Chapter 36

Naomi tapped her foot in a staccato rhythm that was driving even her insane, though damned if she could stop. She’d dropped Sebastian off at his car on campus, and they’d stared at one another for a long moment before they both leaned toward each other and kissed again. But their positions—and location—were awkward, so the kiss didn’t last nearly as long as Naomi had wished it would. There was an impulsive thought that she should invite him back to her place, but the invitation never formed. While she wanted Sebastian all over her, part of her also wanted a second to breathe and think. Which is what she ended up doing for most of the night.

But now it was the next day, and in between students filing in as they attempted to negotiate last-minute plea deals for a better grade, thoughts of Sebastian mauling her in the best way possible consumed her. Thinking was overrated. She wanted to act.

Sebastian walked into the office as her lust reached epic proportions. She tried to make it seem as though she wasn’t watching his every move like the stalker he’d previously accused her of being, but she couldn’t help it. It was as if she thought she could detect interest from his body language, which was bullshit. Unless he threw himself on top of her, she was fairly certain she’d never be able to figure out what he was thinking.

And God how she wanted him to do just that.

She sneaked a quick peek at him for what was probably the tenth time since he’d walked in, and their eyes met, which caused her to look away with the speed of a guilty shoplifter.

She busied herself with her tea and bagel for the next few minutes and sorted through her email.

“Morning,” he said from behind her, which caused her to jump in her seat.

“Jesus Christ! You almost gave me a heart attack.”

He appraised her for a second before saying, “You seem especially on edge today. Have a rough night?” His lips twitched as he obviously tried to suppress a smirk.

Bastard. “I’m not on edge. And my night was fine.” Though it would’ve been better if I hadn’t been obsessing over our kiss. “How was yours?”

“Fine.”

“So loquacious,” she muttered, to which Sebastian laughed.

“Well, I’ll leave you to your tapping.”

Dammit. Naomi forced her leg to stop moving.

Sebastian walked to his cubicle and settled down at his desk. They worked for a while—well, Sebastian worked. Naomi’s brain was incapable of focusing, though she did manage to keep her body still.

An hour or so later, Sebastian stood and packed up his things. She knew he had a class in about twenty minutes, and even though it was only upstairs, he always arrived early. He gave her a slight nod on his way out, which Naomi returned.

As soon as he left their office, Naomi let her head fall to her desk and her leg began jiggling again. “Fuck this,” she mumbled before she leaped up and strode after him.

She caught up to him quickly and pulled him into an empty classroom, shutting the door behind her.

He’d offered a small grunt of protest when she’d steered him toward the room, but he didn’t say anything else until she closed the door. “Well, this is…alarming.”

She chuckled despite herself. “Shut up. I need to talk to you.”

“And you needed to kidnap me to accomplish that task?”

“You’re so dramatic,” she scolded.

His lips twitched again, but he gave nothing else away.

Naomi took a deep breath. “You kissed me.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t feel like it was a one-sided act. Nor was it the first time.”

No, it wasn’t. But it felt different in some way. The kiss after Lit Day had been arousing, and the words that followed had held promise. But then so much had happened that they’d never revisited their feelings for one another. They’d never expounded upon the simple words they’d breathed against one another’s lips. And now, Naomi needed those words. She needed some reassurance that they were on the same page, even if they were at opposite ends of it. Exasperated, she fisted her hands at her sides. “I know. But I want to…talk about it.”

“Why talk when we can reenact?” he said as he set down his messenger bag and took a step toward her, crowding her against a wall.

“That is a…a very good point. We could…do that. But talking maybe…too…at some point. Later.” Christ, she sounded like a moron. Her body warred with her brain, and she was pretty sure the latter didn’t stand a chance.

Sebastian moved even closer, settling his hand on her hip. “I think I short-circuited you. That kiss is all you’ve been able to think about, isn’t it?”

“You’re very smug.”

“I’m also very right.” And with that, he pulled her the rest of the way to him and brushed his lips over hers.

The fireworks were back. The sizzle and crackle that flowed between them ignited like a vibrant display of energy. Naomi’s hands gripped his shoulders as he took control of the kiss, deepening it so that she was nearly bent backward.

He almost literally swept her off her feet, and there wasn’t a damn thing she wanted to change about it.

