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He cracked a smile. “Big guy?”
I shrugged. “The Beast is a big guy.”
“Really going all in on this, aren’t we?”
I didn’t bother answering him.
“The article pissed me off.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I could tell. You froze like a deer in headlights.”
He scrubbed a hand down his gorgeous face, that five o’clock shadow out in full force. “I’m not used to people writing articles about me.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek. “I know.”
“I’m not used to being the center of attention. I don’t like being the center of attention, and I certainly don’t like that I’m under a microscope because I’m with you.”
Fuck. This wasn’t going well.
I got sad. Then I got mad.
I lifted a finger to tell him as much, but he caught it and threaded my hand through his. The man leaned in, our foreheads colliding.
“I don’t want you to go making assumptions before I’ve finished saying what I have to say.”
I swallowed, then shrugged casually like I was of course going to give him the benefit of the doubt and not jump to conclusions. Like I would do that.
My heart lodged in my throat as the expression on his face hardened.
Let the man talk, Faith.
I bit my tongue so hard I drew blood.
“Tell me.” Okay, so patience was a virtue I also didn’t possess.
He raised a solitary brow, and I lifted my hands from him, holding my hands out and mouthed sorry.
“Can I go now?”
I nodded and made a zipping my lips gesture.
“This isn’t normal for me. I’ve built my career staying in the background and being very content doing so. But it’s more than that. I don’t want you to see me as that man—the kind that hurts others.”
“And I hear you. Limelight bad. Shadows and mystery, good.”
“Faith Waters, let me talk.”
“Sure, sure, sure.” Then she pinched me. “By the way, how dare you think so little of me?”
“You can’t help yourself, can you?”
“You know this. And you know that somewhere deep inside you that you aren’t a bad guy. Not in the least. You’re the opposite of a bad guy. You're the good guy who protects his mom and volunteers at the animal shelter. The one that drives me into the city every Friday because I want to teach an hour-long class to a bunch of rowdy teenagers. The one that will do anything to keep the people around him safe. You-”
He kissed me. As far as ways to shut me up go, it was effective. I opened my mouth, letting him in. His hand gripped the base of my neck, tugging my hair in a way that had me moaning. I loved how he made me feel loved and dominated at the same time.
Sebastian nipped at my lips again before pulling back, his eyes darkened and heavy.
“If you keep looking at me like that we’re going to be in trouble,” I teased.
