Thorneless (Rose of Thorne Series) (14 page)

Sebastian

Treasures like her are sought by the richest of men, yet I would give everything up to be with her.  I am completely drunk on her presence. Touching her after all this time apart ignites a craving I can never fill in a million lifetimes.  Just tracing her lips with mine gives me the greatest erotic high I have ever had.  I am afraid to move my hand from her face.  If this is a mirage, I don’t want it to disappear. I will gladly take hallucinations rather than live one more day on this Earth without her in my arms.  But as I blink, I realize that she is beautifully real and standing right here before me.

I see her struggling to control her breathing and I know exactly what that feels like.
 I reach and grasp the back of her neck and she instantly closes her eyes and leans away, exposing her neck to me. I waste no time trailing kisses down her jaw to her neck. I feel her shaking and I hear her whispering my name again. “Sebastian.”

Working my way feverishly back up to her I bite her skin and feel her grab tighter around me.
 I look back down to feel the power behind those incredible eyes of hers. In this moment, there is no hate or disgust in them; there is only love and desire.  

“I love you. God, h
ow I love you, my beautiful girl.”

I’m looking at such intense beauty. She can rival anyone.
 I’m not talking about her stunning outward features; I’m talking about what I see in those blazing eyes of hers.  This is why I am so madly enslaved to her soul.

I crash my lips onto hers and our tongues violently swirl against one another as we hold on for dear life to each other.
 I’d gladly kiss her to my last breath. God could take me himself after tonight because I will happily drown in her bliss.

I feel my jacket be tugged off and then I feel her magical hands upon my skin. I don’t even realize my shirt is gone from my body because I am too busy reaching for her hidden zipper of this incredible dress she is about to not be wearing.
 I say about, because I am
about
to rip it off her fucking body.

My cock is begging to be coated with her warm essence and glide into her warm sweet tight folds. As much as I want that, I have to taste her first. I know it is a battle between my cock and my mouth and once my cock is in her I know there will never be a chance to drink up her sweet honey. I fall to my knees before her and shove her dress up above her waist.

I place my hands on the sides of her hips and pull her closer to me as I move my tongue down the front of her panties.  I can smell her sweet flavor and I gently bite the silk and tug at it with my teeth.  I’ve lost control now as I grasp the fabric with my hands and jerk. I hear the familiar rip and I waste no time diving into her glorious sex. Like a starved wild animal I suck and lick as she writhes above me in pleasure.  Working my fingers inside her, she screams out and I feel the flow of her juices as they drain into my mouth.

“SEBASTIAN!” S
he screams and jerks my hair, as I continue drinking her pleasure down.

She is so fucking delicious
!

I stand and she begins jerking my belt loose and frantically works me free from my pants. In one movement she yanks them below my ass and I waste no time as my starving cock springs free.
 I grab her waist and she jumps and wraps her legs around me. In one desperate motion I slam into her.  After one glide into her wet
entry
, I am already ready to explode.
FUCK!
 Over and over, I thrust up into her as she slams downwards onto my cock. Skin upon skin slaps against one another echoing a wild slapping noise into the air.  Deeper and Deeper I shove into her. I don’t want to hurt her, but I can’t control my desperation to bury my cock as deeply as I can into her.

Her inner walls clench down around me so tightly that I swear she is going to strangle my cock. Energy spirals through us and we scream out for each other as I fill her up with my hot thick seed.

“I love you!” I scream as I continue to still pulsate my load into her.

“I love you
, too!” She whispers and I feel my heart soar.

She still loves me!
I slide her down my body and then lift her back into my arms.  I am in no way done with her yet. My cock is still hard as fucking concrete and her desire still rages in her eyes.  

