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And I wasn’t going to let it.
Once I got dressed, I made my way upstairs to find everybody in the cabin was in the main living room. There was an A-shaped series of windows looking out over the deck and the misty blue view of the valley outside. The interior was all warm wood colors and dotted with a homey assortment of odds and ends that made the place feel welcoming and cozy. Cooney was at one of the several couches spread around the large, open living room in front of the windows. He had a laptop on his legs and headphones on. Astaire was on the balcony overlooking the room with her phone held at arm’s length. She was video calling someone. The couple I hadn’t met were out on the patio with a plate of food and steaming cups of coffee. Sebastian was pouring two cups of coffee in the kitchen.
I jumped when someone’s hand touched my shoulder from behind. “Morning. I thought maybe you were going to stay down there all day.”
It was Reggie. I had to suppress a visible shiver as I ducked out from under the hand on my shoulder and smiled. I crossed my arms, inching back a step for good measure. The guy may have had good intentions, but he set off every single creep alarm I had. I was fairly sure he just wanted to get in my pants, even though I wasn’t the sort of woman who normally drew that kind of attention from guys.
“Just got a late start,” I said. I suddenly felt vividly aware of the fact that I could still feel warm tingly spots where Sebastian had kissed my neck and the pleasant echo of pleasure from where he’d had his mouth on my nipple or between my legs. I felt marked all over and being so close to someone else made me irrationally afraid he’d be able to sense it.
Reggie checked his expensive looking watch. “No kidding. It’s almost ten. Are you a night owl writer? I think I do my best work just after lunch, personally. But I like to get an early start because I think I write best after reading a few hours of classics.”
Sebastian appeared between us. He stuck one cup of coffee toward me and wedged himself between us in a way that made Reggie back up a step. “That one’s yours,” he said. “This one’s mine,” he added, eyes locked on Reggie.
The statement was almost nonsensical, except his meaning seemed unmistakable. He wasn’t talking about the coffee, was he?
“That’s usually how it works,” I said. “The one you give someone is theirs and the one you keep is yours.”
“I would’ve thought the great Sebastian St. James would take his work schedule more seriously,” Reggie said. I could almost hear the sneer in his voice.
“Words are words,” Sebastian said. “It doesn’t matter when you write them or how.”
“I disagree,” Reggie said. “A true creative feeds on his—”
Sebastian made a dismissive sound and took me by the arm, leading me back down toward the basement. I could hear Reggie sputtering behind us, absolutely indignant at the idea of someone cutting him off. I smiled once my back was to him.
“Not a fan of Reggie?” I asked once we were out of earshot.
“Reggie wants to fuck you.”
“I’d rather let a snake in my bed.”
Sebastian flashed a rare smile at that. “Good.”
“I thought there were no strings,” I said. “That jealous streak of yours sounds like a string.”
“Considering your bed is in my room, I’d say it’s a business interest. I don’t imagine I’d get much sleep with you two fucking a few feet away.”
I felt more than a little stung by how callous he sounded. There was “no strings attached” and then there was “douse the strings in gasoline, light them on fire, and then hit them with a hammer just to be sure they’re really dead.”
Sebastian got out his laptop and put in his earbuds with no more conversation. I tried to look like I was fine, but my thoughts were racing. I sat on the bed with my computer and stared at the login screen, picking through my thoughts. What was that about? Was he mad at me, now? When did that dynamic flip on its head?
I stole a glance his way and saw he was glaring at his screen, fingers completely still.
We both suffered an awkward hour or two of silence. I was painfully aware that Sebastian only typed two or three times, which he quickly followed by holding the delete key.
I snapped my laptop shut. “Alright,” I said.
His stupid earbuds must’ve been on full blast or had noise cancellation, because he didn’t even flinch.
“Alright!” I said, halfway yelling.
Sebastian still didn’t move, so I grabbed a loose pillow and flung it at him. My aim was better than intended and it caught him directly in the forehead, whipping his head back from the impact.
