Wesley hesitated. But no, he knew what he’d felt on the moor. There was no question. Sebastian might not want to hear it, but Wesley was going to be honest. “Your magic knocked me down.”
“My magic?” Sebastian blinked. “Pero mira, Wes—”
“No, do notpero mirame,” Wesley said, holding up a finger. “I know your magic. I know the feel of it in my aura and my limbs, know your magic’s touch the way I know the touch of your hands. I would recognizeyour lips in the dark and I am telling you, Sebastian, it was your magic I felt on the moor.” He leaned forward. “And I suspect it saved my life.”
Sebastian’s eyes widened.
“Someone took a shot in my direction,” Wesley said. “Your magic sent me to the ground just in time and the bullet hit the tree where I’d been standing.”
“Wait.” Sebastian stepped forward, hands catching Wesley’s upper arms. “Someoneshotat you?”
“Yes, and if I had any doubts about what I’d felt, that would clear them right up,” Wesley said. “Your magic feels like you, it comes from you, and it has always saved me when I needed it.”
“But whoshot at you?” Sebastian said.
“I don’t know,” Wesley said. “I have suspicions, of course, but when you get right down to it, it could have been any of the men. We were all carrying firearms. And there was no one with me to rule out, because I had taken another path to—ah.” He hastily cut himself off. “Because I had taken another path.”
Sebastian raised his eyebrow. “What were you about to say?”
“Nothing.”
“Notnothing.”
“It was,” Wesley insisted. “Nothing important.”
“It has to be important.” Sebastian was moving closer. “Because you’reblushing.”
“Um.”
Sebastian was close enough Wesley could have pulled him into his arms. “Why were you alone on a different path?”
“Um.” Wesley wet his lips. “I just. Checking. Something.”
“Checking what?”
“A, um. A trail. A thing. A thing on the trail.”
“Something on the trail?” Sebastian pursed his lips. “But what about the dogs? And the others? I thought all of you were following a fox.”
“Right. Yes, well, that is typically how a fox hunt would go.” Wesley wet his lips again. “It’s possible that I might, perhaps, have engaged in just the smallest touch of sabotage.”
“Sabotage?” Sebastian was somehow even closer, looking up into Wesley’s eyes. “Wes. Are you trying to say that you sabotaged…the fox hunt?”
Christ, Wesley could feel his cheeks growing hotter; this was completely unacceptable. “Look, I know that you think the stupid little pests are cute and charming and you hate the whole idea of fox hunts, and you were so sad about the whole thing and obviously I won’t stand for anything making you sad—”
“You sabotaged the fox hunt.” Sebastian was breaking into a smile, his eyes bright, his expression wondrous. “For me?”
“Well, I didn’t do it for Geoffrey.” Ugh, how did people bear their face feeling this hot? “Yes, I snuck out this morning and set false trails for the dogs on the moor, and yes, of course it was for you, and if you haven’t figured out by now that I’d do bloody anything in the world to make you happy then—”
Sebastian’s lips landed on his, his arms going around Wesley’s neck to pull him in and Wesley was suddenly being kissed within an inch of his life. “Wesley,” Sebastian said again, “I love you so much—”
“Youwhat,” Wesley said helplessly, but Sebastiantoppled him down to the bed and his words were lost to the kiss that hadn’t stopped.
This was not some incomprehensible half-asleep words muttered into a pillow. This was crisp and clear and unmistakable.
Sebastian loved him.
Sebastian loved him.
