The Cuddle Pact

35

Take.

In which Sebastian takes Mira on a getaway.

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» MIRA »

I WAS LYING AWAKE IN BED when I vaguely heard the front door open. The sound of jangling keys filled my ears before there was a loud thump. I could hear Sebastian let out a few expletives and I guessed that he had tripped since it was so dark in the penthouse. I sat up and leaned over to turn the lamp on as he trudged into the bedroom. His gaze met mine at the door and a sheepish smile slid onto his face.

"Sorry, baby. Did I wake you?"

I shook my head and glanced at the alarm clock briefly. It was only nine o'clock at night, but I did want to get an early night because I was so tired. Sebastian had been gone for a while and out of pure boredom, I decided that the easiest way to kill time is to sleep through it.

My efforts had been proved useless since I couldn't sleep without him. Sebastian shrugged out his jacket and hung it up on the hook behind the door as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

"I didn't want to turn any lights on just in case you were asleep." He rubbed his knee with a gentle hand and winced. "I ended up walking into the back of the sofa." He revealed his broad shoulders and muscled arms as he pulled at the sleeves of his shirt, tossing it into the hamper.

I watched him and took it all in. The operation scar on his chest was fading, but it was still visible from where I was. When he managed to kick his shoes off, he crawled on the bed to cover my body with his. He would've crushed me if it wasn't for him holding most of his weight off me with his knees. He slanted to one side and I guessed his knee was sorer than I thought.

His head rested on my chest and he lifted his fingers to brush over my collarbone gently. His breaths were soft and quiet as I slowly massaged his scalp with my fingers through his hair. I waited for him to speak first. I found that he was more open and honest with me when it was on his own terms without any probing from me. I was sure that I only wanted to know what he was comfortable telling me.

"The kid, Jake, he's Cade's son." He spoke softly, his fingers sprawled across my shoulder as he continued. "They were in love and slept together a few weeks before he died. He thought I'd hate him and that was too much for him to handle. He left me a letter that Serena gave to me today after all these years."

I gasped and stopped the gentle movements of my fingers. "How do you feel?"

His hand travelled down the length of my arm and he brought it around his upper back. Taking the hint, I held him against me and looked down to see him with his eyes closed. He didn't look angry, far from it. He seemed wistful. "Better than I thought I'd feel. Serena and I...what we had was real at the start, but somewhere along the way I just didn't love her anymore—not the way Cade loved her."

Sebastian sat up on his knees and he linked our fingers together in a gentle hold. "I'm happy that they were in love. Jake is alive because of their love, and I'm glad that Serena doesn't regret it. I just wish that Cade knew that." His lips pressed to my fingertips one by one. "But—the past is the past. I'm finally letting go of it."

I smiled and drew my fingers back to help me sit up and slide from under his body. Tipping my head back, I covered his lips with mine in a short kiss. I could feel the grin pull at his lips and pulled back to see him staring down at me.

"I have a crazy idea." He murmured against my cheek, lifting his hands to grip my hair in his hands. The warmth from his body weighed heavily on my skin and goosebumps raised as he pursued his lips against my face. His cologne, the one that I always found myself addicted to, infiltrated my senses and all I could focus on was him.

I wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying until he lightly tugged on my hair, tilting my head to draw my bottom lip into a teasing bite.

"Mira," he lightly pouted and my tunnel vision widened so I could see the glint in his eyes. He seemed so happy at that moment just talking to me and I couldn't help thinking back to a time where his eyes were dull with sadness. Despite the complete bomb that had been dropped in his life, he seemed like a new man. "Are you listening?"

I nodded absentmindedly and pressed my hands into his chest lightly to put some space in between us. "I can't concentrate if you're that close to me. What were you saying?"

A slow grin took hold of his features but he stayed where he was. "Let me take you somewhere nice and beautiful tomorrow. We can try new foods, watch the sunset..." he paused for a moment and brought his fingers up to trace the slope of my nose. "Stay up all night so we can watch the sunrise."

His eyes gleamed with all the possibilities and before any doubt could come into my mind, I focused on that look in his eyes. Sometimes, I felt like I knew him better than he knew himself and I could tell that he needed what he was describing. He needed to disconnect from the rest of the world for a few days. Warmth bloomed in my chest at the thought that he wanted to spend it all with me.

"Okay." My fingers sprawled against the toned planes of his chest and he grinned rakishly as his hands curled at my waist. "Take me anywhere you want to go."

Before I could even blink, he lifted me and got off the bed, twirling me around as laid me down on the bed underneath him. Instinctually, my legs wrapped around him and he grinned at the sound of my surprised scream.

"Right now, I want to take you." He pushed me further up the bed and covered my body with his. "But you're wearing too many clothes."

I laughed as he tugged my shirt upwards and off me, leaning back as he took in all of my exposed skin. His fingers pressed on my pulse and he dipped his head to press a barely-there kiss where his fingers were. My mind was hazy as he ventured lower to my neck so he could mark my skin with love bites. I quickly learned that was his thing—he wouldn't leave one inch of skin untouched, and while it was slightly painful, the pleasure at the time of him doing it and looking back on it far superseded any pain that I felt.

He leaned up again and stared down at my neck and collarbone, no doubt admiring his handiwork. I felt his fingers tracing the curve of my shoulders before he kissed me hard. I could concentrate for a few moments when he pulled back to see him slowly unbuttoning his slacks and tugging at his zipper.

