Page 69 of Sebastian

Christian: Done work. Heading out. Want anything for dinner?

Christian: I’m going to pick up Chinese.

Christian: You better not still be working.

Shit. I run to the intercom and press the button to let Christian into the building. Then I open my door and listen for his footsteps as he climbs up the stairs.

“Sorry,” I say when his head pops up over the steps. “I lost track of time.”

He pins me with a scolding look. “I figured.” He draws me into his arms and gives me a hello kiss that makes me want to abandon dinner altogether and drag him straight to bed.

Christian smells a little sweaty from the gym. His beard rasps against my lips. His hands burn through my clothes. My dick was semi-hard from editing the video and now it’s poking Christian in the thigh. He laughs, the rumble reverberating through me.

“Someone’s horny.”

“You’re hot.”

“Hmm.” He walks me backward into the apartment, then pauses. “Why is it so dark in here?”

“Oh.” I reach for the light switch. “I forgot to turn the light on.”

Christian sighs as he places the bag of takeout on the little table in my kitchen. “You have to stop working so hard.”

“I didn’t mean to!” I protest. “I was on a roll!”

“What were you working on?” He asks, pulling out containers of food that make my mouth salivate.

“Our video.”

Christian glances up at me, a question in his eyes. “How’s that going?”

“Good!” I turn and grab my laptop. “Want to see? It’s still super rough, but oh my god, it’s going to be so freaking amazing.”

Christian takes the laptop from me and puts it back onto the bed. “I’d love to see it. Maybe after we’ve eaten.”

I offer him a sheepish smile and take the pair of disposable wooden chopsticks he hands me.

“So you’ve decided to go ahead with using the footage?” Christian asks. He’s sitting in my armchair and I’m perched on the edge of my bed. He’s got a container of General Tao’s chicken and I’ve got one of beef and broccoli.

I nod. “Is that okay with you?” He’s said before that he was cool with whatever I decided, but I’m not going to release anything until he gives me the okay.

He looks me straight in the eyes. “I trust you.”

My breath catches in my chest. That bowls me over harder than any declaration of love. This is deeper, more intimate, more honest. Christian sees me, he knows me, and he’s willing to follow my lead. It’s humbling.

Christian sets his box of food aside and then takes mine from me as well. We sit on the bed, facing each other, my hands in his. “Whatever you think is best—for the business or for us—I’m game.”

He says that and yet, I feel like I need to give him at least one more out. A no questions asked, no-hurt-feelings way to step away from this world that I’ve dragged him back into. I know first-hand how demanding it is to exist in the public eye, to hustle every single day, to have people want more and more from me. Christian’s been burned before, and the last thing I want is to put him in that position again.

“You’re supposed to be retired,” I say. “You only agreed to do one video.”

Christian’s brow furrows and his eyes narrow like he knows what I’m doing and he doesn’t approve. “Sebastian, you’ve never forced me into anything I wasn’t willing to do. I mean, you’re persuasive, but you’re not that persuasive.”

That pulls a quiet chuckle out of me. Christian says he trusts me, so I guess I need to trust him too. Trust that he knows what he’s doing and what he’s getting himself into. That he wants to be here, with me, and that he’ll tell me if anything changes.

“In that case…” I reach for my phone. “Selfie?”

Christian rolls his eyes but pulls me down onto the bed so we’re all snuggled together. I snap a few of us both looking at the camera. Then some with Christian nuzzling my cheek. Then of us kissing.

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