Chapter 50 Chapter Fifty
Sebastian’s POV
The door clicks shut behind us.
I don’t move.
She doesn’t move.
The sound of the lock sliding into place echoes through the suite like a trigger being pulled somewhere inside my chest.
Lena stands in front of me, the soft light from the entryway painting a gentle glow along her cheek, her jaw, her throat—every inch of her that I shouldn’t be staring at, but can’t stop staring at.
Her breathing is uneven.
Mine isn’t any better.
I can still taste her from the rooftop.
Still feel the imprint of her mouth on mine, the warmth of her hands gripping my shirt as if she couldn’t get close enough.
And the worst part?
I didn’t want her to stop.
Not for a single second.
She turns slightly, and when her eyes meet mine, something inside me unravels fast. Too fast.
“Sebastian…” she whispers.
She says my name like a question.
Like a pull.
Like a hand curling around my spine and dragging me forward.
I should step back.
I should create space.
I should remember every good reason to keep my distance.
Instead, I take a slow step toward her.
She inhales shakily.
Her pupils widen.
Her lips part.
And my self-control—the thin, fragile thing I’ve been clinging to since the plane—begins to crack down the middle.
I drag a hand through my hair, swallowing hard.
“I need to answer a few emails,” I force out. My voice sounds nothing like me. It’s rough. Low. Strained.
“If I don’t, tomorrow will be a disaster.”
She nods quickly, too quickly. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. Go do that.”
Except she says it softly.
Almost regretfully.
Like she doesn’t want me to step away.
And fuck, that does things to me.
I clear my throat, trying to pull myself together.
"is there anything I can help with?"
“No, no. I can handle it. We can go down to the pool after,” I add, almost reluctantly. “If you want.”
Her head lifts a little.
She brightens—not excessively, just enough for it to punch straight into my chest.
“Yeah,” she says. “I’d like that.”
She shouldn’t be this easy to please.
She shouldn’t look at me like that.
Like I matter.
I nod and force myself to turn away from her before I do something reckless—like kiss her again until she forgets her own name.
I sit down at the desk with my laptop.
But I’m not reading emails.
I’m watching Lena in the reflection of the black screen.
She moves quietly around the suite, slipping off her shoes, setting her bag down, brushing her hair behind her ear as she walks toward her bedroom.
She hums under her breath.
Soft. Sweet. Effortless.
It’s ridiculous how a sound that simple can take hold of me.
I’ve been in boardrooms with world leaders and ruthless billionaires.
I’ve negotiated mergers worth billions.
I’ve stared down hostile investors without blinking.
But one woman humming while she looks for a swimsuit?
It undoes me.
When she disappears into the bedroom, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
“This isn’t just sex,” I whisper to myself.
It hasn’t been for a long time.
Not since that night in my office when we kissed
Not since she laughed with ice cream smudged on her lip in the middle of the street like she wasn’t the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
Fuck.
I lean back in the chair and stare at the ceiling
I’m in trouble.
Real trouble.
When she reappears, she’s wearing a soft robe tied loosely around her waist and carrying a towel. Her hair is up. Her skin is glowing from the shower.
I should look away.
I don’t.
She catches me staring and her cheeks warm.
“I’m going down,” she says. “I won’t be long.”
I want to say Wait. I’ll come with you.
But I can’t.
If I follow her right now, if I see her in whatever swimsuit she’s wearing…
I won’t make it out of the elevator before I press her against the wall again.
“Go ahead,” I manage. “I’ll join you soon.”
She smiles, soft and devastating, and then she’s gone.
I try answering emails.
I really do.
But the entire left wall of the suite is floor-to-ceiling glass.
And from this height, the pool below looks like a moving painting.
And I can see her.
She walks along the deck—slow, graceful, unaware of the chaos she causes inside me
Then she slips the robe off her shoulders.
I stop breathing.
Her swimsuit is… fuck. It’s black. Simple. Elegant. And sinful on her body. Hugging every curve, making her look like she stepped out of a fantasy I have no business entertaining.