I walk her over to the padded lounge sofa and place her feet back on the ground.
 She never drags her eyes away from mine as she reaches to unclasp the jewel on her shoulder.  I watch as the silver fabric slips down her body and pools to her feet.  My eyes drink every inch of her sinful body in.   I walk closer to her and ease her back on the padded lounger.  Tenderly I trail my finger from her lips down to her jeweled belly ring.  There is no longer a chill in this late night air, the heat of our passion has us burning up. We don’t speak; we only feel this time. Our frantic motions before, are now replaced by slow and gentle ones.  I lock my hands with hers as I ease my way in and out of her body. I can feel the tears in my eyes when I see our fingers connected.

This is the way it is meant to be.
 Her body reacts so beautifully to mine. There is no doubt we are made only for each other.
Please GOD, tell me she sees this, too
!  I only pray Lucas has never experienced this with her. She is my life and I don’t want any part of her to belong to anyone else.  I open my eyes and lock my stare with hers.  Tears are in her eyes and I gently wipe them away with my thumb.  Slow sensual movements arouse every nerve ending in my cock and trigger her over the edge.  When she squeezes my hands I smile.  As she opens her mouth to gasp for air, I feel myself falling even farther for her. I thought that is impossible.  When we climax, it is again together and spellbinding.  Even though I’ve said this before,
nothing
has ever been as magnificent as this night, with her.  

She tries to steady her breathing as I collapse on top of her.
 I can feel her heart pounding and I can’t help but grin into her chest.  We lay like this without speaking for a while longer before she suddenly pushes upwards on my body.  Confused, I look down at her panicked face.

“Get off of me
, Sebastian! Now! Get off!” She screams and I roll over to allow her to stand.

“Baby, what is it? Skylar?
 What’s wrong?” I ask as I watch her grab for her dress.  I yank on my pants and fasten my belt as she staggers back into her heels beside the lounge sofa.

“Everything is wrong!
 How can you say that? Oh my GOD! What is wrong with me?  I can’t believe I…that we..!” She cries, trembling as she tries to zip her dress up.

“Stop it
, baby!  You know this meant something. I felt it and I know you did, too!” I say as I grab her shaking hands into mine. “Look at me!” I scream at her but she won’t look up at me. She is glancing at the ground looking defeated and ashamed.
Why? How can she regret this?

Finally she looks up at me through her thick lashes and teary eyes and I have to swallow the pain I feel inside.
 She can’t regret this. She just can’t!
 

I hear the metal door slam against the wall. I don’t care who it is.
 I won’t let her go this time.

She yanks free and runs
, but I am right behind her. There is no way I am letting her slip away again. I just want another chance. Just one more chance to show her every day how much I love her and need her.  Just one more chance to show her how I suffer every day for the mistakes of my past. I need just one more chance for happiness.  
Please God!  I’ve begged for everyone’s forgiveness. Just give me one more chance with her!

As she moves past Lucas
, she stops.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers loud enough for m
e to hear it and my heart sinks. He turns to face me, but I make a dash to run after her.

Just as I make it to the closing door, I see Lucas’ furious face but I don’t give a fuck. I have to get to her. I have to make this right.

“Leave her the fuck alone, you son of a bitch!” He growls as he slams his arm outward, blocking my path.  I look back at him as I swing my fist toward his body. I will fight for her ‘til the ends of the world. Nothing and no one will stop me from having her... especially Lucas Drake.

Skylar

Oh God!  What have I done?
 My body is trembling so much, that I have to grab hold of the wall of the long corridor in order to keep my knees from giving way. I try to run, but I can’t. My head is spinning from what I allowed to just take place.  My body is still on fire from his touch, yet I am terrified at my weakness with him.  I can hear their arguing voices behind me and I know I must get out of here.  

My perfect night is ruined, but I can’t just blame Sebastian for it because it is just as much my fault as it is his.
 I make my way back down the stairs and watch as people’s masked faces turn to take me in.  I glimpse into the mirror on the stairwell wall and see how horrific I look.  My mascara and lipstick is smeared down my face and my hair is everywhere.  My silver dress hangs off my body, partially unzipped, but I don’t care. I must get out of here now.  People grab me and ask me if I am all right.
I know I must look like I have been attacked.
Ignoring them, I continue pushing my way through the crowd of guests.  Suddenly my name is screamed and I turn to see Sebastian in only his black tux pants at the top of the staircase.

