Page 31 of His True Beloved

I’m such a hypocrite.

Damn it, he thought of us as more than friends from the very beginning, the sneaky bastard. Sebastian could read me better than I could read myself. My body reacted to even the most minor touches he gave me. When he put my arm in the crook of his arm, the feeling of calm washed over me, and the urge to pull back the clothing that separated us was unbearable.

Go slow, my butt. I need more.

We sat in silence, part of me still thinking about how heartbroken Sebastian must have been. Why he chose me out of all the other human women or men out there was beyond me. I was the most standoffish when I came here. Then again, I was also more open to being nice because of Justin.

Still, Sebastian could have tried to pursue Amber. She looked like she’d take a dick in her mouth no problem.

A fire roared in my belly, thinking about my roommate touching Sebastian. Heat growing on my face, Sebastian chuckled, wiping his mouth with the decorative blood-red napkin. “Are you all right over there?” Sebastian broke the fiery rage my mind went through, and I dropped my fork on the black tablecloth.

“I’m fine,” I squeaked, picking up the fork and placing it meticulously back in place. “Just thinking.” Sebastian narrowed his eyes, tilting his head.

“It isn’t good when a woman of your caliber overthinks? Too much time to put self-doubt in your mind.” His hand slid across the table, grabbing my hand and stroking the knuckles tenderly. For a supernatural being that could crush my fingers instantly, I still felt the strange calmness I’d never felt. No longer antsy, and my heart felt like I could trust him.

Even after being crushed just a month ago.

“Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Can’t understand why you would pick me out of everyone else,” I trailed. “Is it because I’m human and not attached to anyone else and don’t have a mate?” Sebastian stiffened, gripping my hand tightly.

“You think you don’t have a mate? Don’t you know—” I interrupted, shaking my head.

“Just because my mom has a mate doesn’t mean I have one. I’m human, and we aren’t guaranteed. I prefer that, actually.” Sebastian dropped his mouth several times until he rubbed his veiny, muscular hand over his mouth.

How can everything he does be such a turn on?

“Why do you prefer not to have a mate?” he muttered. “It’s a gift, a wonderful gift to combine together as one.” His voice softened even further, and my heart plummeted. It wasn’t my intention to upset him, to reject the idea of a mate, but for a human to have a mate was so rare. My mother was the only one I knew that had one.

“I’m not sure.” Maybe because if I had a mate, I couldn’t explore this attraction I had with Sebastian. I shifted in my seat, taking my hand out of his. The loss of his touch had me squirming more. My body, some undeniable pull in me, wanted to throw myself at him. It was unsettling and crazy, but my heart had to be guarded. It had been crushed once, but it was inflating back to the normal size, begging me to try again.

Wyatt was pushed further and further away from my mind, and Sebastian was a freight train, coming in at an insane speed to crash into my heart and stay there. I couldn’t bear another heartbreak.

“This is going faster than you intended, isn’t it?” Sebastian’s brows rose, almost in understanding. “The attraction”—he cleared his throat—“just so you know, I feel it too.”

“You do?” I leaned over the table.

“I’ve told you before, it’s very hard for me.” He loosened his collar. “I have not been with a woman intimately for a long time. I won’t lie to you. I have been with others.” I nodded my head in understanding.

“Of course, I wouldn’t think you would go celibate after losing—” Sebastian winced at those words, but I pretended not to notice. “I’ve been with one,” I whispered. “It wasn’t what I expected. I was saving it for marriage. I guess that was the old-fashioned values in me.” I chuckled. “Maybe I do like the old-fashioned type, then.” I waved my hand over the table.

Sebastian’s eyes lightened, a smirk appearing on his face. I should compliment him more. He looks like he loves the praise. “Thank you,” he said. “I do question what you like. Earth is definitely at a different time than what it used to be with courting and wooing.”

“Wooing.” I giggled, picking up the knife to cut another piece of steak. My finger slipped, my sweaty fingers of nervousness being my demise as I cut my index finger. “Ouchie,” I winced. The cut began to bleed profusely.

“No.” I groaned, trying to put pressure on the wound. The date was looking up, we had shared so much, and now I had to ruin it by bleeding everywhere. My head became light, watching the blood drip down my finger. It was deep, and I knew I would have to return to my apartment to get a hefty dose of my meds to stop it.

Sebastian scraped his seat across the old wood floor, coming to my side immediately. He picked me up, setting me on his lap. I didn’t have time to react, to protest what he was doing. My world was already darkening, seeing the blood now dripping down my arm.

It was so much.

“I’m a hemophiliac,” I managed to sputter. “I need to get a bigger dose of medicine. It’s at my house,” I forced out, but Sebastian looked at my finger like it was a meal.

“Do you trust me?” His voice was low, velvety. His throat was purring, a gentle cooing noise causing me to relax. “That’s it, calm your heart.” He grabbed my wrist, pulling my hand to his mouth. My other hand had clamped down on it like a vice, trying to get the bleeding to stop.

“Take a deep breath.” He began to pry my fingers away.

“P-please.” The world around me was going dark, the fear of bleeding out causing a full-blown panic attack. My breathing heightened, and my heart picked up, worrying that I would bleed out on my first romantic date.

Or he’ll eat me.

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