Eventually he pulled back and looked down at her with a smile. He placed one more kiss on her mouth before stepping back.

She felt immediately bereft.

He was still smiling when he picked up his bag. “I think we both already know where this is heading. Probably have for a while. To deny that we’re attracted to each other would be a blatant lie, and I’m not really up to lying to myself anymore. So let’s just…see where it goes.”

That seemed like a difficult task to Naomi. This wasn’t some random attraction to a guy she met at a bar. This was an inferno of feelings for a man who she’d had strong feelings about from the beginning, even if they hadn’t always been positive. But Naomi had a strong suspicion that Fantasy Sebastian might live within real Sebastian—that he might be even better, and she didn’t just mean in the bedroom. And that possibility was too tempting to ignore. “Yeah, we can do that.”

The smile he flashed her was breathtaking. “Good.” He approached her again. “I have to get to class,” he said before giving her a peck on the lips. “But I’ll see you later?”

She definitely hoped to see him later. Preferably naked. “Absolutely.”

---

Later came, but Naomi never got to see Sebastian naked. She got the next-best thing, though, which was dating him. Spending time with him outside of the university was exhilarating, though she had to admit it wasn’t as different as she expected. It made her wonder if, in some strange way, she and Sebastian had actually been dating for much longer than they’d been willing to acknowledge. It would have been an overwhelming thought if it hadn’t allowed their relationship to remain familiar to her. There was comfort in the fact that, though things were definitely different, it all felt the same.

“Remind me not to let you pick the movie ever again,” Sebastian complained as they walked to his truck.

“You said you were up for anything.”

“That’s because I can typically always enjoy a movie. But once again, you have proven me wrong.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Naomi defended. The bitterly cold wind whipped past them, causing her to shiver.

Sebastian put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “It wasn’t even in English.”

“You’re a writer. I didn’t think having to read subtitles would ruin the experience for you.”

“It wouldn’t have if the plot hadn’t been so far-fetched.”

“You have to suspend disbelief,” she said as they arrived at his truck and he opened the passenger door for her.

“She unknowingly married her own father even though they had the same last name and he raised her until she was seven. My disbelief doesn’t suspend that far.” He closed the door once she got settled and then made his way to his side and climbed in.

“It was tragic,” she said.

“It was disgusting,” he countered.

“Okay, fine, it was a little ridiculous.” The look he shot her made her laugh out loud. “It was the worst movie I’ve ever seen. Happy now?”

“I’d be happier if I could have the last two hours of my life back.”

She laughed again as Sebastian pulled out into traffic. All of the holiday lights were pretty, but they were causing a bit of an ache behind her eyes. She closed her lids to stave off the pain.

“You okay?” she heard from beside her.

She rolled her head against the headrest and opened her eyes to look at him. “Yeah, just a little bit of a headache.”

“I’m not surprised. That film would make anyone’s head hurt.”

“Let it go, man.”

He smiled, but didn’t otherwise reply.

They pulled up outside of her house a short time later. “You want to come in?” she asked.

“Nah, you should get some rest. I’ll walk you to the door, though,” he said as he exited the truck.

She met him at the hood of the truck and they walked slowly to her front door, which she opened before turning to him. “Thanks for going with me.”

“I’d say it was my pleasure, but we both know the truth.”

She laughed and stepped into him. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” he whispered against her lips before putting more pressure behind the kiss.

It was a sweet melding of lips instead of the usual passion, but that was just fine with Naomi. She liked this softer side of Sebastian. It was hot to be desired, but equally as sexy to be appreciated.

He pulled back and ghosted his fingers over her temple. “Take some Tylenol and get some rest.”

“Yes, Dad.”

He grimaced. “Too soon.”

Naomi laughed as he pressed another kiss to her cheek and made his way back to his truck. He waved to her before climbing in, and she watched from her doorway as he backed out of her driveway.

Sebastian stopped and put his window down. “Go inside so I don’t have to worry about Colvin jumping out of your bushes and kidnapping you.”

Naomi rolled her eyes, though she knew he wouldn’t have been able to see her. “Good night!” she yelled as she went in and locked the door behind her.

She leaned back against it and gave herself a moment to bask in the warm glow of being cared about by Sebastian Blake.