The Cuddle Pact

33

Lucky.

In which Sebastian is lucky to have Mira.

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A FLASH OF BLONDE HAIR MADE it into my line of vision before Avery's small body collided into mine. She was evidently eager to see me and released an excited scream. "Auntie Mira! I've missed you so much." Her small arms wrapped around my neck tightly and I glanced over her shoulder at a grinning Sebastian. He was carrying her school bag and I couldn't help but laugh at how out of place he seemed. Avery had a pink and sparkly My Little Pony bag and Sebastian was dressed in a suit, holding a bag that looked entirely too small for him to be carrying.

"I've missed you too, Aves!" My hand flattened over her hair and I held her up as she pulled her head from its resting place on my shoulder.

Her eyes held mine and she grinned a grin that revealed that she had lost some teeth. She looked absolutely adorable. Sebastian stepped towards us and when I looked at him, I could tell that he was happy that I was so close to his niece. Avery was one of those kids that you'd love to be around, she was a ball of energy and a ray of sunshine.

"We're going to the park now, Aves." Sebastian said with a smile, fastening her school bag around his shoulders. "And then we can get ice cream."

Avery's eyes lit up and she grinned even wider than before. "Is it my birthday or something?"

I laughed and pressed my lips to her cheek. Sebastian shook his head lightly and began to walk, leading the walk towards the park. Placing Avery on the ground so she could walk herself, Sebastian threaded his fingers through her and seeing as I was on her other side, I took her other hand.

"No, it's not your birthday." He chuckled. "I promised you, remember?"

Avery looked deep in contemplation for a brief moment before an expression of suspicion passed on her face. "And I can get ice cream...before dinner?" she asked slowly, waiting for Sebastian to answer. And once he answered in the affirmative, she giggled and began to have a spring in her step. "Okay!"

Sebastian glanced at me and I couldn't stop the chuckle from falling from my lips. When we got to the park, Avery ran straight for the swings and had Sebastian's bodyguard push her. After his operation, he couldn't do anything too strenuous and the height that Avery liked to be pushed to was the definition of strenuous. She said it made her feel like she was flying.

So, we took a seat on the bench that allowed us to have clear view of Avery squealing on the swings. His arm came around my shoulders and he pulled me closer to his body. "Do you want to have a movie marathon tonight once Flynn picks up Avery?" he asked cooly, brushing my arm with nimble fingers.

I rested my head on his shoulder and made sure to keep my voice low. "I was thinking about a different kind of marathon."

He turned his head to look at me and a slow smile pulled at his lips. "I think I can make that happen." Leaning down, he pressed a very brief kiss to my mouth and reached down to link our fingers together. "We only have an hour until Flynn has to pick up Avery."

I turned my gaze towards Avery and saw her playing on the see-saw. It was a funny sight because the bodyguard wasn't even seated, he was only pushing his side down with his hands. But, she looked to be having the time of her life. I squeezed Sebastian's hand and nestled in closer to him. Ever since Christmas Day when I distanced myself from him, I could tell that he heavily relied on affection to know how I felt. Our love languages weren't really that different since I craved his affection too, but I knew that when Sebastian would tell me he loved me, he meant it with everything in him.

"What are you thinking about?" Sebastian murmured quietly, rubbing the back of my hand soothingly with his thumb.

I stared on ahead, watching Avery with a fond smile on my face. "You actually. I'm thinking about you."

"Anything in particular?" he questioned curiously, a blatant smirk on his face. It didn't take a genius to figure out exactly where Sebastian's thoughts were heading, but I found it interesting to know that, especially after our intimate moment in his office, I'd never felt more in love with Sebastian as I did in that moment.

I believed that it was the reassurance that Sebastian wasn't dying anymore. Speaking about our future children earlier solidified that for me because I knew that he wasn't holding anything back from me. Still, it felt too sappy for me to say out loud.

"Nothing." I grinned, squeezing his hand again. He pulled me upwards with a light chuckle and stared at my face for a brief moment with humorous disbelief plastered on his face.

"Why are you blushing, pumpkin?"

I could feel the warmth on my cheeks, but I didn't know that it was hot enough for Sebastian to be able to see a tint of it on my face. "I just thought of something and it was really cheesy, okay?"

"Okay..." the grin was still present on his face and his fingertips reached up to brush back the errant strands of hair that made its way forward. "I still want to know, cheesy or not."

I sighed when I realised that he would get it out of me one way or another. My gaze dropped to my lap for a brief moment before I looked back at him. Deeming his stare too intense, I let my eyes wander back down. "I've never felt more in love with you than I do right now."

When his fingers guided my face back to his, there was a soft smile pulling at his lips. In that moment, I knew that those words told him everything he wanted to hear and he didn't need my affection to tell him that. "I'm a really lucky man." Was all he said before his gaze dropped to my lips. "I really want to kiss you, but a children's park is the worst place for that."

A light chuckle passed through my lips. "Only," I took a quick glance at my phone, "thirty five minutes until we need to go get ice cream."

Sebastian rolled his eyes with a light huff. "I hope Avery gets tired soon." With that, our attention went back to the little girl playing on the see-saw and we were sat in silence for a while. Until a little boy and a man, who I assumed was his father, walked into the park.

It didn't take me long to recognise the boy since it was the exact same child that almost ran me over with his bike a couple days ago. I could see his face clearer this time and I shuddered at the resemblance. I guessed that Sebastian had the same thought because his eyes drifted to mine with a sense of confused shock in them.

"Doesn't he look—?"

"Yes." I spoke before he could even finish his sentence. "I've seen him before—at this park when I was with Kale." My eyes drifted to his father and I knew Sebastian was still thinking the same thing. The man had light blonde hair whereas the little boy, whose name I couldn't remember, had dark brown, almost black, hair.

