Page 40 of Playing For Keeps

The throbbing beat of music carried on, the fall night around them swathing them in darkness, secrecy, and moonlight that only highlighted the ecstasy on her face. Farren wasn’t shy about expressing herself. There were one or two times when he hit a spot she seemed to particularly enjoy, and Sebastian had to place his lips against her mouth to swallow the moans.

They chased that high. Sweat collected on his body, muscles burning in the most exquisite way, but Sebastian was determined to watch her fall apart beneath him first. He could tell she was straining for it, and he grunted into her ear, telling her to touch herself.

Her hand snaked between them, dancing over herself and her pleasure seemed to build, her cunt fluttering around him as she climbed ever higher.

“You’re taking me so well, Farren. God, you feel exquisite.”

His words urged her on, her fingers increasing with speed, her eyes screwed shut, and little mewls escaping her mouth, unintelligible words falling from her lips.

“I can’t wait to watch you come. I can’t wait to feel you milk my cock.” Sebastian leaned forward, searing her neck with a bruising kiss before rasping into her ear. “I can’t wait to come inside you, make you mine.”

She fell apart beneath him on a scream he swallowed with his mouth, feeling her grip him, her body writhing beneath his as he followed her over the peak, dragging his lips across her jaw. She whispered something, her voice unable to cut through the din of his orgasm. Sebastian grunted his own satisfaction into the salty skin of her neck, her pulse thunderous beneath his mouth.

“Beautiful. So fucking beautiful,” he rasped.

They savored those few stolen moments, somewhere outside of Poolesville, in the sunroom with the hunter’s moon shining down on them. Sebastian nipped and kissed at her skin as he pulled out, sucking a hickey into the inside of her thigh, proof to himself and her that this had happened. It was so much more than just a fantasy.

She helped him dress, hands lingering on his body as she fastened the skirt and breastplate back onto his body. Sebastian kissed her shoulders where the wings had left indentations. She carried the wings and her wig back to the coat room, his own fallen goddess, depositing them on the bed beside her coat and giving him one more intoxicating kiss before she left the room. They rejoined the party, Farren’s lipstick long gone and her eye makeup slightly smudged. No one noticed; no one was sober enough to.

They joined her friends, dancing to the punishing beat undercut by the dark cry of the singer. It felt almost ritualistic, that feeling only increasing when they headed outside to start a bonfire. Flames crackled, licking up into the sky, embers arcing from the orange heat and scorching little patches of ground at their feet. Sebastian held her from behind, warding her against the cold so she could soak in the heat of the fire. She sipped another one of those Halloween drinks, her mouth apple-tart when he kissed her again. He cut himself off, switching to water so he could drive them home safely.

By the time midnight came and went, some people starting to leave, he was sober. Cold. He gathered up their coats, wrapping a very sleepy Farren up into hers, then putting on his own. They thanked their hosts, exchanging hugs and happy thanks for a wonderful party. Sebastian wondered if anyone noticed him blushing when he thought about just how wonderful it really was.

The drive back to his place was quiet, Farren half asleep, slouched against the window. He should have told her about the demotion, Ashley, and the situation in Ohio before the party. Should have told her when she got home from her family, or before that on the phone. He’d been carrying this strange feeling of fear, resentment, and worry. Best to just push it down for now, until he knew what to say to her. The last thing he wanted to do was lash out, even if his brain told him he wanted to. Mostly to Andrew, but the worry that Farren might get caught in the mess sat uneasily in his stomach.

Sebastian let the mindless prattle of one of the nighttime radio hosts keep him awake enough to drive, and he was astonished when he looked up to find himself at home. Even following the GPS, he’d done most of it on autopilot.

He woke Farren from where she’d fallen asleep, and she gave him an adorable pout as she stepped out of the car, following him up the stairs. Sebastian let them in, turning on the kitchen light and then his bedroom light. She didn’t wait for instructions. Farren rid herself of her dress, the fabric pooling at her feet, and her bra was next. The view of her voluptuous naked body walking past him toward the ensuite bathroom left him hard and aching for her again.

She shut the door, the sound of rushing water the only thing he could hear, and she emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, her face bare and her eyes tired. They slunk into bed, Sebastian holding onto her tightly as sleep claimed her.

His mind and body however were far more awake, his brain teasing him with the aftermath of their stolen time. Her panting had bordered on sobs, unintelligible words falling from her lips, her body trembling beneath his. Sebastian had gotten drunk on her, kissing every part of her he could reach, and it wasn’t until now that he finally realized what she’d been saying when they both fell apart.

I love you.

And fuck if it didn’t scare the hell out of him. The night bled away, lightening with a new day and little to no sleep for him. Though that wasn’t unusual.

Sebastian fought against asking her about it the second she woke up, when she groaned against the intruding sunlight, burrowing under the pillows to prolong sleep a little bit longer. It seethed under his skin, slithering, and every second he spent in bed with her was one step closer to him saying the wrong thing.

He must have misheard her. Perhaps the culprit was the corner of his mind where he kept his secret wishes. Maybe he’d conjured it on Halloween night, like a spell broken with daylight. Sebastian made it all up, right?

The soft pat of his feet pacing the living room floor was broken up with the occasional sigh. Sebastian ran his fingertips against his mouth, trying to imagine what it would taste like to speak those same words.

She emerged wearing one of his shirts while he was fretting, and he imagined he looked in a state. His hair was probably sticking up on all ends from running his hands through it. A T-shirt, boxer briefs, and bare feet completed the look.

“How did you sleep?” he asked.

“Ugh… hungover. Do you have any Tylenol?”

Farren staggered over, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the tiny bit of leftover eye makeup she hadn’t quite washed off streaking black under her lashes. She gave him a quick kiss on the mouth before she continued her mission for hangover relief.

Sebastian wouldn’t have cared that she knew where his glasses were and helped herself to some water, chugging it down as if she was parched. He wouldn’t even have noticed. But then she’d said those words last night in the heat of the moment. Three words paired with others like “future” and “forever” filled his belly with a snaking dread. He felt like he was faltering. He still hadn’t found the right words to tell her about work and wasn't ready for the conversation that would follow. The one where he would hurt her. The one where he stepped back to fix his fuck up because he couldn’t handle his career being derailed again. Her revelation at the party did nothing but make him panic.

“Yeah, counter to the left of the fridge, top drawer,” he answered.

Farren struggled with the childproof lid for a minute, a slight growl escaping her, but then she pried it open. Tablets shook against the plastic container as she coaxed some out, dropping two into her palm and straight into her mouth. She chased them with another big glug of water before setting everything back to rights. Pills in the drawer, glass in the top rack of the dishwasher.

Too comfortable. Too close.

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