Page 22 of Sebastian

“Jesus, Emma. What are you doing outside right now? I’ll be down in twenty seconds.”

“D-don’t hang up!” Her voice came out louder than she meant for it to, and she panicked, looking around the alley for any signs of movement. Everything was quiet.

“I won’t. Look, I’m coming down the stairs now.”

A few more seconds passed, and her heart continued to beat erratically in her chest as a large shadowed figure stood on the sidewalk between the buildings. It could be her attacker. The frame was the same size.

“Emma?” She heard the shadow call out her name at the same time Seb’s voice came through on the phone.

“Sebastian?” A strangled cry came out of her throat as she pushed herself up and ran from behind the dumpsters. She crashed into his body at full speed, not even aware that her face was crushed into his bare chest.

“Whoa. Em, you’re shaking. What’s going on sweetheart?”

Her face pulled away from his chest and she looked into his eyes. His gaze roamed over her face, turning his expression from concern to stone cold anger. Sebastian’s finger grazed her cheek where the intruder had hit her and she sucked in a sharp breath at the pain.

“Who did this to you?” He twisted the broken fabric at her shoulder before steeling his face.

When she didn’t reply, he held her arms and moved a step back from her, examining the rest of her body.

The cut on her leg was still oozing blood, and she could no longer ignore the amount that had poured from the wound. “Christ,” he mumbled.

She pushed away from Seb’s chest, pausing for a moment when she registered the questioning look in his eyes, before she stumbled to the wall and promptly gave in to the violent way her body emptied her stomach.

In the middle of the spasms, she felt her hair being lifted from the nape of her neck, warm fingers brushing over the sensitive skin there. It really did wonders for grounding her, and she focused on the safe feeling of his touch.

“I-I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I’m f-fine. It’s just the blood.” She shivered, and as if he’d read her mind, Sebastian pulled her back towards his body.

“Fuck, Emma. There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. Are you okay to move now?”

Before she had even fully nodded, Sebastian had her in his arms, running back into his building. He didn’t wait for the elevator, instead, he carried her up the stairs as if she weighed nothing. All Emma could do was press her head into his neck and try to breathe.

The way he set her down on his couch with such care and caution had her head spinning. No wait, that was the blood. And it was probably running all over his beautiful furniture. She would never financially recover from needing to replace it, so Emma quickly decided to slip down onto the floor. Looking at her leg, she felt the familiar flip of her stomach and a whooshing noise flooded her ears. Oh lord, she was about to pass out.

Laying her head down on the cool floor helped ground her, lessening the roar in her head. She could hear Sebastian talking with someone, but couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“Shit, Emma! What the hell? Are you okay? Open those beautiful hazel eyes for me.” She felt him press down on her cut and hissed at the pain.

“I’m o-okay. I think it’s just shock. And I didn’t want to ruin your furniture.”

“Fuck the furniture, Sprinkles. What the hell happened?”

She shook her head slowly.

“I called 9-1-1, they’re sending an ambulance. Should be here in just a minute.”

“Okay.”

“The police are going to want to know what happened.”

If only she actually knew. Why the hell had someone been sent to kidnap her?

“I know. I just, I can’t think straight while my leg is bleeding.”

“I think you’re going to need a few stitches to fix it up. Will you let me put you back up on the couch?”

“No. I’m fine down here. I can clean up whatever mess my leg made easier once I’m stitched up.”

“You aren’t cleaning a damn thing,” she heard him mutter under his breath.

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