Page 1 of The Cursed Sebastian Storm

CHAPTER ONE

Sebastian Storm closed and locked the gate to Storm House. For the first time in six years, he was outside the wrought iron bars.

He barely glanced at the old Victorian house as he turned toward James’s truck. He couldn’t believe any of this was happening. The reality of his escape hadn’t hit him, not fully, but he could feel it coming. Happiness was building inside him so quickly that it was almost sickening. And out of all the things he was escaping Storm House to do, he never thought it’d be to go on a date with James Gray.

“Let’s go.” James’s excitement was palpable as he waved Sebastian to the passenger side of his truck. God, he was adorable. Sebastian never dreamed he’d be able to make a grumpy man like that smile so goofily.

Sebastian got in the truck. James started the engine with the push of a button and the magical battery sprang to life. There was no hint that the vehicle had been sitting neglected on the side of the road for weeks while James had been imprisoned at Storm House.

James pulled out onto the winding road, heading through the tall trees toward Moonlight Falls. As they left Storm House behind, Sebastian’s stomach twisted. His chest tightened and, for a second, he couldn’t breathe. For years, he’d wanted nothing except to escape the property and his family’s curse. Now that the moment was here, happiness wasn’t the only emotion threatening to overtake him.

A hand clasped his knee. Sebastian looked over to see James’s brow furrowed, his face calm and concerned.

“You okay?”

“I—” For a split second, Sebastian worried he’d burst into tears. “It’s hard to believe I’m actually leaving.” His voice betrayed him, sounding small and unsteady.

James squeezed his knee before returning his hand to the steering wheel. “I know, and I was only stuck for a couple of weeks. I can’t imagine what driving away feels like for you.”

Sebastian cleared his throat and turned to stare blankly out the window. “Yeah.”

James was so understanding, and sometimes, Sebastian found it frustrating. James was so good all the time. Sebastian didn’t always deserve the benefit of the doubt, yet James never hesitated to give it to him.

“If you aren’t in the mood for a date, we don’t have to go out now,” James continued.

Sebastian pulled at the cuffs of the leather jacket he’d stolen from James. The sleeves were too short because Sebastian was taller and had longer arms, but he liked the jacket. It smelled like James, and his broad-shouldered frame meant his jacket engulfed Sebastian’s narrow body in a way he found endlessly comforting.

“No, let’s go now.” Sebastian pushed his funny mood down. “We should be celebrating getting out of the damn house. Right?”

“Definitely.” James’s lips twitched into a smile.

Sebastian’s heart ached. There was no way he was turning down a date with James Gray. He’d only been dreaming about going on one for most of his life.

Sebastian’s crush on James began when they were kids and never really died. The feelings started before he even realized what they meant. Hell, James had been key in Sebastian figuring out he was queer. He’d been the source of the most angsty bi panic it was possible for a young boy to have.

Not that James knew any of this. Sebastian certainly wasn’t going to tell him. James had hardly noticed him growing up, and Sebastian didn’t need to make things weird.

It wasn’t like he’d ever tried to talk to James back then. Crushes had been terrifying when he was young. He hadn’t had the courage to approach anyone he’d liked until his last year of high school, and by then, James had been gone. Sebastian’s self-confidence hadn’t found him until he was in college, far away from Moonlight Falls.

Sebastian concentrated on the redwoods zipping past his window as James drove toward town. The sight didn’t help his sinking mood. Happiness was slowly eclipsed by discomfort. He shifted in his seat. Sebastian had never liked these woods, never liked living at Storm House, even before he was imprisoned or knew about the curse. He’d hated being banished out there every summer, but he’d recently learned something to make him hate these woods even more, and once James found out, things wouldn’t be so great between them.

Sebastian should have come clean with what he knew, but he was selfish. He wasn’t good like James. He wanted their date and another night together. Screw everything else. He wanted things to be nice before they got ruined again.

Because things always got ruined, and Sebastian wasn’t silly enough to hope anything good could last.

As they rolled into town, James pointed excitedly at Gray Electrical. For someone who spent ninety percent of his time scowling and grumbling, he could be adorably sincere.

Sebastian had always found James’s prickliness hot. As a teen, it had been mysterious. He’d wanted to be the one to make James smile. Now, he was the one making James happy. He’d gotten that wish and discovered he loved making the man frown in frustration just as much.

They drove into the town center. The circular road lined with old buildings looked unchanged, giving Sebastian a disorienting jolt. It could have been six years ago, ten years ago, fourteen. He didn’t like not being able to see the effect of time on Moonlight Falls. He’d hated so much about this place as a kid and had never intended to return.

“It feels good to be home.” James’s posture sagged with relief as he pulled into the back parking lot at Moonlight Diner.

Sebastian frowned at the other parked cars. “I don’t understand how you love this place so much.”

“What do you mean?” James turned off the truck and faced him. “The magic here just feels right. You’re a Moonlighter. You know what I mean.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. Some of the citizens of Moonlight Falls believed this place called to them. They were townies whose families had lived here for generations, and they were all obsessed with the place. The Storms had been around just as long, but Sebastian had no idea what people were talking about. Moonlight Falls didn’t call him home. It wasn’t some comfort in the dark. The whole damn place was cursed, plaguing his very existence.

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