Page 49 of His Obsession
“So generous of you,” she mutters.
“I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that your ex has deep ties to some pretty dangerous people. So it’s only right I’m honest with you about something. I’m also a pretty dangerous person.”
She lets out a quick laugh. “Yeah, I figured that out pretty fast,” she answers, surprising me. “Why do you think I’ve been keeping you at arm’s length?”
Her vulnerability shocks me, but not as much as the sob that rips through her a moment later.
“You don’t get to control me,” she says through tears. “I’m not going through that again.”
I move around the dining room table without thinking too hard and sit in the chair next to her. I rest one hand lightly on her back first, waiting. When she doesn’t pull away, I slide the other arm around her and bring her against me carefully. She folds forward into my shoulder with a broken sound.
19
VALENTINA
Idon’t know how long I cry against him. At some point Adelina comes in and silently leaves two plates of food, but she doesn’t disturb us.
Eventually, the worst of the panic drains out of me. The hard knot in my chest loosens just enough that breathing doesn’t hurt. When I finally pull away from him, I don’t feel the shame or embarrassment I’d expect. It’s actually kind of nice to be this vulnerable with someone.
It’s just strange that, out of every man I could have opened up to, it’s one who’s even more dangerous than Adrian. His words, not mine. At least he’s been upfront about it.
I stand too quickly and immediately regret it when the room tilts. Sebastian is on his feet at the same time. His hand finds my elbow automatically, steadying without gripping, there and gone so fast I almost miss it.
“You should get some sleep,” he says carefully. “You look exhausted.”
I roll my eyes. “Just what every woman wants to hear.”
“I’m just worried about you,” he answers, and I look up long enough to see that he’s completely sincere. Which is a mistake.
I don’t know what I’m doing until I’m doing it. I grab his collar and pull him closer, until his lips hover just inches from mine. It’s so, so stupid, and I give him enough time to decide not to kiss me.
Then his hand comes up, very slowly, and brushes a strand of hair back from my face. Such a small, gentle touch, but it completely undoes me.
“We should go upstairs,” I murmur, feeling completely out of control. “Maybe I’ll sleep better if I’m not alone.”
He nods and follows me silently as we climb the stairs, close enough that I can feel his body heat the whole way. When we reach my door, I turn to him. He braces himself on the doorframe, looming over me like he’s torturing himself with indecision.
“Come to bed,” I whisper.
Something shifts in his expression. It softens and darkens at the same time. He leans down carefully, brushing my lips with his, tentatively, like he thinks I might be trying to trick him. When I pull him closer, though, his tongue sweeps over the curve of my lip.
His hand slides to the back of my neck, holding me there with impossible gentleness while his mouth moves against mine in a way that makes the whole hallway fade. My hands find his shirt, gripping the fabric at his waist without meaning to. He makes a low sound I feel more than hear, and the warmth of it travels all the way through me.
This is so obviously a bad idea, but I don’t care. I just kiss him harder, desperate to find control in this situation.
He responds immediately, and the kiss deepens, not rough exactly but hungrier now, the restraint thinning without fully disappearing. He backs me into the room without pressure, as if my body moving with his is enough permission for now. I let him. The door shuts quietly behind us, and suddenly it’s just the two of us in the low-lit room with my pulse hammering and my skin too sensitive and every instinct in me fighting itself.
When he pulls back, it’s only far enough to look at me. “Valentina.”
I know what he’s asking without him saying it.
“Yes,” I say, and hear how unsteady I sound.
His forehead touches mine briefly. “You’re sure?”
No man has ever made that question sound less like pressure.
“I’m sure.”
