Sebastian lowered her to the edge of the bed in her room and Shalei instantly tugged on the blanket to wrap it tighter around herself.
Her entire body was set aflame, even when Sebastian had let go and was now crouching in front of her, she could still feel the ghost of his touch lingering on her bare skin; her side was burning from the place where it was pressed against the man's body. They weren't even touching skin-to-skin, for God's sake! He was wearing a long sleeved shirt, his hands were gloved and the way he carried her was nothing but courteous.
But… But the heat his body exuded and the way his broad shoulders tensed under her palms… Not to mention that he smelled pleasant too, sort of musky with the subtle sweetness of black licorice and beneath them all was the faint scent of clean sweat… Stop! Seriously, stop overreacting to every single thing he did or said, Shalei!
She pressed her lips together and inhaled slowly, focusing his gaze on the man's hair whorl instead. "Is there something wrong out there?"
Sebastian lifted his head up and oh, Shalei came to a painful realization that it was nearly impossible not to be conscious of him. His smothering gaze and the intense way he focused on her as if she was the most important person in the entire world…
"Nothing you should worry about, Your Excellency."
Shalei tried to ignore the fact that the man was holding her ankle in his broad palm. "Are you sure they aren't… coming for me?"
"No." There it was again. His dark look. "It's not—shouldn't be this fast."
"Right." Shalei breathed. "You're right. They shouldn't be this fast. So, they are here for you and your… pack?"
He hummed and redirected his gaze toward her ankle which had started to swell. "Does it hurt?"
"No, not all all—" She sucked in cold air when Sebastian poked a finger on it and gave him a glare. He murmured an apology and stroked the place where he had just poked with his thumb to comfort. And was it a subtle quirk on the corner of his mouth which she saw? Smug bastard, he shouldn't be allowed to look this gorgeous.
Shalei glowered as Sebastian started to rotate her ankle, slowly and gently, his expression intent and focused. How infuriating. Was it only her who was affected? Was it only her who felt this… this inexplicable urge to get closer to the other and knew them better? She didn't even understand what she was feeling, for fuck's sake. She had never felt this way before with anyone else. Ugh, this had better not be Stockholm Syndrome otherwise she would jump off the building after she was rescued to spare everyone from the humiliation.
Sebastian finished massaging her ankle and went to fetch a medicine kit from the cabinet — wait, was it there before? No, no, she was sure it wasn't there when she left. Where did it come from? — and from the glimpse of the ajar door, she caught sight of a row of neatly hung dresses which was similar to what she was wearing before. Her mind instantly conjured up the scene; Sebastian hurriedly went to carry the huge cabinet in whilst she was bathing. That was… quite adorable.
He placed the medicine kit by her side. "Do you wish to do it yourself or…"
Shalei's heart did a funny flip inside her chest. It might be because she had been too focused with Sebastian's distracting massage earlier but it was only now that she caught sight of the man's fiery earlobes that were peeking out in between his hair. Shalei had to have a double take. Sebastian's face was still unflushed, not giving any hint on what he was currently feeling but his ears—
Could it be… was he shy? Was this the expression Sebastian made when he was shy? Holy… all these times, had he not been enduring her presence but simply didn't know what to do instead?
Shalei blinked a few times and heard her blood coursing in her ears. The realization was almost comforting, like soothing cold water that whisked away the bubbling chagrin in her veins.
And because she was exactly the kind of wicked woman who was an insufferable brat at heart, she pointed out with an innocent blink. "Your ears are red. Very red."
Sebastian's hand flew to his ears and he furrowed his brow deeper. Shalei watched with not so little glee as the color traveled down Sebastian's ears to his nape. It was fascinating to see how someone could radiate frustration without even a change of expression except for the subtle twitch of eyebrows. He almost looked like he was ready to bolt right at any second.
How could she let that happen? She rolled her ankle and grimaced at the dull, throbbing ache. "Hmm, it seems like I have quite a bad fall. Why don't you do it for me?" Her lips tilted upward. "Or is this not included in the service you told me about?"
The sound of Sebastian gritting his teeth echoed in the almost silent space. With his lips pressed together, he went down on one knee and placed Shalei's sprained ankle on his thigh, rolling out the bandage. "Of course it is." He responded in an almost flat tone. "It's this humble one's utmost pleasure to fulfill your every wish, Your Excellency."
Fortunately Sebastian didn't look up otherwise he would see how red Shalei's face was! She chuckled, three parts nervousness and seven parts exhilaration that almost made her want to jump out of her skin. But no, she was taught to be better than this.
The Young Lady of Larous Family ought to bear a perfect composure at any situation and times, she should never ever wear her heart on her sleeves. Shalei could almost hear her mother's voice berating it into her ears.
"Careful, Seth." She warned playfully and threw the memories to the back of her mind lest it dampened her mood. "I may start to order you around if you encourage me like this."
Sebastian flashed her a look that said 'Try me'.
Damn this cocky bastard.
"Once again, stop calling me 'Your Excellency'. Do you know how awkward it is for me to hear that?"
Sebastian acted like he heard nothing. Skillfully wrapping the bandage around her ankle, he stood up to his full height and inclined his head. "This humble one won't disturb your rest anymore, Your Excellency. I will call Meagan in to help you dress."
Shalei opened her lips but the word of rejection hadn't even fallen yet when Sebastian abruptly turned and left the room. If not for his imposing stride and brisk steps, Shalei might have thought that he was fleeing to avoid answering the question.
Meagan knocked on the door a few seconds later. "Your Excellency?"
A sigh escaped Shalei's lips. "Come in."
The middle aged woman came in and paused, a twinkle in her eyes. "Did something good happen? You're smiling."
Shalei was startled. Was she? She lifted her hand to touch her lips and realized that Meagan was telling the truth. She was indeed smiling. Since when… she had no idea. She shook her head helplessly. "I might need your help to fetch me another set of clothes, Meagan."
Please drop a review to let me know what you think of the story so far ><