Page 145 of A Wild Darkness

“But—”

Sebastian rushes back to me with a quiet pace, and I don’t have a moment to see what happened, because his hand is wrapped around my throat, his thumb pressing against my windpipe. My body locks in place. “You have the choice of whether or not you want to return to your regular life or not. But you also have the choice of joining me,” he says. Bending closer, he brings his lips to brush against mine. The sensation settles between my legs as a pool of arousal forms in my panties. “What you do not have a choice in is whether you get to be mine, because you are. You are mine now, and you will be mine forever. Like it or not, Stevie, you will never be able to escape me.”

My lips part. I suck a tiny puff of precious air. He cares for me. It would frighten any other woman, but me, now I find it hot and intoxicating. He’s this obsessed—he wants me so badly he refuses to let me live without him.

Sebastian releases pressure on my throat, but only slightly. “You wouldn’t let me leave you?”

He chuckles, then brings his lips to mine, pressing deeply. His tongue slides into my mouth. Mine tangles with him for a moment of sweetness before he pulls away. “No.”

“What if something happens to you?” I nuzzle his nose and rest my forehead against his. “Then what am I supposed to do?”

The welcome release from his tight grip on my neck is all I need to bring my arms around him.

“I will not die, Stevie,” he reassures me. “You deal with death all the time, so I find it hard to believe someone like you is afraid of it.”

My eyes lock with his. They are wide pools of endless darkness, but I care for them more than I’d like to admit. “Death is the only thing in life that’s guaranteed.”

“I’m not going to die.” He kisses my forehead. “I will not leave you.” A soft kiss is pressed on the tip of my nose as he hoists me up by my ass and lifts me off the counter. I wrap my legs around him, and he turns toward the hallway. “And if I do, I’m bringing you with me.” His lips crash into mine as he takes me into my bedroom.

He playfully tosses me on the bed, then rips off his shirt. “Why don’t we sleep here tonight?”

“We don’t have to,” I say. “I love the manor.”

He unlatches his belt, then zips it through his pants and tosses it to the side. “I want to. I think you need some grounding.” His pants slide off as he lowers to the bed. Slowly, his warm body crawls up mine until he’s caging me with his broad arms. “Let’s order pizza.”

I laugh. “What? Don’t we have a lot to do to prepare for the last event?”

His eyes find my lips. “We’re prepared, Stevie. Right now, you’re my priority.”

“Are you sure?” My fingertips glide over hot skin.

“Yes.” He smiles. “How about when this is all over, I take you to the graveyard of all graveyards?”

My eyes narrow, rubbing my lips together, convinced he’s offering something that he might now know exists. So, I play a little. “Oh yeah? Where would that be?”

“Greyfriars Kirkyard,” he states with confidence.

“Greyfriars?” I repeat, making sure I heard him correctly. “Are you serious?” Sebastian has my heart in a vise. “You know what that is?”

His nose runs down my neck. “Yeah. Obviously. It’s a well-known historical gothic cemetery dating back to the 1500s in Scotland.” He rattles off the facts like he’s proud of himself, and I fucking eat it up. “When you first told me you were into rubbing graves, I looked up cemeteries from across the world to see which one seemed the most unique, and that one came up. I thought maybe I’d take you one day.”

My hands fly up to cover my face, as tears sting the backs of my eyes. I have always had to be more of a champion when it came to what I do for a living and my hobbies, but I’m not alone anymore.

He laughs and peels my hand away. “So, what do you say? How about we leave the day after we take the group out?”

“The next day?”

“Yes.”

“Oh god! Of course,” I squeak out, my palms coming up to cup his face. “Thank you!”

Sebastian kisses me deeply, then quickly pulls back. “But first, we’re going to play a little game.”

“A game?”

“I’m going to see how many orgasms I can give you before you can’t take anymore.”

My eyes widened, my stomach flutters. “I’m sorry, what?”