Page 68 of Blackmail
I’m in a daze as Sebastian soaps me up. As he rinses me off. By the time he pulls me out of the shower and dries me with one of those fluffy towels you only find in pricey hotels, I can barely stand.
“How are you feeling?”
“Exhausted but fucking amazing. I came so hard I’m brain-dead.”
Maybe I’m hallucinating, because he appears to be genuinely smiling, and I swear I see the clouds clear from his gray eyes, making them look a little bit blue. Almost. Sebastian wouldn’t be Sebastian if he didn’t have gray eyes and a touch of dickhead in him.
Which makes it so odd when he leads me to the bed and tucks himself against me as I fall asleep. Again. Almost like those other times weren’t just a fluke.
I wake up in the morning feeling brand new. I’m still a little achy, but otherwise, I’m fine—good, even.
“I ordered pancakes for you.” A throat clears. “No dairy. I remembered.”
I roll over to find Sebastian staring at me over a cup of coffee. Maybe it’s because I was too out of it to think about it before, but lying here in bed makes me feel weirdly on display. I’ve got a sheet around me up to my waist. He’s seen me more naked, and God knows what state I was in when I was sick a few days ago, but this feels different.
I’ve been in bed with so many men I’ve lost count. There’s a unique intimacy in lying here while he has his breakfast. Not to mention the way this intense, unyielding man has been caring for me the past few days. It’s unsettling.
Even more so the fact that he remembered I have a dairy intolerance. I don’t know why.
“I can get you something else if you’d rather.”
Oh. Shit. “No, pancakes are great. Sorry.” I shake my head. “I’m still a little disoriented.”
Never mind how him remembering about my dietary needs after taking care of me for days is causing all sorts of feelings. All sorts.
“Uh, how many days have we been here?”
“Five. You had a fever when the hurricane passed over us, and you’ve slept a lot ever since.”
More than I thought. Whew. “So, how long are you planning on keeping me hostage?”
He sets his coffee down. “According to my agreement with Brennan, I’ve got you for two more days, but we can head back to Belle Argo whenever you’re ready. I was waiting for you to get better. We can go today. I’m meeting Tony for dinner on Friday night anyway. There’s some preparation I’d like to do beforehand.”
Oh, I do not like that at all. Not the way the idea of him having dinner with his fucking husband makes me feel, and not the heavy rock that sinks into my gut when I realize what I’m feeling is jealousy. No, that’s not quite it either.
I want to cut the bitch.
“Dinner with Tony, huh? Cool.” Did that sound as “I don’t give a shit” as I meant for it to?
Sebastian shrugs. “He’s been wanting to talk. You’ve mentioned you talked to him at that party. Lehman pointed out that I’m being stubborn by not asking him if he knows anything. I have to admit he’s right.”
Fuck Lehman. For that matter, fuck me and my big fucking mouth.
“Stubborn? Doesn’t sound like you.”
He finds that funny. As in, I get an actual honest-to-fuck laugh.
Sebastian nods at the covered tray on the table. “Eat and get dressed. They’ve got walking trails surrounding the property. It would be good to get some fresh air before we leave.”
After throwing on the scrubs that Sebastian had the hotel wash for me at some point and scarfing down breakfast faster than I did when I was a starving teenager (I guess not wanting solid food for several days will do that to you), we wander outside to the courtyard behind the hotel. We’ve only made it a few feet when I stop, too excited by what I see.
“Holy shit, this is awesome.”
The hotel is built to entertain families. Not the kind I grew up in. Regular ones. Families that have fun together. There are several games, most of which I’ve seen but never played, and I’ve never seen them like this. They’re massive. We’re talking about me-sized chess pieces and checkers as big around as my car tires.
Beyond those is an air hockey table and foosball. I’ve played those at a bar with the guys before. There’s a massive firepit where some people are enjoying their morning coffee—enticing, since the storm passing through and left a slight chill in the air. Chilly for Florida, anyway.
“Did you want to play a game?” Once again, Sebastian seems amused. It looks good on him.
