The Snow Prince - Raleigh Ruebins Page 0,43

resist if I tried.”

I didn’t know if I was talking about the castle itself or Sebastian, at this point. The way he was looking at me made me feel like there was a magnetic current between us.

“We don’t have to do anything, you know,” Sebastian said. “If you aren’t comfortable, I can take you home at any point.”

“I don’t think I want to leave,” I murmured, looking at him as heat rose in my body. “I should want to. I should be running far away from here. But I’m not.”

He lifted an eyebrow.

I was supposed to protect myself from him. I was supposed to stay the hell away so that I never got hurt again.

But I knew there was no chance in hell I was staying away anymore.

“I’m tired of holding back,” I said. “I’ve been holding back for eleven years.”

“Henry…” he said softly.

I shook my head. “I think I knew I was never going to be able to say goodbye tonight,” I whispered.

I saw him swallow, watching his Adam’s apple move.

“I don’t ever want to say goodbye to you.”

“So come over here and kiss me,” I said, not breaking his gaze.

I wanted to wait. I wanted to watch him get up, cross over to me, and draw him into my arms for a kiss.

But the second he set his scotch down and got up off of that sofa, I couldn’t stop myself. I stood and closed the gap between us, gripping his shirt and pulling him toward me.

I kissed his lips, so plush and warm and every fucking thing I wanted in the world. Sebastian’s kiss felt like an answer to the last eleven long years. An answer to my constant question of what I needed, where I belonged.

I belonged here, even though I didn’t.

“I want everything, Sebastian,” I whispered. “I want all of you.”

“Fuck,” he whispered. His fingers were trembling as he reached out to grasp my shoulders, his gaze dancing across mine.

“If you want it,” I said, trailing my fingers down his chest. “Only if you want it.”

“I really do,” he breathed, clutching me close. “All of the time. Constantly. It’s painful, actually.”

I pressed my lips to his. “You have me,” I whispered. “Right now.”

“I also want you naked,” he said. “Very naked. Can that happen?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

10

Sebastian

I used to feel like my secrets were thrilling. They were small ways to get through each day of my monotonous life at the castle, little injections of adrenaline that I’d never be able to get anywhere else.

Now I realized that every stupid secret I’d had over the past years was a joke.

Watching Henry strip off his shirt, revealing planes of taut, toned muscle, almost made me feel like I was floating somewhere above the room, witnessing this rather than being a participant. This was what I had needed. What I had been searching for, unknowingly, for years and years. Every little thrill-seeking thing I’d done was nothing compared to this.

He was fucking flawless. To me, at least. There were a few scar marks across his upper arms, surely attached to stories from the wilderness. He was fit but I was certain Henry hadn’t stepped foot in a gym in his life.

He reached down to start unbuckling his belt and I put a hand up.

“Hold on,” I said.

His eyes met mine. “You okay?”

I let out a slow breath. “I’m very okay,” I said. “I want to savor you.”

He smiled softly. “I promise it feels a lot less hot in here once you have your shirt off,” he said. “Unless I was the only one who felt like I was going to burn up.”

“I’ve been burning up this entire time,” I said.

“Here,” Henry said, gently placing his hands at the front of my shirt and slowly starting to unbutton the front. “This is a ridiculously nice shirt, by the way.”

I nodded. My heart was hammering in my chest. “It’s silk.”

“Naturally.” His fingers gently undid button after button, revealing my skin below.

When he reached the final button, he slid his hands inside, slowly bringing them to the sides of my body. I shuddered under his touch, my eyelids fluttering closed as he leaned closer toward me.

“How are you still so fucking perfect?” Henry asked, his lips roving over my neck.

“I’m far from it,” I murmured. “But whatever you’re doing with your lips definitely is.”

“I thought I wanted you so badly back then,” he said. “But it was nothing compared to now. Do you know how hard it is not to