fell for him. My heart clenches, and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the onslaught of emotions crashing over me.
“Em, baby, look at me,” Sebastian implores, cupping my cheeks.
He must have rounded me after I closed my eyes. I shake my head, unwilling to see the expression on his handsome face.
“Fine,” he whispers. “I’ll talk, and you can listen. But I need you to hear me, Em. Can you do that for me?”
My teeth sink into my bottom lip, and I nod.
His lips brush over mine ever so softly, and a tear slips from the corner of my eye. He kisses it away, then his fingertips trail down my throat, over my shoulders, and down my arms until he takes my hands and guides me closer to the warmth of the fire.
Why is he being so sweet when I know he’s about to rip my heart out?
The backs of my knees hit what must be the couch, and he gently urges me down. I know I’m being a coward, refusing to look at him, but I just… I can’t see the look in his eyes when he confirms this is over.
He releases my hands, and I’m struck with a sense of loss as I hear his footsteps retreat from me.
“I wish I knew what was going on inside that pretty head of yours,” he murmurs then sighs. “I don’t love her. I don’t want her. I don’t need her,” he says, his tone belying the honesty of his words, and I can’t help myself. I peek one eye open. “You’re all I’ve been able to see since the day we met.”
That was not what I was expecting him to say. Pulling up my big-girl panties, I open my eyes all the way so I can take in the man before me. The gleam in his amber gaze as he stares at me makes my stomach flip, and hope surges through my veins.
A small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, but before it can fully take hold, darkness clouds his face. He strides toward me and drops to his knees. “I should never have asked you to be my fake girlfriend. But I’m glad I did, because it gave me the opportunity to fall for the amazing woman you are outside of Emory Moss, the book blogger who was going to do great things for my novel.”
The lump that forms in my throat makes it hard to swallow and impossible to talk, so I don’t even try. I launch myself at him, knocking him onto his back, and I kiss the ever-loving shit out of him.
He chuckles against my lips, his hands diving into my hair and holding me in place. “Are we good?” he asks when I take a beat from mauling him.
I nod. “Yeah, we’re good.”
“As much as I want to keep kissing you, we need to talk,” he says. “About Jayla.”
Apprehension floods my system, and I sit up, straddling Sebastian’s hips only for his hard-on to poke me in the butt. Reflexively, I rock against it, and a tortured groan rips from his chest. “Soon, baby,” he murmurs, his hands locking on my thighs to keep me still.
I grin but nod. “Okay, let’s talk.”
“Like this?” he asks, his brows raising in surprise.
Again, I nod. “Just like this,” I confirm.
“Alright,” he says then takes a deep breath. “I had no idea she was going to behave this way. I thought she’d be surprised that someone was actually willing to date my unambitious ass. That’s it—I thought that would be the extent of it. Then, last night, Jake gave me the heads up that she wanted me back, and I should have said something to you, but...” He swallows. “...I honestly didn’t think she’d be like this. And I’m truly sorry for putting you in this position.”
I tilt my head, looking down at him splayed out beneath me, his glasses sitting slightly crooked, his hair a disheveled mess, and I’m filled with an overwhelming sense of rightness. Like this right here is all that matters. Him and me.
“Okay,” I say simply.
He quirks a brow. “Okay?” he repeats.
I nod. “Okay.”
“Okay, what?” he asks.
“I’m done talking about this. She’s a manipulative bitch, and you don’t want her because you want me,” I revise.
His brilliant smile reaches all the way into my heart and wraps around it, obliterating the walls I’d constructed earlier tonight. “That about sums it up.”
“Excellent,” I chirp. “Now, take off your pants and make