A Stone in the Sea(82)

My face no longer breaking the surface.

And I had no idea if I would make it out alive.

As if he felt my torment, the song broke off in an awkward fumble and his face twisted in regret, sharp and defined.

“Shea.” It sounded as a prayer. A petition.

Curiosity rolled through the bar, shoulders swiveling and eyes searching as they tried to interpret what was happening.

Sebastian never looked away when he slowly stood, setting the guitar in a stand, his movements determined as he slid off the front of the riser and dropped to the ground. The sea of bodies parted, his stride long and purposeful—and somehow cautious—as he made his way to me.

And I stood there shaking, moisture gathering in my eyes.

My heart beating wildly.

Madly.

He stopped a foot away.

Swallowing hard, I turned and began to walk, knowing he would follow. I passed by the end of the bar and rounded the corner into the faintly-lit hall. I stopped midway, still facing away. The walls were narrow and the ceiling low, the heat of his presence torrid and red, and if it was possible, that intensity only grew as he slowly advanced from behind.

“Shea,” he whispered.

My hands fisted at my sides. “What are you doing here?” I demanded, my voice cracking halfway through.

His answer brushed across the shell of my ear. “It’s where you are.”

Simple, simple dreams.

They were so easy to crush, but not so easy to kill.

They flickered and flamed and danced and sang, and a shudder hit me with the force of them.

The smallest piece of me wished that they had died because the rest were all-too eager to put all my faith into them.

A big hand wrapped around my wrist. Desire and fear pumped fast through my veins. Slowly he turned me, gaze catching mine before he pulled me into the safety of his chest, his strong arms wrapping me tight. He smelled like warmth and man and mayhem.

A breath left him that fell with the weight of relief.

“Shea,” he murmured roughly into my hair.

I clutched his shirt, and I was unsure if I wanted to scream and shout and yell at him, pound out all my pain against his chest, or lock my arms around his waist and beg him to never let me go.

“I missed you,” I said, choking over the words. “I missed you so much.”

His hands were shaking as he moved to palm my neck, and I could feel the race of my pulse against it, that boom, boom, boom ushered in by his touch. He eased me up against the wall, and I forgot how to breathe all over again when he dipped down to meet my eyes head on.

His hold tightened in emphasis. “I didn’t know what it really meant to miss someone until I was missing you.”

Imploring eyes traced my face, thumbs creating fire where they skated along my jaw. Shivers rolled through me, head to toe, and again Sebastian Stone held all the power to evoke the most foolish kind of reactions from me.

“You were right, Shea. I fucking walked out on you because I’m a coward. Because I’m terrified of the way you make me feel. Because there is so much about my life that I hate, and I know I care about you enough that I don’t want you to get stuck in the middle of it.”

He blinked long and hard. “But I can’t stay away, either. I fucking tried… Laid awake night after night trying to convince myself that leaving you was the best thing for both of us, that our lives didn’t match, but all that did was make me want everything you have to give that much more. By the time a week passed, I was sure I was going out of my mind.”

My palms pressed over his hammering heart, my fingers digging into his collarbone, wishing there was a way I could crawl inside.

“You want it to work?” All that vulnerability seeped into my tone.

“God, yes, Shea. No fucking clue how to make that happen, but I want you. Need you in my life, baby. Need to see your smile and hear your voice.” He pulled back a fraction, hands cupping my jaw and thumbs moving to caress along my cheeks as he inclined his head. “Want to eat with you, watch TV with you, and make you laugh. Wanna take care of you. Wanna take care of Kallie.” He leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Want my cock buried in your sweet little pussy.”

Desire quivered low, throbbing sure and strong between my thighs.

“You want me, Shea?”

“Yes,” escaped me on a breath. I’d never wanted any man the way I wanted him. “I want it all. But that means I want it all, Sebastian. Everything. I can’t do this again…hurt this way again. I won’t let you come in and out of Kallie’s and my life when it’s convenient for you.”

If there was one thing I’d learned over these last ten days, it was I respected myself too much for that.

I wasn’t just protecting my heart. I was protecting Kallie’s, too.