“Skylar! No! Wait!”
Sebastian screams and runs down the stairs.  Lucas suddenly appears and is not far behind him. I turn and push harder through the crowd, but I can’t manage to push through fast enough. Before I know it, Sebastian grabs me by the arm and turns me around to face him.

“You can’t leave! I love you Skylar! Please!” H
e begs. His lip is busted and blood is smeared across his cheek.

“Get your hands off her!” Lucas roars behind him, but Sebastian stands there looking at me with pleading eyes. Lucas’ face turns to fury as he grabs Sebastian by the arm and yanks him backwards. Sebastian hesitantly lets
me go and turns to swing at Lucas. The crowd moves back and gasps at the two of them brawling.  

I am frozen in my spot, watching in horror, as the punching goes back and forth between the two of them.
 
They are going to kill each other if I don’t stop this.  
I quickly maneuver myself behind Lucas and grab his arm.  Out of reaction, he jerks his elbow back.  I feel the bones in my face ache as his elbow makes contact at my nose.  Pain radiates through my face and I can taste the warm blood as it pours into my mouth.

“Skylar! Oh angel, I am so sorry!!” Lucas cries through shocked eyes. He reaches for me but then I look over his shoulder to see the murderous rage overtake Sebastian’s face.
 He yanks Lucas around and slams his fist into his stomach and then I watch as he drops to the ground.  Sebastian continues relentlessly pounding on him and I can watch no more.  Covering my face, I run out of the front entrance, down the street and into the night.  

Sebastian

The moment Lucas stopped me from going after her, he declared a war that he will not be winning. I know he loves her, but that girl is my life and I will be damned if he thinks I am going to stand by and just let her go. I manage to break away from him and stumble down the corridor after her. I make my way as fast as I can to the top of the staircase and peer down below for searching the crowd for her.
 I spot her as she frantically makes her way through the massive group of people.

“Skylar! No! Wait!
” I cry out. I capture the attention of the entire room, but she turns and pushes harder through the crowd of people.  Lucas manages to catch up and makes his way behind me. I can’t let him get to her first, so I fly down the steps after her. I literally throw people back with my arm in order to reach her.  When I grab for her arm, I waste no time turning her to face me.  If she will just look deep enough into my eyes, she will see just how broken I am with without her.  If she will just look hard enough she will see just how madly in love with her that I am and that I will stop at nothing to fight for us.

I beg her with everything I have in me to hear me out. For the briefest moment, I think I reach the part of her inside that I so desperately need to listen to me. And then Lucas’ sorry ass manages to ruin even that for me. The instant he lays his hands on me, I lose it.
 I see her horrified look as she moves behind Lucas and then I see his elbow connect to her face.  We stop for a moment in shock and I see bright red blood slowly trace down her nose and onto her lips.  

I am going to kill him.
 I don’t care if it is an accident or not; I am killing him! Blinded by anger, I begin pounding and kicking on him.  He doesn’t even bother to fight back because he is screaming for Skylar to not leave.  Suddenly my arms are grabbed behind my back and cold metal is slapped around my wrists. Two security officers struggle as I fight them to break free.
Security? Here? Really? What a fucking joke!

I continue to struggle and fight as the two men drag me to the back office of the building.
 
I have to get to her. I have to.

“
Let me go!” I roar, but nothing I say or do seems to make any difference.

As am being dragged away, I spot a bloody and bruised Lucas manage his way to his feet and stagger out the fro
nt door after her.  Fuck!