We both paid close attention to the boy, especially when his vibrant blue eyes lit up and he held his arms up towards an advancing figure. "Mummy!" he shrieked with happiness and there was no mistaking that we knew exactly who his mum was. Her deep red hair was recognisable anywhere.

"Serena." Sebastian whispered in disbelief, his eyes glued to the interaction between mother and son. "Mira, tell me I'm seeing things because that boy looks exactly like..."

I had seen enough photos of the man to know that the little boy in front of us held so much resemblance to him that there was no way the blonde man kissing his hair tenderly was his father. "Cade." I confirmed his thoughts and Sebastian just seemed like he couldn't get his head around it. "He looks exactly like Cade."

There was a lengthy moment of silence before Sebastian let go of my hand and stood up. "Baby, can you get Avery while I bring the car around?" he spoke so quietly, I had to strain to hear him. Handing me her school bag, he finally looked me in the eye. "Her penguin toy is in here. If she doesn't want to leave the park just give Mr Snuggles to her. It works every time. Tell her we're getting ice cream now."

I nodded and held onto her bag as Sebastian leaned down to press a hard kiss to my mouth. That alone took my breath away and I stared up at him dazed for a moment.

"I'm good, Mira. I don't feel anything but confusion." He reassured me with a shaky smile. "But it's a lot to take in right now and I don't want to scare Serena off before I get the chance to hear the truth."

I understood completely and watched as Sebastian left. Walking towards Avery, I knew the interaction was inevitable when Serena's eyes drifted towards mine. She looked shocked but also slightly anxious. I gave her the most believable smile I could muster and refrained from glancing at her son to get a better look at him. I felt like it wasn't my place to intrude on whatever was happening because it involved Sebastian's past.

Avery had no problems following me once I pulled out Mr Snuggles from her bag and she looked just as happy as she did when Sebastian first told her that we were going to get ice cream. Once we left the park, she glanced over her shoulder to the bodyguard and gave him a toothy grin.

"Thank you for playing with me, Liam."

He chuckled but stayed at the exact same distance that he always did. "No problem, princess." That was the first time I'd ever heard him speak, especially since the only bodyguard I'd ever interact with was Kale. But then again, Kale felt more like my friend at times than he did my bodyguard.

We stopped on the pavement until Sebastian's car came into view. He emerged from the car and patted Liam on the back. "You can drive this time." Liam didn't say anything as slid into the car. Sebastian was quick to open the door for us and smiled down at Avery who was sat in between us. "Did you have fun, Aves?"

Avery nodded profusely. "Uh huh. The park is my favourite place ever!" She leaned her head on his shoulder. "But I'm tired now." She said, shocking us both because Avery never admitted she was tired. There wasn't enough hours in a day for her to run around and whenever she had to have a nap, she had to be talked into it.

"Do you still want ice-cream?" Sebastian asked curiously, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to hold her.

She shook her head softly. "Can we get ice cream tomorrow? That means I get to see you and auntie Mira again."

The smile broke out on my face before I could even control it. She had to be the cutest kid I'd ever met. Esmeralda's was always closed on weekends so I knew that what Avery was asking for wasn't too much. But, then again, I didn't know Sebastian's schedule off by heart. He'd given me a copy of it so I would know when the best times to 'surprise' him at the office. But my definition of a surprise consisted of cooking his favourite meal and bringing it to him whereas his definition was my naked body against his so he could 'rock my world' like he always put it.

I couldn't complain though since he never disappointed in that department.

When I came back to reality a few minutes later, Avery was asleep and Sebastian was staring at me with shameless lust on his face. "Why can I tell exactly what you're thinking right now?" his heated gaze dropped to my lips and he sighed tiredly. "You're such a tease, Mira."

I crossed my legs and looked away from him. The journey to Flynn's house was excruciatingly long but when the car pulled into the driveway, Sebastian unclipped his seatbelt and lifted Avery into his arms. He wasn't gone for long as Flynn met him at the door and took his daughter with a grin on his face. I could see from where I was sitting that Flynn was happy to see his brother again and brought him into a side hug before Sebastian was walking back to the car.

As soon as he shut the door, he pressed the button to roll the partition up but not before telling Liam to drive back to the penthouse. The second that he took to do his seatbelt felt like an eternity and I was impatient so my hands gripped his hair, pulling his face towards mine to kiss him. He groaned into my mouth, sliding his hand down my waist to grasp my hips.

The kiss was far from innocent. Instead it was hot, demanding and possessive. He damn near took my breath away when his expert tongue delved into my mouth, making my head spin. I was addicted to his kisses and each one was better than the last. I could tell it was his reaction from my confession in the park, but also because he craved to feel my lips against his.

When he pulled back, his thumb tenderly touched my lips before he delivered a short kiss to them again. "I'm in love with you too. I've always been in love with you." He ducked his head to kiss my neck and I breathed heavily as I gripped his wrist, placing his hand flat against my stomach. He dragged his hand lower until I felt his hot touch on my hipbone over my dress.

His lips pressed against mine softly and his smouldering gaze had me as putty in his hands. "As much as I want to...I can't concentrate right now. Later, pumpkin. I promise." He pulled away abruptly, taking his warmth away as he settled back in his seat, choosing to hold my hand again.

"It's okay." I reassured him, taking a moment to cool back down before I leaned my head on his shoulder. "Are you going to speak to her?"

He slowly nodded his head. "I need to. My mind is reeling right now. There has to be more to the story than we can see."

I leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Do what you have to do, Sebastian. I'll be here for you." I could feel his cheeks deepen with the smile that pulled at his lips.

He was so beautiful.

"You always know what the right thing to say is." He uttered quietly, exhaling a low whistle. There was a moment of silence before he nodded as if he had convinced himself of something. "Answers. That's all I need."