We both know the truth.
I hold my breath, hoping Oskar will let it go. Instead, he lets out a soft laugh and lowers his voice for only me to hear.
“I warned you, Master,” he says. “Love has driven people to madness.”
I turn, ready to deny it, only to find him already gone.
24
IT’S A RELIEF, TRULY
GRACE
“What’s the plan, Sebastian?” I ask.
He takes a moment to meet my gaze. He looks up from between my legs, pausing to lick my arousal from his lips. His eyes are hazy, as if he’s only partly here. Rather than respond, he looks back to my center. He trails his finger up my thigh, and without warning, thrusts it inside me.
My back arches, and a breathy moan breaks from my lips.
God, he’s insatiable. In the week since the failed ritual, we’ve spent most of our days like this. Lost to each other in his bedsheets, naked and sated. If we’re not actively fucking, we’re watching one of my movies or talking about his plans for the Night Realm’s future. We’ve done a bit of everything, so long as it’s happened within this room.
“My plan is to make you come another time like this,” he says, adding another finger. I moan again, and he smiles, pumping leisurely. “Once you have, I’ll fuck you with my cock. After that…”
He trails off. He’s fully focused on my pussy now, staring at it in wonder.
“Sebastian,” I force myself to say. “What’s the plan with the curse? Have you?—”
I break off in another moan. He’s impossible. I let myself ride his hand for another minute before grabbing his wrist. He looks up at me in surprise, his typical, arrogant smirk still on his face.
“Sebastian,” I say. “Hold on.”
He withdraws from me but remains between my legs. His eyes scan over me, as if gauging how serious I’m being. When he realizes I’m not going to drop it, his shoulders deflate.
He pulls himself away, rotating until he’s sitting beside me. He sweeps his comforter over us, pausing to pull it over my chest. He tucks the blanket beneath my chin.
“Can’t think with those things on display,” he mutters. He runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what the plan is, Grace. I’ve been in this room almost as much as you have.”
“Don’t you think…” I trail off.
“Yes,” he says. Now his hand slides over his face. “I know we have to figure something out, Grace, but I don’t want to fucking think about it. Every time I do, I’m imagining you bloody and pale and screaming and…I don’t want to think about it.”
I blink at him, unable to hide my surprise. It’s more honest than he’s ever been, and his gaze flits away from me, as if he’s realized that too.
“Well, it’s going to end up like that if we don’t make a better plan,” I say. “Maybe there’s something with my bloodline that could be useful. Maybe if we found something that once belonged to my dad or…”
I trail off, realizing how stupid I sound.
“Keep talking,” Sebastian commands.
“I have a whole box of my dad’s things back home,” I say. “There’s a good chance Tessa threw them out, but if she didn’t…I wonder if they’d help strengthen my magic. Or at least my connection to the original spell?”
Sebastian doesn’t reply right away. He stares up at the ceiling, winding his fingers through my hair.
“Maybe,” he says finally.
“You don’t think it would work,” I say, turning to look at him.
“It’s not that,” he says. He doesn’t return my gaze. “It’s just…I think we need to look at other options. Ones that don’t involve you.”
