Body of Law (Volume 3)
Page 5
I squirmed my way into a sitting position. Though he had his back to me, Sebastian’s shoulders shook with the full fury of his rage. And even though I couldn’t see his face, I was certain his eyes were bulging, his skin flushed. “Why are you so angry?” I asked. “You weren’t the one who was nearly murdered?”
“I should have been.” He spoke slowly, his voice tight to the point of pinched. “It should have been me instead.”
“It’s not your fault she’s insane. Why would you say something like that?”
He whirled around to face me, then, his eyes as wide as I had imagined. “Because I love you, damn it! I’d rather die a thousand times over than see you in pain!”
I was sure then that the lack of oxygen had caused brain damage. Sebastian still wouldn’t face me and I took the opportunity to feel my head for some kind of additional injury. After all, there was no way Sebastian Scott had really just claimed to love me. Or if he did, he had to have had another reason behind it. “I—really?” I straightened my posture and folded my legs under myself. “If you feel guilty or something—”
He scoffed, and looked towards the ground. “My guilt has nothing to do with my feelings for you.”
Once again, I floundered. My only means of defense was to change the subject. “Why didn’t you take my calls?”
“I didn’t want to give her any leverage.” He sighed and returned to his seat. “I thought she might back off if I just stayed away from you.”
“That was dumb.” I folded my arms over my chest and looked away. “Even for you.”
Finally, he smiled, his face revealing just how tired he really was. “Yes,” he agreed. “I suppose it was.”
Overwhelmed was the only way to describe how I was feeling. It had once been a dream of mine that Sebastian Scott would be my lover and somehow, as if by the hands of fate, that had come true. More recently, it had been my dream that he would care about me as more than a booty call; that he would value my heart just as much as my body. Was it possible that that dream had come true, as well? Unsteady and unsure, I once again swallowed hard and tried to change the subject.
“Who are the flowers from?”
“Oh, those wretched things?” His grin grew as he stood up and walked over to them. I smiled as I watched him flick at one of the balloons attached to a bouquet. The glittery specks around the cartoon Band-Aid shone, despite the lack of light. “These things are from the kids in the mailroom; the fruit basket is from Detective Hurley; and those are from Nicky and her girls. You should see the teddy bear Roger sent over. It’s so big they wouldn’t even let it through the door. Fire code hazard or something—” He pointed each basket out respectively, and while I didn’t miss the fact that the largest bouquet was from Nicky, I was more interested in watching Sebastian’s subtle body movements. It was obvious that he was nervous.
“I love you, too.”
My rushed declaration startled him back into looking at me. I felt my face flush and looked down at my hands. I had blurted out the secret closest to my heart and somehow, it even made my neck feel better.
“Just in case you were wondering,” I added.
His mouth opened and shut, his feet stepping closer to me as if they had been under a spell. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am about all of this, Violet.”
“Oh, yeah?” I gave him a cheeky smile. “Then where are the flowers from you?”
He returned my smile tenfold. “At my place. I thought you’d enjoy them more there.”
“I hope you’re not expecting me to come over for a quickie anytime soon.”
He folded his hands in his pockets before speaking. This time, his words sounded as though they had been delicately chosen. “Though Madison’s psychopath has confessed and they’ve both been arrested, it’s entirely possible that she had some kind of a back-up plan.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you should come stay with me.”
I startled for the second time since waking up. “You want me to move in with you?”
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one feeling better. Grinning from ear to ear, Sebastian’s voice took on a playful tone, one that I had unquestionably missed. “Well, since you can’t seem to look after yourself properly and can’t go a mere week without talking to me…”
“I don’t need anyone to look after me.”
“You need me to love you,” he said seriously. “And maybe, I need you.”
I reached for his hand, pleasantly surprised at how quickly his fingers laced with mine. Smiling, I looked down at our intertwined hands. “It’s about time you figured that out.”
“Yes” he said with a ginger smile. “It is. I’m just sorry it took almost losing you to realize it.”
“Yeah well,” I said with a sassy smile. “I’m sure you’ll think of a way to make it up to me.”
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10