Part 19 (1/2)

”Don't get hyper. I'm not in need of rescuing.” Although there was a playful tone to his words, she sensed the underlying hurt.

She embraced him from behind as he continued typing. But she wasn't about to be ignored.

She nuzzled the side of his face and tongued the edge of his ear before tugging at the lobe with the little silver hoop that drove her crazy. While she did so, she ran her hands down to his midsection and pressed herself tight against him.

”If this is an effort to distract me-”

He didn't finish the thought. Instead he rose and turned until she was trapped between him and the wall. He was hard against her belly. She rubbed her hips against him and draped her arms over his shoulders.

”I guess it worked,” she said. Her tone was bold and a little seductive. She wasn't normally the vixen type, but Sebastian had rocked her world and all her perceptions of herself. He'd let loose the spirit inside her that had been trapped for so long. And not just the s.e.xual spirit.

”This is something new for you, isn't it?” he asked before he brushed his lips against hers. She answered him with a hint of wonder in her voice. ”Maybe. Maybe not. You let me be me.”

Sebastian pulled back, feeling both amazement and that gnawing bit of fear he hadn't been able to dispel. ”This is getting serious, you know. You and me.”

She chuckled and smiled broadly. ”I would hope so. I've done things with you I never even imagined were possible.”

”But it's not just-”

”The s.e.x. I know.” Tenderly she ran her thumbs along the planes of his face, her eyes a dark sapphire-blue with emotion. ”It's still a little scary, thinking this might last.”

Sebastian knew what she meant. For days he'd been wondering how, with their crazy lives, things had gone so smoothly.

Between scanning the journals and playing bodyguard and sharing her bed, he'd managed to answer calls from his clients and get some programming done. He'd meshed his life and needs with hers, almost too flawlessly. Perhaps he was avoiding what he knew he'd have to face: the true harshness of her existence. In the back of his mind, fear remained. Could he deal with the danger?

But right now, he only wanted to think of her. ”We can last thanks to the wonder of power naps,” he replied in a teasing tone.

”Do you always hide behind a joke?” Melissa asked, echoing his question from nearly two weeks before. It seemed more like years, thanks to all that had followed.

Shoving off the wall, he freed her and himself, needing the s.p.a.ce. ”You let me be me, as well, Melissa. I've never been able to do that with anyone else.”

She took a few steps closer to him. ”And that's bad because...?”

”Too much is going on right now. There are too many things messing with our heads and-”

”My life will always be like this, Sebastian. If it isn't this c.r.a.p with Sloan, it'll be something else having to do with Ryder or the hospital.”

As exposed as he felt, he realized her emotions were just as raw. He wrapped his arms around her. ”I know, Melissa. I've been doing what I can to fit into your life.”

”It's not easy-”

”No, it isn't, but...” He hesitated. If he couldn't be open with her, where could this relations.h.i.+p go? ”I don't want to fail you.”

”You won't.” There was no doubt in her voice. No hint of hesitation.

Sebastian stood there, watching her as she intently resumed the experiment. When he returned to his laptop, he switched to the video signal of Melissa hard at work.

At some point she must have realized he was no longer typing, for she turned. He quickly s.h.i.+fted back to his client's program.

He forced himself to concentrate on the code, knowing he had to get the project done. But in the back of his mind, all he could think of was that she'd set the bar high with her unquestioned faith in him.

Which would make it that much harder a fall should he fail her.

Sebastian was determined not to fail her.

Melissa lay in her bed alone for the first time in the nearly two weeks she'd been with Sebastian.

Sebastian had gotten beeped while she was doing rounds. An important client with a major problem. After failing to solve the problem by remotely connecting to the client's computers, he had told Melissa he should probably visit the client. But he hadn't been sure about leaving.

She was almost done at the hospital and wouldn't be returning to the lab until the next day. There was minimal risk in her short walk home.

She told Sebastian he should go to his client. He'd given her more of his time lately than she'd thought possible. With it being dusk, Ryder had stood in Sebastian's stead, watching her from afar as she'd made her way to the apartment building.

It had been a little creepy knowing Ryder was there, but unable to see him. Despite that, she'd been grateful he was nearby.

By the time she'd arrived at the apartment, night had fallen. She entered to see Ryder stepping through the balcony door. ”Just trying out some newfound skills,” he said.

Ryder's experiments with his vampire side were a little troubling. How far would his interest take him? She hoped it would be good for all involved. His vampire power was strong and she worried it might lure him to a darker side of himself, one he would eventually be unable to control.

That was part of the reason she was lying in bed now, fully awake despite a long and tiring day. The other part-the much bigger part-was how much she missed having Sebastian beside her.

She'd come to count on his presence in her life much too quickly. Her insecurity made her wonder...Was she capable of keeping Sebastian in her life? Would the demands she made on him be too much?

She'd already had so much disappointment in her life. What would she do if this relations.h.i.+p with Sebastian didn't work out?

What if their feelings weren't strong enough to bear the challenges of her daily life?

Melissa didn't doubt Sebastian was strong enough to deal with it. Her fear was that she couldn't deal with it. What if she was unable to balance all that was demanded of her with her relations.h.i.+p with Sebastian?

The last thing she wanted to do was fail him. He'd given her too much for her to disappoint him like that.

She only hoped that what she could give him in return would be enough to keep him in her life.

Chapter 26.

T he hospital cafeteria was teeming with staff and visitors, making it easy for Melissa to hide in plain sight. Not to mention that Sloan, elitist that he was, wouldn't be caught dead mingling with the ma.s.ses.

She looked around and finally spied a small table for two in a far corner. ”Over there, Diana.”

They reached the table before another pair of diners, and cleared the debris from the earlier inhabitants of the s.p.a.ce. The table was out of the way and private, yet allowed an un.o.bstructed view of the entire dining area.

”Any chance of Sloan popping in?” Diana asked as she undid the napkin from around her cutlery.

Melissa shot a quick look at the busy dining room. ”Slim to none. Edward never struck me as the kind who mingled with the rest of us.”

”Good. I've got some news for you.”