Page 46 of Bastian

“You take my breath away.” He clears his throat. “But you know this already. I bet you’re told just how beautiful you are wherever you go.” I find it extremely satisfying that he sounds angry and jealous. Because the fact that I have no interest in other people doesn’t mean I don’t get hit on or approached by both sexes daily. I am not bragging about this fact, but it is that…a fact.

I don’t tell him this. Mostly because I don’t wish to engage him more than I already have. This night didn’t turn out how I wanted it to. “No talking.”

His hands fall to my back, pushing me closer to his hard body. A shocked breath escapes me, causing him to laugh. A joyous laugh slips from his mouth, causing me to scowl. Those blue eyes of his shine as they did before. When he would laugh at my sarcastic and bitchy remarks. “Tough shit. I miss you. I miss your voice. Now that I heard it again, it feels like I am home. Fuck, darling. I’m home.”

He’s lying…that’s what he does. He lies. Don’t fall for it. The reasonable part of me points out.

I scoff, trying to hide the strangled sound of a wounded animal that almost falls from my lips. Home.

Where is home?

It used to be in his arms, but now it doesn’t feel like home. At least, not to me. It feels like a battlefield, and this man is fighting on the opposite side. I ignore him, wishing the minutes could fly by so this torture would end. Every second I am in his arms feels as if I’m losing myself all over again. That is the effect of his man. One song. One moment, and I am beginning to fall back under his black magic treacherous spell. Overwhelmed with tedious emotions, I clench my jaw and stare up at him, not oblivious to the fact that all eyes are now on us. Of course, people will stare.

He’s not a Senator anymore but the big boss. The President.

All eyes will be on him, and by association, they’ll be on me, too. “You did it,” I whisper, not knowing why the hell I opened my mouth. “You became the President.”

“Did you ever doubt me?”

What a multilayered question. Did I doubt he would achieve his goal? Not for one second. I don’t doubt he’ll make every wish he makes for himself come true, but I did and still do doubt his word, but I guess that’s the damage he inflicted on me.

I didn’t doubt his words when I loved him, but everything changed after that.

“Men like you always win, Sebastian. That is clear to me now.”

“Not always, no.” He whispers, and his eyes trap me, keeping me hostage. “Sometimes men like me lose, too.”

I hate how my chest feels tight when he looks at me as if there’s nothing else he would rather see. Lost for words, I keep staring at him as if he didn’t just drop a bomb on me. He used to gloat that he always won, and he always would. The man was always on top, and now that he’s one, if not the most powerful man in the country, he’s not gloating. Not with me.

Time seems to stop when he bends his head toward my face, his lips inches from mine. A heavy breath gets stuck in my throat when he catches me off guard. “But now this…Arianna.” My eyes fall from his eyes to his lips. Perfect, plump, and so very tempting. Fuck, this man really is the devil. A liar. A thief. A seducer. “You once promised a war, and I deserve it. Fuck, do I deserve it. So give me all you got. Fight me. Curse my name to hell and back, but don’t you hide from me again.” I’m so stunned by the words that just slip from his mouth that I don’t notice his hand coming up behind me to grab me by the back of the neck. “Because not knowing where you were and if you were okay killed me. It killed something inside of me.” I remain silent, not knowing what to say. Sebastian’s eyes change from sad to determined, and so does his smile. Not cruel. Not a gloating smile but a smile that tells me he’s a man with a plan. One I won’t like. “I lost a part of me that day. I lost you, but the war for your heart is not one I intend to lose.” With that promise, he drops his mouth to mine, taking my lips in his.

Robbing me of all breath and logic.

Because that is the only explanation for why I don’t push him back. Why don’t I break the kiss?

I have lost my mind.

Damn you a thousand times, tyrant.

The kiss is desperate, but completely different from the ones he gave me before.

Desperate as if he’s been craving me for so long and now he found me.

You found your way back…

A voice whispers in my head.

An annoying one.

Ripping my lips from his, I step back, fighting his strong hold. Anger swells up inside me again. I want to shove him and make him fall flat on his ass. Or maybe I should spit on his handsome face instead. “Don’t ever fucking kiss me, or touch me again, Sebastian.”

“There’s my girl.” His grin is almost endearing. Almost. “It’s good to know you haven’t forgotten me. Your mouth remembers, as does your heart. Of that, I have no doubt.” Determination gleamed in his eyes. “You found your way back to me and I know that when I put my mind to something, I rarely fail. Prepare yourself, mon coeur. I intend on making up for the last three years so that we don’t spend one more moment without each other again.”

Thud.

No.

Thud.

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