My hand tightens on the edge of the desk.
She ties her hair up again, adjusting the straps. And then—
A man approaches her.
Tall. Good-looking in a forgettable way. Wearing a smile that is absolutely not forgettable.
He says something.
She laughs.
And the laugh hits me like a knife.
He touches her arm lightly.
Friendly. Casual. Too familiar.
My pulse spikes.
Heat floods through my chest—dark, possessive heat I don’t recognize, don’t want to recognize, but can’t fight.
He leans in closer.
Closer.
And then Lena looks uncomfortable—just a flicker, but I see it
That’s it.
I’m on my feet before the chair finishes sliding back.
The elevator can’t move fast enough.
Every floor between ours and the pool pisses me off
By the time the doors open, I’m wound tight enough to snap.
And then I see them.
Lena and the man still standing too damn close to her.
I walk straight toward them, not hiding a thing.
The man glances at me, confused.
Lena turns, eyes widening the second she sees my expression.
I stop beside her, my hand brushing the small of her back without even thinking.
“We’re leaving,” I say.
Two words. Sharp. Cold. Final.
The man stiffens and steps back.
Lena swallows. “Sebastian—”
“Now,” I breathe, softer but no less demanding.
She nods.
I take her towel, wrap it gently around her shoulders, and guide her toward the elevator—never looking away from the man until the doors close between us.
The doors slide shut.
Silence hits.
Not soft silence.
Explosive silence.
Lena turns to me, frustration burning in her eyes. “What the hell was that?”
I drag a hand over my jaw, breathing hard. “He touched you.”
“It was harmless! He was introducing himself—”
“He touched you,” I repeat, lower, darker.
She folds her arms. “You can’t order me around like I’m—”
“I know,” I snap.
She freezes.
I’m pacing the tiny space because if I stand still, I’ll grab her.
“I know I can’t tell you what to do,” I force out. “I know I don’t own you. I know I don’t have any right to feel like this.”
“Feel like what?” she whispers, stepping closer.
I stop pacing.
I look at her.
Really look.
And everything I’ve been choking back rips free, raw and unfiltered.
“Like I’m losing my mind every time someone else looks at you.”
Her lips part.
I step closer.
“Like I can’t stand the idea of some stranger touching you. Laughing with you. Thinking he has a chance with you.”
Her breath shudders.
“And like if I don’t kiss you right now, I’m going to fucking lose it.”
Her eyes widen. “Sebastian—”
I don’t let her finish.
I grab her waist and pull her against me, kissing her hard, deep, desperate.
She gasps against my mouth and then melts into me, arms sliding around my neck, fingers gripping my shirt.
The kiss turns hungry fast.
Too hungry.
Months of tension, restraint, denial—it all snaps.
I slam the emergency stop button with one hand, not breaking the kiss.
The elevator jerks to a halt.
She moans softly into my mouth and it destroys me.
I lift her effortlessly, her legs wrapping around my waist.
She feels perfect.
Warm.
Soft.
Mine.
I carry her into the suite and straight to my bathroom without breaking the kiss. It’s a miracle I can walk straight.
The moment the door shuts—
I pin her against it.
Her fingers dig into my hair.
She whispers my name in a way no one else ever has.
And I lose control completely.
The shower is on before I realize I turned it.
I pull her under the water.
Clothes clinging to skin.
Mouths meeting again and again.
She pulls my shirt over my head. I press her to the tile, kissing her like I’ve been starving for her—and I have.
She looks up at me, drenched, breathless, wanting.
And something inside me breaks in the most dangerous, irreversible way.
“Lena,” I whisper against her mouth.
“Sebastian,” she breathes back, pulling me closer.
And I take her.
Not gently.
Not slowly.
But with every ounce of hunger I’ve been denying since the moment I met her.
The water washes over us, hot and relentless, but nothing is hotter than her.
Nothing has ever felt like this.
And I know, I'm in deeper than I ever planned.
Deeper than I can walk away from.