Chapter 48 Chapter Forty eight
Lena’s POV
The moment Sebastian disappears behind the elevator doors, it’s like the entire suite exhales with me.
The quiet feels too big.
Too warm.
Too full of the ghost of his touch on my neck.
I stand there for a good minute, staring at the polished metal doors like they might reopen and drag him back to me.
This isn’t just sex, Lena.
My mind keeps replaying it, looping it like a song I’m scared to sing out loud.
He left around 1 p.m., promising to return by four.
Three hours.
Three whole hours of trying not to drown in whatever this thing between us is.
I do what any sane woman would do in this situation:
I face-plant onto the couch and scream into a pillow.
Then I grab my phone, roll onto my back, and tap FaceTime.
Avery answers instantly. Her hair is in a messy bun, her eyebrows dramatic, her lips glossy like she was waiting for this call all day.
“MY BABYYYYY!” she shrieks, shaking the phone. “Give me an update right now! Did yo u two break the hotel bed? Blink twice if you’re dehydrated.”
My soul leaves my body.
“Avery—”
“No, I’m serious,” she continues, leaning forward dramatically. “Do I need to order electrolytes to your location? Should I call the embassy? Are you safe? Are your legs functional?”
I throw an arm over my face.
“I hate you.”
She gasps. “YOU DID IT!”
“No I didn’t!” I yell back.
She narrows her eyes. “You didn’t not do it.”
“I’m hanging up.”
“NO!” She screams so loudly I choke on my own spit. “Do not leave me here with unanswered questions like I’m a side chick. Tell me EVERYTHING.”
I groan.
“I can’t tell you everything while I’m still— processing.”
“Processing?” Avery gasps. “Oh my God, he folded you into a different consciousness.”
“Avery, I swear—”
“Stand up,” she demands suddenly. “I need to see if you’re wobbling.”
“I’m NOT wobbling!”
But I stand anyway—because she’s terrifying—and my knees do, in fact, betray me.
Avery’s scream pierces the walls.
“OH MY GOD SHE’S WOBBLING—LENA LANCASTER IS WOBBL—”
“STOP calling me that!”
She cackles. “Okay, okay, Mrs. Lancaster —”
“Avery!”
“FINE,” she wheezes, wiping her eyes. “Show me the suite. I want to see what being a CEO’s secret something-something looks like.”
I flip the camera reluctantly.
She gasps so dramatically I check if she swallowed her tongue.
“IS THAT—THAT—WHAT THE—LENA, ARE YOU STAYING IN A SUITE OR A PRIVATE KINGDOM?!”
“It’s just a nice hotel—”
“NICE?!” she barks. “A NICE place has towels you’re scared to wash. This place has lighting that costs more than our rent.”
I move to the bathroom.
She gasps again.
“Is that a marble tub shaped like a blessing? Lena, steal it.”
“I cannot steal the tub.”
“THEN STEAL THE SOAP. Honor the Lord in small ways.”
I’m still laughing when I walk past the mirror—and freeze.
Because my neck—
My whole neck—
Is carrying a freshly minted mark.
Avery shrieks before I even speak.
“WHAT IS THAT ON YOUR NECK? OH MY GOD—ZOOM IN—COME CLOSER—SHOW ME—”
“No!” I clutch my phone like it’s burning. “Stop. Stop. Avery—stop.”
She is screaming, laughing, clapping, choking, praising God all at once.
“He DID THAT? YOUR BOSS DID THAT? With his CEO mouth? His billionaire mouth?”
My face could cook eggs.
I flee the bathroom.
“No wonder you’re glowing!” she continues. “You look like you were plugged into electricity. Girl, your SKIN— your aura—your future—everything is screaming ‘I had morning sex with a powerful man.’”
I bury my face in my hands.
“Oh my God Avery, it’s just a business trip.”
“Business trip with hickeys all over? Sit,” she orders. “Sit down. I need the tea. The boiling, nuclear tea.”