Lucas

I can’t process everything in my pounding head right now.  I’ve looked everywhere for her, but there is no trace of her anywhere.  My left eye is swollen completely shut now and my clothes are all torn and bloody. I collapse on the park bench on the sidewalk and jerk loose the tie from my torn tux.  

This night had started out perfect. I had made certain to give this to her because she deserves it.
 We had so much to do to get ready for tonight’s reveal party that I hadn’t had time to talk to her about what happened between us last night.  Even though we didn’t have sex, what we shared had been more spectacular than I could ever have imagined. I still savor the feel and taste of her delectable body against mine. Last night, I had realized that when we did finally make love, the universe will shift because it will be so euphoric.  Well, let’s just say I thought all of that until I read that letter.  

Skylar thought I had been asleep when she crawled out of bed.
 I watched her wrap her silk robe back around her body and walk toward her desk.  I couldn’t understand her silence after the passion we had just shared; yet shamefully, I had been too afraid to speak up. I had been too terrified that she regretted our time together, so I remained quiet.  

Her shoulders had been slumped and her head hung low as she crumbled up the piece of paper in her hands. I don’t know what it is that she was doing, but I know it affects her much more than it should.
 That was no ordinary piece of mail; it had to be from him.

What is he doing writing her? How the fuck does he know where she is to even mail her anything?

The next morning, while she had been in the shower, I seized the opportunity to retrieve it from the trash and read it for myself. I wish to God now that I had just left it alone.  
I had been right; the letter is from Sebastian.

My hands tremble as I sit there reading it.
 I know it is no business of mine, but that still doesn’t stop me from continuing. Over and over Sebastian pleas and begs for her forgiveness. His words make absolutely no sense to me.
“I never meant to deceive you…I wanted to tell you from the beginning.”
As I continue reading, I realize that it doesn’t sound like he cheated on her at all. The note admits lies and deception.   
What had he been hiding from her?  
When I hear her bathroom door open, I quickly return the crumbled letter into the wastebasket and hurry back to my room.  

She had to leave early this morning in order to get ready for this evening. I had been relieved to have some time alone to process the letter more. Hours later, as I dressed for the event, I still hadn’t come to any conclusion of what this means for us.
 I need to talk to her, but I didn’t want to do it on the night she is meant to shine. Instead, the perfect night I had wanted for her to have, had turned into complete and total devastation.

I am not an idiot. I know she and Sebastian fucked up on that rooftop. I should be pissed at her, but I’m more hurt and confused than anything. I don’t hate her; I can never hate her.
 Believe it or not, she needed to do this to prove to herself that it is over between them. The horrified look of shame and regret on her face tells me everything I need to know.

When she runs past me, I instantly want to grab her and hold her in my arms, but that isn’t what she needs right now.
 Instead I go into protective mode. I will be damned if Sebastian Thorne thinks I am going to stand by and watch him destroy the woman I love. There is no fucking way that is happening.  She has fought like hell to get part of herself back.

I never meant to hurt her in the scuffle between Sebastian and me.
 I didn’t know it was her trying to break up the fight.  When I saw what I had done, I immediately let go of Sebastian and reached out for her. She blinked back tears through her stunning eyes and ran out the front door. The look on her face broke my heart. I had never been so devastated by what I had done to her, that I completely gave up fighting Sebastian. All I had wanted is to get to her and to make sure that she is all right.  

Three hours later, I have searched everywhere, but she is nowhere to be found. I’ve called her phone at least a hundred times, but I only get her voicemail that is now full thanks to me. I slump forward on the bench and cradle my head in my hands. Even though I didn’t witness them together, the images of them fucking flood my mind.
 All this time, I have been waiting patiently for something that he just takes in a heated moment.  She deserves so much more than that. Why does he have such a hold on her? It had looked like she regretted it, but where does this leave us? Am I sure that I can really get past this? My created images are engrained in my mind. My heart hurts so much right now that I just don’t know the answer to that question.
Damn it, Skylar!  Where are you?