Page 99 of Sterling Heat

“Of course not.” Sebastian steps up to me, giving me a kiss before taking the car seat into his room first. Within minutes he has the portable bassinet set up and I’m nursing Adara for a final feed.

Once she’s down, I turn to Sebastian who had been lying face down on his bed. “Would you mind if I took a shower?” I’m exhausted, but I need to wash off the bad parts of this night.

“Enya, baby. You stayed here for weeks. You don’t need to ask me for a thing.” His smile is weak, cautious even. The adrenaline rush from him chasing the intruder has crashed and I suspect he’ll be asleep before I close the bathroom door.

Inside the bathroom, everything races back to me.

Someone shot at Sebastian. He still isn’t certain if the shot came from the person running away from my place or Andy, the deputy, but—

Someone. Shot. At. Him.

For ten full minutes, I couldn’t breathe after that deafening sound and before I spied Sebastian rounding the house. My heart might have even stopped because the thought of losing him nearly killed me.

I turn the hot water handle, allowing the water to heat while the rushing sound muffles the tears I can’t contain.

I could have lost Sebastian tonight. In an instant, he could have been gone from my life. From Adara’s and mine. Before we truly began, we’d be over.

I turn on the cold water to balance the hot and cup both hands over my mouth to mute the next wave of tears.

Someone broke into my house. No, someone walked into my house. Someone looking for buried treasure, which seems ridiculous. Surely, if someone hid money in that house, it had been found, claimed, or moved by now. As I’d told Stone, nothing from the original home remained other than the foundation and even that had been repaired in several places. Still, someone had invaded the privacy of my house tonight. The home I intended to raise Adara in.

Nothing of importance was damaged or taken, but I feel violated. A creepy-crawly sensation ripples over my skin like I’ve been touched by someone I didn’t want to touch me. Or something unpleasant and gross has rubbed against my flesh. I’m not even certain soap can rid me of the dirty feeling. My shoulders shudder and my spine tingles as if I’m arching away from a phantom hand, a hidden presence, the unseen person who entered my home uninvited.

Stepping into the shower, I close the door like the space can hide me or keep me safe from the invisible intruder. My legs are no longer able to hold me upright, and I fold down to the floor. Like a giant flushing of my system, my limbs have given out. My body trembles once again in shock.

With my forehead tucked to my knees, I don’t hear the bathroom door open, but the soft click of the shower stall has me lifting my head.

“Sugar,” Sebastian whispers as he squats and stares at me seated against the tiled wall.

Tears slither down my face mixing with the spray of the shower.

“What did they want? I don’t have anything.”

“I know, baby. I know.” Sebastian wears only boxer briefs, and he steps into the shower. In one swift motion, I’m up in his arms, clinging to his chest, wrapping my legs around his middle. My back is braced against the tile wall while the shower pummels Sebastian’s side.

“You’re okay, baby. You’re safe. Adara’s safe, too. I’m never going to let anyone get to you. You believe me, right?”

I nod into the crook of his neck and shoulder, but he presses my face back, forcing me to look at him. His eyes tell me he needs the words.

“I trust you,” I remind him before my mouth crashes against his, needing to confirm he’s alive. He’s safe. I’m safe. Adara is, too.

Our mouths move, hungry and desperate, like the kiss we shared in my yard. Relief hit me then, as well. I’d been eager to remove his clothes and take him on my lawn in an effort to remind myself he was whole.

Now, nothing holds us back. “I need you,” I whimper against his mouth, sipping at his lower lip, then thrusting my tongue over his. Tightening my arms around his neck, I hitch myself higher, dragging my center along his hardness.

“Sebastian, please,” I beg.

“Baby, what about earlier?”

Earlier, we had a romantic hour on the rooftop, blanketed in fireworks, and surrounded by the scent of us coming together. I need that again and more.

“What about it?” I murmur, keeping my mouth attached to his.

“Are you sore?”

I shake my head, lips still pressed to his lips.

Sebastian lowers my legs and steps back, removing his soaked boxers. We didn’t see enough of each other on the rooftop. I hadn’t removed my bra. A blanket covered our legs. But here we stand, revealed to one another, naked and raw. Our eyes roam before I turn around, giving him my back.