, watching me. I take a minute to catch my breath before sliding off the bed. I can feel his eyes on me as I unhook my bra and slip out of my underwear.
“Val, we don’t have to,” he repeats. “Are you okay?”
