Page 42 of Midnight Serenade
“Well,thislady likes flowers. Thank you so much.”
He bobbed his head and strode off.
“You know he stole that flower from somewhere on the ship, right?” Micaela said, eying the guy like he was going to pull a gun out of his pants at any moment and take a shot at me.
“It could have been a flower arrangement from his room,” Mama said, defending the guy. “Ours has one every day.”
Micaela snorted. “You guys have a royal suite. Not many rooms get flower arrangements each day.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “It was a sweet gesture, and he was harmless.” I turned to Mama. “We need to get going if we’re going to make that comedy show tonight.”
Mama pursed her lips. “Where’s my loot for winning the game?”
Micaela put her hands on her hips. “We were playing for licorice, and you already stole all of mine.”
Mama, who had a licorice rope sticking out of her mouth, grinned mischievously. “Wanna play poker tonight, Micaela?”
Micaela cracked up laughing.
Mama ditched me that night,pretending to be sick, and just as I was about to call her out on her mischief, Sebastian showed up. He presented each of the ladies of the suite a bouquet of colorful flowers, kissed Mama’s cheek, and gently took my hand before leading me out the door.
“You both are devious,” I said, shaking my head at how well they’d planned everything.
“You’re precious to me, angel. I want to show you that. And I love being with you. I’m more worried that you’re going to get sick of me.”
Was it possible that my suave vampire had the tiniest bit of insecurity when it came to me?
I pulled him to a stop and turned him toward me. “You don’t have to worry about that, Bash. I love being with you, too. As a matter of fact...I.” I bit my lip, trying to gather my courage. “I really care about you, Sebastian. And I’m really tired of taking things slow.”
Sebastian moved into my space, close enough for me to get a whiff of his heady cologne, which he always wore sparingly. He drew the hand he still held to his chest, placing it against his heart. I could feel it beating wildly, yet outwardly he was all intensity and calm. If he felt my chest right now, he would feel the same thing. And I didn’t think I was anywherenearas outwardly calm as he was.
“What does that mean, Grace?”
I lowered my voice as he had, like we were two lovers whispering secrets to one another that no one else should hear. “It means... I think you’re mine. And I think I’m yours. And I’m ready to stay on whatever ship you’re on and continue to get to know you and date you. And then... one day, get married, and have children with the best person I know. With... the man that is quickly becoming my best friend. I wanteverything,Bash.”
Sebastian gathered me in his arms, closed his eyes, and kissed the top of my head. “I love you, Grace.” He nudged my face up to meet his intense eyes. “I know you’re not quite there yet, and that’s okay. I’m just so glad you’re giving me the chance to prove to you how good we are together.” He kissed my nose, then gave me a barely there kiss on my lips. “Thank you for being brave,” he whispered. And then he backed me up against the wall and kissed me like the world was going to go up in flames tomorrow.
Something went up in flames.
But it wasn’t the world.
When I came out of my kissing induced haze to realize my legs were wrapped around his waist like an anaconda, and thathis arms and the wall behind me were holding the entirety of my weight, I blushed and groaned, thumping my head against his chest in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, mortified. “I think I lost control a little bit.”
“I like it when you lose control,” he whispered in my ear, making me shiver. And then, as though he didn’t just slay me with sexiness, he let me slide down until I was on my own two feet again, then gently grasped my hand as we started toward the elevator.
“You’ll like the comedy show, angel. Bruce’s act is one of a kind.”
I stared at him, I’m ashamed to say, still dazedly. How did he do that? Switch from sexy to chatty in the blink of an eye? I was still seeing stars from our kiss.
I laughed when I caught his smirk.
Apparently, my vampire liked me swooning from his kisses.
No problems here because I still couldn’t see straight.
Chapter 16
