“O-okay.”
He pops the button in response and slides the zipper down before hooking his fingers in the waistband. He peels my jeans off in one slow movement and tosses them aside. I jump when a cotton pad touches my knee, and I grit my teeth as he cleans the scrape that I have no recollection of getting. Once he’s cleaned it to his satisfaction, he applies disinfectant, and I can’t stop the wince as the burning takes over.
“I’m sorry,” he says, but his moves are gentle.
“What about your hand?” I ask, noting his split knuckles. The skin is red and more inflamed than it was yesterday.
Sebastian’s hand pauses on my knee before starting up again. “It’ll be fine,” he says.
“Sebastian…”
“Grace.” He drops his head, and I swear the emotion sneaking through his words is guilt. “Please just let me take care of you. I’m fine, I promise.”
“Okay,” I say softly.
When he’s done with my knee, he slides his hand down my leg to my ankle, where a permanent throb emanates from it. This time I hiss when his hand finds its destination. He immediately withdraws, sliding his hand back to my calf but not letting go. “Shit, you’ll need to have it looked at again. But right now, you need to sleep.” He traces a pattern on my calf, sending shivers through my body. “Do you want something else to wear?” he asks, and I find myself shaking my head.
Sebastian stands from the bed before pulling the covers over me. “I have to deal with a few things. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
“But you’re coming back?”To me?
“Yes.” His voice takes on a serious note, and that knowledge spears a mixture of emotions inside me.
I crave his touch, I cravehim, but tonight has been such a whirlwind I don’t know how to forget about everything that happened. He wouldn’t hurt me, not like that. But remembering the sound of crunching bones and the sickly, metallic smell of blood has me squeezing my eyes shut.
Sebastian sighs. “Get some sleep, Grace,” he says before leaning down and pressing a kiss to my forehead. He pulls back, only to stop an inch away, his face hovering above mine. His gaze flicks between my eyes, then down to my lips, and subconsciously, my tongue darts out to wet them. The move must be too much for him because his lips are pressed to mine a second later.
Sebastian kisses me with an arm braced on either side of my head, and I melt underneath him. The kiss is soft, sweet almost, but I want more. When I try to deepen the kiss, Sebastian pulls back. “You need to rest. That’s all that matters right now.” I might have tried to suppress my feelings for him when I first moved into the penthouse, but I’m too far gone for that now. With Sebastian hovering over me, I decide I’m going to make the most of whatever time I have left with him.
Sebastian presses another soft kiss to my lips. This one lasting only seconds before he pulls away. A deep, shaky breath leaves me as he does. “Sleep, Grace,” he says, pushing himself up before leaving the room.
Will he really let me go when I ask?It’s only a matter of time before my past catches up to me, and with the warning Ethan gave me…
A shiver wracks through my body. I’m still irritated Sebastian changed our deal—tried to leverage my situation and what I need for freedom against me. Although, if I’m being honest, a part of me is relieved he did.
I neverwantedto leave him. We’d only just come together before we were being pulled apart. Though after the warehouse, it had seemed like my only option. Except when he stood in front of me asking me tostay, I didn’t know how to walk away. It wasn’t only about what he was withholding from me—it was about him.
Sebastian has nothing to gain from this new deal, at least if he was being honest about upholding his part of it this time. As far as he knows, I’ve given him the whole truth. To think I’d been so close to telling himeverything,then he got the call about Ian. Although if tonight proved anything, it’s that the whole truth is something I can never give him.
Despite the heaviness weighing my eyes, my mind races as sleep overcomes me, my running thoughts following me into the darkness.