“Not true.” Sebastian gestured at Stella’s racks of clothes. “Look at all these dresses. I’m spoiled for choice.”
“You’re spoilt all right,” Wesley said, the corner of his mouth turning up in a grudging smile. “Spoilt brat dodging proper clothes.” His gaze was on Sebastian, more specifically on the sheer T-shirt sticking to his skin. “Are you about to take that T-shirt off, by any chance?”
“Oh yes.” Sebastian pulled the T-shirt over his head, dropping it on top of his wet shirt. “I’m going to swap it for that little red number with the feathers.”
“In fairness, you’ve got the legs for it.” Wesley was watching him strip with complete attention. “And I am admittedly now speculating on the variety of outfits I could you get into when it’s just the two of us.”
“It’snotjust the two of you.” Rory’s disgruntled voice broke the spell, from behind the screen. “If you’re gonna flirt, then scram already.”
Wesley’s eyes went heavenward. “Brodigan—”
“Give me two minutes and I’ll be out,” Sebastian promised.
“Fine,” Wesley said, sounding even more disgruntledthan Rory. He reached for the door, his gaze going to Sebastian’s bare chest one last time in a familiar look that rippled through him like Wesley had touched his skin. It was the same look Wesley used to give him right before Sebastian found himself pinned to a wall or flattened against the nearest surface for some of the best sex of his life.
Wesley slipped through the door, back into the hall. Sebastian reached for the buckle of his belt.
He hadn’t been pinned or flattened to anything since the night he’d lost his magic. Suddenly finding himself powerless—truly powerless, in a way he’d only been for one terrible period of his life—had come with a lot of complicated feelings.
Wesley was bigger, heavier, and more knowledgeable about combat. None of that had mattered when Sebastian had his magic and the ability to knock Wesley down and keep him there; it had been easy to play at helpless when he knew he could turn the tables at any moment. Now, though, Sebastian didn’t have magic. And if Wesley wanted, he could actually pin Sebastian down and make it very hard to escape.
Except Wesley wouldn’t hurt him physically any more than Sebastian would have hurt Wesley with magic. And Wesley hadn’t pushed—wouldn’t ever push. The battle scars of a bad past were something Wesley deeply understood and treated with utmost care. Sebastian wasn’t going to be pinned or flattened to anything unless he asked for it again.
Perhaps ironically, the unconditional gentleness was making Sebastian crave the rougher handling again—if he could just get past those complicated feelings.
He peeled the rest of his clothes off and gratefullywrapped himself in a dry towel. He grabbed the other towel and the smaller of the two suits and carried it over to Rory’s corner. “Can we have our clothes sent to be cleaned?”
“Yeah, just leave your stuff here.” Rory poked his head around the screen. “Your clothes are nice ones, like Ace and Fine, right? Tailored for you and all that?”
“Well—I mean—”
“Look, it’s obvious you’re not wearing cheap stuff, even if you don’t show off with fancy suits,” Rory said dryly, as he stuck out a hand and grabbed the towel and tailcoat. “Ace has a place. We’ll take it there. Just leave your stuff behind and don’t bother waiting for me—Fine’s waiting on you and it’s gonna take me forever to get this getup on.”
Sebastian went back to the vanity, rough-drying his hair with the towel before pulling on the tuxedo pants with their ribbon stripe up the side. He left the tailcoat folded on the vanity chair, along with the waistcoat and the bow tie, so that he was dressed in just trousers, suspenders and the button-up white shirt, which he rolled up the sleeves and left open at the collar.
As he stepped out of Stella’s dressing room, closing the door behind him, he found Wesley waiting in the hall.
“For fuck’s sake.” Wesley’s gaze locked straight on him. “I don’t know what’s more attractive, you half-dressed like this or knowing you did it just to give me a hard time.”
Sebastian casually leaned against the wall, tilting his head back so he could look up at Wesley. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said innocently. “I did it to be comfortable.”
“What bullshit.” Wesley’s gaze was now on the open collar and Sebastian’s throat. “You did it somytrousers would be uncomfortable.”
Sebastian grinned. “You keep thinking you’re the bigger villain, but I’m always going to be badder than you, Wes.”
Wesley moved closer, his movements slow and deliberate, giving Sebastian plenty of time and space to shift away.
Sebastian’s heart was beating faster, but he didn’t want to move. He kept his spot as Wesley put a hand on the wall next to Sebastian’s head and leaned forward in a way that had Sebastian boxed in but not trapped.
“Truly, not a single person downstairs would believe me if I told them what an impertinent brat you actually are,” Wesley said, his voice lower. “To a one, they’d say,Sebastian is the sweetest, most polite of gentlemen; how dare you besmirch his character.Only I know the truth—”
Their moment was cut short by the door at the other end of the hall flying open.
“Teddy, are you—ugh, no, it’s just you two.”
Sebastian and Wesley hastily pulled apart. “Arthur!” Sebastian cleared his throat, trying to bring his voice back down to a normal pitch. “Were you looking for—”
“Rory, yes, obviously.” The door slammed shut behind Arthur as he strode down the hall. “For Christ’s sake, Wes, do you have to have your mitts all over Sebastian in Jade’s speakeasy? Let the poor man breathe.”
