Page 136 of Cohesion

Sebastian snagged a kiss before he could get away. “Thank you for telling us.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is.”

“There are things that I can’t tell you. But what I can… it’s yours.”

Sebastian brushed Peyton’s hair from his face and stroked his cheek, fingers bracketing his ear. “That goes both ways.”

Peyton kissed him, hard, and then pulled away with a wicked grin. He hooked his thumbs in his pants. “Ready to get naked?”

“I am naked.”

“And so you are.” Peyton leered. He dropped his own pants and was the first one to step into the bubbles. When he sunk down, he almost disappeared beneath them. Their short warrior, indeed.

“Who was in charge of bubbles?” Sebastian asked, following him in.Damn. Maybe this was a good idea. The water was the perfect temperature, and they had to have put something in the water because it wassoft. It caressed his skin when he glided through it to sit beside Peyton and make room for the rest of them to follow.

“Will,” Jericho said, settling on the other side of the tub, their legs tangling, his rough hair tickling Sebastian’s calf.

Sebastian should have guessed that.

“Is it really a bath without bubbles?” Will asked, slipping in next to Jericho, leaving room between him and Sebastian for Quinn. They were all giving Quinn as much access to Sebastian as he needed. Their detective was putting on a brave face, but Sebastian wasn’t the only one who could see just how twitchy he was tonight. Not just tonight. Ever since they’d found Sebastian.

His hand found Quinn’s as soon as Quinn made himself comfortable, sandwiched between him and Will. The spa mighthave been a fair size, but it was only barely “five grown men” big enough.

"Now we just need to get a bigger shower,” Will said. “Then we can shower together.”

“That seems like a colossal waste of water,” Peyton said. “But if we do, we should get a bench. Y’know, for fucking purposes.”

Quinn laughed. “Peyton!”

“What? We were all thinking it. What other reason would we have to shower together?”

“Washing your hair,” Sebastian said. His throat closed up when they all looked at him. “Don’t underestimate the intimacy of a good hair wash.”

“I remember,” Peyton said. “You’re very good at it.”

“I can even wash backs.”

“Well, I’m sold,” Jericho drawled. He relaxed back, spreading his arms over the side of the tub behind Peyton and Will. “Someone want to wash my hair?”

“Me,” Will blurted out. He blushed. “Me?”

“Don’t be shy, Will. Just say when,” Jericho said. “I’m at your disposal.”

Quinn played with Sebastian’s hair and kissed his temple. “I’m sorry about your house, Sebastian. And that it’s forced your hand.”

“Is that what you think? That it’s forced my hand?” Sebastian’s head pressed to Quinn’s, so close that he almost couldn’t look him in the eye. “Yes, I worked hard for that house, to build myself up and away from the clutches of my mother. It was a symbol of my freedom. For me, and for my siblings. Ihavethe money to rebuild if I wanted to.” He traced Quinn’s owl tattoo, half of it hidden among the bubbles. “I could get it back.”

It wouldn’t be the same, but if he wanted to, he had options and more than enough funds to get it done. “I want to be here. Looking forward, not back. They thought that taking that fromme would break me, but it didn’t. I’m sad for the loss; I won’t lie and say I’m not pissed off and devastated, because I am. All my stuff was in that house. I won’t get back everything they took overnight. My first guitar was in there. Things from my childhood. Important items.”

They’d retrieved his black box from the wreckage, so at least his important documentation, along with important memories with Eli and Charlotte, were safe. But there had been a lot of other things in that house that had been precious to him. Irreplaceable. “But building something with all of you? That’s what I want, more than anything else.”

Quinn kissed him, taking his time to taste and touch, a quiet desperation in every stroke of his tongue. When he let go, Peyton was there to take his place. They all took turns kissing him, like they were staking their claim.

Reminding him that he belonged to them.

Sebastian had never wanted to belong to anyone, not after he and Quinn had imploded all those years ago. Just thinking about putting himself in that vulnerable state, giving so much power to another person that they could break him, was enough to make him feel sick to his stomach.

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