CHAPTER ELEVEN - VIOLET
That night, I was unable to sleep. My body was tired and worn out, but my mind was spinning. I was fearful that when Sebastian woke up and the wine had worn off, he'd regret everything that had happened between us. I worried he might pull away, and even worse, that it might affect my job.
I didn't want any of that, which was why I'd never thought we'd actually sleep together. I'd always wanted to be with him, of course, but I was scared of the damage it might cause if it had ever come to pass.
But as the sun came up the next morning, Sebastian reminded me of why I felt so strongly about him. His eyes opened and caught me awake, and he smiled at me.
“Hey you,” he said, propping himself up on his elbow, gently stroking my cheek. “You're awake early.”
I smiled back at him, trying to push away the lingering doubts and uncertainty about what was going to happen that clung to the corners of my mind like cobwebs.
“So are you,” I said.
“Well I'm always up early,” he said. He reached out and pushed back a strand of hair away from my face.
I hated feeling like I was sitting there waiting for the other shoe to drop. But that's what I was doing. I was wondering when, or if, we'd talk about what happened the night before and what it all meant. After all, there we were, still naked in bed together.
But Sebastian didn't need to talk, he leaned down and kissed me, nearly taking my breath away. Last night could be chalked up to a drunken mistake, but to kiss me today, sober and by the light of day, well, that meant something, right? A girl could hope.
“Since we're both up, would you like to have some breakfast with me?” he asked.
“Sounds great.” Though truthfully, another round of sex sounded even better to me, but I didn't want to push my luck. “Where should we go?”
“Oh, we're not going anywhere. I'm going to order room service,” he said. “What would you like? You can have anything your little heart desires.”
Oh yeah, sometimes hanging around with rich people came with benefits. Like room service.
Sebastian placed the order, and then slid out of bed and proceeded to get dressed. I couldn't help but stare at his nice, tight ass as he was pulling on his pants, and I felt myself flush as I remembered how my legs had been wrapped tightly around his body. I stayed in bed, naked, but covered up with a sheet as I watched him.
“So about last night – ” Sebastian started to say, turning toward me.
My heart sank as I waited for that damned shoe. He sat down on the bed, and my heart shattered. I could see there was a look of fear in his eyes, almost like maybe he knew he'd made a mistake by sleeping with me.
“Yes?” I managed to choke out. “What about it?”
“I don't want to hurt you, Violet,” he said. “I care about you, deeply. I always have.”
There we had it; the talk about how I'm like family to him. I closed my eyes, feeling tears welling in my eyes, already fearing the worst.
But while my eyes were closed, Sebastian had laid back down beside me and kissed my lips, causing me to open them mid-kiss, surprised.
“I don't want to hurt you,” he said again, stroking my face. “But I also can't deny that I feel something for you.”
“The feeling is mutual, Sebastian,” I said softly. “You don't have to worry about hurting me, I'm a big girl. I know what I'm getting into and I can handle whatever happens.”
“I know you can,” he said. “I just don't know what will happen now.”
“Can we at least take it day-by-day and see?” I asked, hopeful.
“Yeah, I think that's a great idea,” he said, kissing me again.
I was on cloud nine. There I was, living the dream in Bali with the only man in the world to ever capture my heart. I didn't think that things really couldn't get any better.
***
“This is amazing,” I said out loud, staring out at the water with a belly full of fancy tropical fruits and pancakes. “A girl could get used to this.”
Sebastian was sitting beside me and though we hadn't said much about what had happened between us, he was still being fairly affectionate with me. I had to admit, it made everything that much nicer.
“I guess I'll have to bring you on work trips more often,” he said with a wink. “Speaking of which, we have to meet Paula and Steve in an hour to start the property tours. So, as much as I don't want to, we should probably shower and get ready.”
“Of course,” I said sheepishly. “I mean, we are here for work and all.”
“Plus a little fun,” he said, his tone flirtatious.
“And a little fun,” I laughed. “Care to join me in the shower?”
As soon as I asked, I was fearful he would say no. Even though we'd had sex just the night before, and he was still holding my hand and kissing me, part of wasn't so sure he was comfortable with the sexual nature of our relationship yet. He looked into my eyes, as if contemplating the pros and cons of my request before smiling and responding.
“Sure. I'd love to,” he said. “But we can't have too much fun, we only have an hour.”
My heart nearly jumped right out of my chest, h was saying yes to showering with me. One more dream come true and something else I could check off my bucket list.
“I'll try to be good,” I said with a mischievous grin, standing up and walking toward the patio door. “But I can't make any promises.”
Sebastian playfully smacked my ass, causing me to squeal as I darted for the bathroom. We both laughed as we entered the bungalow, holding each other close, kissing and stripping each other down. Sebastian was shirtless and his pants were down around his ankles when there was a knock on the door. Eyes wide like we were kids caught doing something wrong, we stopped for a moment, wondering who it could be.
“Probably just housekeeping, making the rounds,” he said. He walked over to the door and called out. “Can you come back later, please?”
Whoever it was obviously hadn't heard him since they continued knocking. Only this time, it was louder and more insistent. Sebastian tried again, this time his tone a little less polite. “Come back later. We're in the middle of something.”
More knocking. Finally, I could see that Sebastian had had enough, and he swung open the door just enough to peer out, and that's when we both saw her. My heart just about stopped in my chest and judging by the expression on Sebastian's face, his had too.
Jessica. Standing in the doorway with a cruel little smirk on her face.
“Ooooh, golly, am I interrupting something?” she asked, peering in.
I hurried up and stepped into the bathroom, but it was too late. She saw me wearing nothing but my bra and panties and of course, Sebastian topless.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Sebastian growled.
“Well, I thought I might surprise you,” she said, peeking back past Sebastian. “Thought we might have a little fun, you know. But I guess your assistant beat me to it.”
“Get out of here,” Sebastian said as he tried to shut the door, but Jessica stopped him.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” she said, her smirk turning to a look of pure hatred. “Because let me tell you something, if you don't listen to what I have to say, I'm going to ruin both of your pathetic little lives.”
“Like hell you will.”
“I have photos, Sebastian,” Jessica said. And the words sent chills down my spine. “Photos of the two of you kissing outside last night, and photos of you being all cuddly on the patio this morning. But better yet, you two didn't even bother to close the blinds last night, and I didn't have to try too hard to see what you were doing. Or get photographic proof of it either. And what would happen if these photos got into the wrong hands? What would happen if say, Violet's mother got hold of them?”