"How about we get started on that marathon now?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Sebastian had proposed the idea of a romantic getaway, I pictured something lowkey, but I had to quickly tell myself that that wasn't his style. Instead, he went all out and bought a yacht in Sorrento, a coastal town in Italy that had the bluest waters that I had ever seen in my life.

I had no clue of our destination until we actually landed since Sebastian stated that the surprise was all part of the romance. The plane journey had consisted solely of sleeping since we hadn't done a lot of that the night before. So as I stepped onto the yacht, I was fully rested and eager to explore the town.

Sebastian's arms came around my waist as we both stared at the open water. "This is our first proper time away together." He murmured lowly, tightening his hold on me.

I thought back to Christmas time where I went with him to New York but knew those times were filled with uncertainty for the majority of the trip and it had been a particularly dark time for me seeing as Weston had died and the anniversary of my mother's death was approaching. I felt exactly the same as him. Nothing was holding us back anymore and it was the first time in a long time that I felt truly happy.

"We have to make the most of it." My hands covered his and I leaned my head back on his shoulder. I felt his lips press to my temple and smiled. I didn't know how much more I could wish for. I had a beautiful view, an even more beautiful man and a content heart.

I was incredibly lucky to have Sebastian.

"I plan on it." He replied simply. "Let's go get something to eat."

Looking that good all the time had to be a crime.

Sebastian gave me a sidelong glance and his lips tipped upwards into a small smile. "You could be a bit more subtle when you check me out, pumpkin. You're practically drilling a hole in the side of my head."

Warmth flooded my cheeks but I scoffed nevertheless. "Like you don't check me out all the time. It's ridiculous how much you stare at me sometimes."

He didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. Instead, he grinned and huffed out a laugh. "I wouldn't be doing my job right as your man if I didn't check you out all the time. You always look sexy to me."

I found the latter statement slightly unbelievable. "You've seen me sick with a cold. I hardly believe that tangled hair and a runny nose is sexy to you at all."

He met my gaze again and chuckled. "You could be wearing a dustbin bag and I'd still think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, Mira. I'm in love with you, not just your appearance."

Wow, what a keeper.

After a few more minutes of walking, we came to a small restaurant. The aroma of the food instantly infiltrated my senses and it was like I was in heaven. I could pinpoint a few familiar ingredients from the smell alone, and the freshness of it all had me more than excited to try it.

We were seated outside where the table overlooked the same ocean we were admiring. Sebastian scanned the menu and just like I was thinking, he ordered a bottle of the finest wine from a local vineyard. He was pouring some into my glass when his eyes met mine and he smiled softly.

"This is nice." He reached for my other hand across the table as I picked up my glass and slowly sipped on the wine, allowing it to rest on my tongue for a moment so I could really get the most out of the taste.

I almost moaned out loud at how good it tasted. Sebastian chuckled and raised his glass to mine.

"Cheers to you as well."

I smiled sheepishly, clinking my glass with his as we both took a sip of the delicious wine. My eyes were glued to his and I allowed them to really appreciate the shirt he was wearing. The first two buttons of his shirt weren't buttoned and I eagerly took in the exposed skin of his chest.

"You're so handsome, Sebastian."

The blush flitted across his cheeks and I almost laughed at the fact that Sebastian could not take compliments. He could give them to me at his heart's desire, but when I returned them, he looked almost embarrassed. "I'm glad you think so, thank you."

I decided to take a page out of his book and try a pickup line on him. "Hey," I held up my hands for added effect. "All I'm saying is, if you were words on a piece of paper, you'd be the fine print."

He gave a hearty laugh and grinned brightly at me. "Damn, the student has become the master. I say that you're the professional flirt now."

I took a mental picture of him at that moment, with the blue sky above him and the even bluer water around him. He was a sight to behold and I told myself that I had to spend the rest of my life making him as happy as he was sitting before me. My future with Sebastian was looking brighter with every passing day and the mere thought that he would, hopefully, one day propose to me made me appreciate this moment even more.

We were in another honeymoon stage in our relationship and for a moment, I imagined that it was our actual honeymoon and the ring on my index finger was his and on my ring finger.

Sebastian, seemingly picking up on what I was thinking, squeezed my hand and gave me the most beautiful smile I had ever seen in my life. "I love you, Mira."

I didn't even have to think. "I love you too."

Our date came to an end after we finished eating and were on our way back to the yacht. The happiness I felt was unparalleled with anything I had ever felt before, and I found myself feeling so grateful for the fact that Sebastian decided to give us a chance after all. Every day, I appreciated the fact that his heart was still beating and I hoped that it would continue to do so so we could live a long life together.

He stepped up onto the yacht effortlessly and reached down for me. "Take my hand, Mira." He pulled me up against him as his other arm wrapped around my waist. I waited in silence because it seemed like he wanted to say something. "I feel like this is a good time to ask you this officially. I bought us a house—a house that's all ours and where we can live together, properly. If that's what you want?"

I grinned as I looked up at him, staring down at me with such a serious expression on his face. All it did was solidify that he did want a future with me and we were on our way to securing it. "I'll always want to be wherever you are, Sebastian. That's never going to change ever."

With that, he sealed the first promise of many with a breathtaking kiss.