I sit on the edge of the bed, heart racing.
This is it.
This is the moment I tell her everything.
“Okay,” I whisper, leaning closer. “Avery… something happened.”
She grins like a demon.
“Finally. Speak. Speak into the mic. Start from the naked parts—”
The elevator dings.
I freeze.
So does Avery.
I look at her.
She looks at me.
She whispers, “Girl. GIRL. Is that him?”
My heart jumps into my throat.
Footsteps.
Slow, confident, unhurried footsteps.
Avery shrieks, “TURN THE CAMERA!”
“No! No—Avery, shut UP—”
The suite door opens.
Sebastian steps inside.
And he looks…
God.
His tie is gone.
His shirt is unbuttoned at the top.
His sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms.
His hair slightly mussed like he ran a hand through it too many times.
He’s checking his watch when he looks up—
And his eyes find me.
Instant heat.
Instant awareness.
A slow, wicked smirk touches his mouth.
He sees the phone.
Avery’s voice booms through the speaker:
“LENA TURN THE DAMN CAMERA I WANT TO SEE HIS FINE ASS—”
“I’m muting you!” I screech, nearly dropping the phone.
I slam my thumb on the mute button.
Sebastian raises a brow, amusement flickering in his eyes.
“Your friend sounds… energetic,” he says, voice low.
I fumble.
“She’s just—she’s—she’s Avery.”
“Mm.” He steps closer, undoing his cuff as he moves. “And what were you about to tell her?”
My lungs forget how to exist.
“N-nothing.”
He stops right in front of me, gaze sliding deliberately to the side of my neck where his mark is very, very visible.
“Are you sure?” he murmurs.
I’m pretty sure my soul leaves my body.
He holds out a hand.
“Give me the phone.”
I squeak but obey.
He picks up the phone, looks directly into the camera even though Avery can’t hear, and says in that deep, rich voice:
“Avery, if you don’t mind… I need her.”
My knees.
My knees actually buckle.
He ends the call and places the phone down gently.
“You missed me,” he says softly.
It isn’t a question.
I fold my arms, even though my pulse is slamming against my ribcage.
“You were gone for three hours.”
“That’s not an answer,” he murmurs, stopping in front of me.
My breath stutters.
He smells like cedar and amber and something purely male.
“You look flushed,” he says, thumb brushing my jaw. “Cute.”
“I was on a call,” I argue weakly.
“I know. A very… animated call,” he adds, leaning closer. “Something you were about to tell her?”
My cheeks burn. God. He heard more than I thought.
I try to step away, but he cages me in with an arm on either side of the sofa, bracketing me with heat and dominance.
“Lena,” he says, voice dipping low.
“What exactly were you going to tell her?”
My breath catches.
He knows.
He wants me to say it.
The man is shameless.
I swallow, chest tight. “Nothing.”
He tilts my chin up.
“That didn’t sound like nothing.”
I feel like I’m vibrating, caught between embarrassment and desire.
“Sebastian,” I whisper, “why do you always—”
He cuts me off with a slow, deep kiss.
Not rushed.
Just… claiming.
His lips move against mine like he’s been holding back for hours, and now he refuses to wait a second longer. My hands fist in his shirt. His body presses into mine, warm and solid and everything.
When he finally pulls back, we’re both breathing hard.
His forehead rests on mine.
“Next time,” he murmurs, “tell me first.”
My stomach flips violently.
This man. This impossible, infuriating, breathtaking man.
But before I can respond—
He slides his thumb over my lower lip, eyes darkening.
“We’re not done with our date.”
A shiver races through me. “We’re not?”
He straightens, grabs my hand, and pulls me to my feet with a confidence that feels like gravity.
“No,” he says, voice absolute.
“I’m taking you somewhere.”
I blink. “Where?”
His smirk is soft… but wicked.
“You’ll see.”