Page 77 of The Library

Sebastian

The shrill sound of my phone cuts through the steam-filled bathroom, pulling my attention from Lilith’s heated gaze. I can tell from her expression that she wasn’t expecting this interruption—not after everything we just discussed. Her body is still tense, her skin flushed from our exchange about the brand and the tracker, and now, this phone call is the only thing between us and finishing what I started.

Giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, letting my lips linger just long enough to make her soften, my words come out mocking, “Enjoy your shower. And scrub carefully on that beautiful pussy.”

I slap her on the ass cheek, earning a sharp intake of breath from her, and walk out, my mind already shifting from our moment of possessive intimacy to the call I need to answer.

I glance at the screen. Ty.

Ty wouldn’t interrupt me for something trivial.

Perfect fucking timing.

I slide my thumb across the screen to answer it, catching Lilith’s curious look. She thinks she can read me, but she has no idea what’s going on beneath the surface. No idea why this call matters. I tell Ty that I’ll call him right back, knowing this is going to be something I don’t want Lilith to know about just yet. She’s already wanting more answers to questions I know will chase her off, so this is not the answer to start with.

I’m halfway out the bedroom door when my phone buzzes again. This time, it’s a notification from Facebook. Lilith’s name pops up on the screen, and I freeze for a moment, my pulse quickening.

My eyes narrow as I open the app, and there it is—a relationship status request.

Lilith Gray is in a relationship with Sebastian Ashford.

What the fuck?

A cold rush of amusement, disbelief, and something else-something darker-floods through me as I accept it. I let out a low chuckle, staring at the notification. She’s staked her claim on me publicly now, hasn’t she?

Just like that, she’s telling the world I’m hers. She doesn’t even know what she’s getting herself into.

I can almost see her now, sitting there with that smug, satisfied look on her face, thinking she’s made a bold move. Thinking she’s got some sort of upper hand by announcing us. But Lilith has no idea that what she just did only solidified how deep she’s in with me.

I’m not just some fucking check mark on her social media.

She’ll pay for that later. Not in the way she expects. She might think this is some cute, possessive move-claiming me, putting my name out there for everyone to see. But the truth is, it’s only going to pull her deeper into my world.

Now, people will be watching. They’ll see her, see us, and questions will follow. Dangerous questions.

And Lilith? She’s just taken her first real step into the shadows of my life. And whether she knows it or not, there’s no turning back.

She wants to claim me? Fine.

But I’ll remind her who holds the power here.

Once I’m in the kitchen, I lean against the counter and press the call back button. It rings only once before Ty picks up.

“Sebastian,” he greets, his voice tight with urgency. “We’ve got a problem, man.”

I glance toward the bedroom door, the sound of the water still running from the bathroom. “What’s going on?”

There’s a pause on the other end, and I can practically hear Ty weighing his words. “It’s bigger than we thought. The man we took out last night… wasn’t the only one involved. There’s a network. And it’s starting to unravel.”

My grip tightens on the phone. “How bad?”

“Bad enough that the Society wants this handled quickly. Cleanly. You and I are expected to tie up the loose ends. This isn’t going to be a one-night job. We’ll be away for a bit.”

I curse under my breath, my mind racing. I’d known something was off during the hit last night. But now, this was bigger—this was going to take time. Time away from Lilith. And time away from her right now isn’t something I want to risk.

“I’ll meet you in an hour,” I say, my voice cold as I shut down the call, ending it before Ty can say anything else.

I watch her step out of the bedroom, her skin still flushed from the shower, wrapped in nothing but a towel. There’s something so fucking intoxicating about the way she looks right now—innocent and raw at the same time. Her hair is damp, droplets sliding down her bare shoulders, and I can see the way her muscles tense, her body still adjusting to the brand I marked her with.

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