Page 4 of Tempting Sebastian

When I entered the room, Jackson was awake and sitting up in his bed. He looked shocked when he looked up and saw that it was me walking in. I made my way over to his bed and stood next to him. Somehow, I found the words, “Hi, Jackson. I’m happy to see you’re awake. How’re you feeling?”

Jackson looked at me, then at the nurse and back down at his hands but didn’t say anything. I assumed he was waiting for the nurse to leave us alone. She took the cue and walked over to his bed, checked some numbers on the machine next to his bed and then said, “Things are looking good, Jackson. We’ll have you discharged to this gentleman’s care so you can rest at home whenever you’re ready. Give us a few minutes to finish up the paperwork.”

After she finally left, I turned back to Jackson and asked, “Are you ok?”

He looked up at me and hesitated, but said, “I don’t know if I’m ok. What are you doing here, Mr. Moore?”

I crossed my arms, a little embarrassed that I had shown up at the shelter and wasn’t sure exactly how to answer. Trying to avoid answering, I said, “Please, call me ‘Sebastian,’ and it’s kind of a long story, but I’m glad I was there to help you. We can talk about it all once we get you back to my place and you get some rest.”

He looked confused but nodded in agreement. I didn’t think he had many other options, if any, and I felt sad for him. We were quiet on the ride home.

.

Chapter 4

Jackson

The ride back to Sebastian’s place was mostly quiet until I realized that he must’ve been the stranger that saved me and took me to the hospital. I broke the silence to thank him, but wasn’t sure how I could ever thank him enough. “Mr. Mo…I mean…Sebastian, thank you for all that you’ve done for me.”

He stared at me for a second, then nodded and said, “Jackson…it was nothing. There was just no way I was going to let those dirtbags tear you apart. If there’s anything you need, or have questions about, just ask.”

Ididhave questions, but I didn’t want to ask them just yet. I wanted to settle in first, so I just said, “Okay.”

It was quiet again until we pulled up to Sebastian’s place. An early nineteenth century red brick, two-story home with a nice garden in front and a well-manicured lawn came into view. I was impressed, but not entirely surprised. Sebastian was a successful businessman with a love for antique things. Why shouldn’t his home be one too?

He grabbed my backpack from the Blazer and handed it to me while we walked up to the house. All I could think about was getting a moment to look in my bag and see if my savings were still there. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind, so I didn’t appear rude.

Sebastian opened the door to the foyer, and said, “This is it. You can rest your head here and I’ll keep watch over you until you’re out of the woods.”

“Thanks again, Sebastian.”

“Don’t mention it. You’ll be staying upstairs in the guest bedroom. Right this way.”

He led and I followed. It was a beautiful home. Cozy and full of antiques, of course. His personal museum. My head was still throbbing a bit as I made my way up the stairs.

When we reached the top of the stairs, he led me into the guest room and pointed to the closet. “You can keep your things in here and use the dresser. Whatever you need,” he said.

I suddenly felt like I was going to fall asleep, so I just nodded and said, “Sounds good. I think I need some rest.”

Sebastian reassured me, “I think that’s a good idea. You nap and I’ll check in on you from time to time. The bathroom is down the hall. Let me know if you need help.”

“I will.”

Sebastian walked out and left the door cracked so he could hear me if I had trouble. As soon as he did, I laid on the pillow and closed my eyes to ease the throbbing in my head. I fell asleep within seconds.

Chapter 5

Sebastian

After about twenty minutes, I hadn’t heard Jackson moving around upstairs, and got worried, so I peeked in and saw he was fast asleep. His chest was rising and falling, and I could hear the lightest of snoring. Realizing he was fine, I took the opportunity to call Ian to let him know that Jackson would be out ill for a while and that I needed him to find someone to cover the front desk and phone line. Ian had so many questions that I wasn’t prepared to answer, and I didn’t feel like it was my place. Jackson’s business was his own and some might say I crossed a line by even following him, but if I hadn’t, who knows what would’ve happened to him.

I grabbed my laptop and decided I would get some work done while sitting on the couch in his room, wanting to be there if he woke up. My home was just big enough for the two of us since most of the rooms were filled with antiques and different restoration projects. Jackson’s room was fairly large. My motherand my sister Quinn seemed to love it whenever they stayed for a visit, and they had plenty of room.

My head snapped up when I heard, “Bash, you here? It’s Quinn!”Speak of the devil.My sister had impeccable timing and yes, she had a key to my place for emergencies, but I had a gut instinct that this time, it wasn’t. Her reputation for arriving unannounced was a running joke between us. Quinn was two years younger than me, but we looked like twins. We were the same in almost every way.

I quickly made my way out of Jackson’s room and down the stairs. “Hey Quinny. Keep it down, please.”

She stopped in her tracks and looked up at me, suspiciously, but with a smirk and whispered. “What’s going on?”

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