Broken Truths (The Frayed Trilogy 2)

Sebastian’s eyes dart between mine. I might be sore, exhausted, and probably mentally unstable, but this is the only thing I’m sure of right now.

I straddle his hips with a simple move when he doesn’t let out another protest. Still tracing my ribs, Sebastian grabs onto my hip with his other hand, letting it dip below my underwear. Not able to stop myself, I roll my hips lightly over him—feeling his thickening length underneath me—and his hand flexes, squeezing the flesh of my ass in his fingers.

He lifts his hips, pressing his impressive bulge into me, and my mouth drops open as anticipation soaks my core. Then a thought bursts my bubble of pleasure. “I need to shower,” I say with a sigh and drop my forehead to his.

“You don’t need to do anything,” he says, retaking my mouth, and I almost get lost in the moment, but then I pull back again.

“I do, I feel…”Gross.Dirty. The weight of yesterday sticks to me like another layer of skin, and all I want to do is scrub it off. After two panic attacks and running from that warehouse for God knows how long, and not to mention the nightmare, I can practically feel the build-up of dirt and sweat coating me. I doubt it will make everything okay, but it would at least wash away some of the heaviness weighing me down.

Sebastian studies me, but instead of being annoyed or angry, he sits us up. Then, with me still straddling his lap, he removes his hands from under my shirt and grabs my thighs just under my butt with both hands. Before I can process what he’s doing, he pushes up from the bed in one move, like my weight means nothing to him.

“What are you doing?” I ask him, surprised at the move.

“Showering,” he says matter-of-factly, but from his slightly damp hair and fresh scent, it’s pretty evident he had one before getting into bed, which can’t have been long ago, given it’s still the middle of the night and his hair hasn’t dried fully. When he starts for the bathroom, my arms automatically circle his neck, except he lets out a low hiss at the move, and I loosen my hold.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he says, and before I can think more about it, he seals his lips against my neck, flicking his tongue over my skin. The bathroom light is already on, and when Sebastian pushes the door open fully, I let out an audible gasp. It’shuge.

As Sebastian carries me inside, my mind is torn between what he’s doing to my neck and taking in all the details of the most luxurious bathroom I’ve ever seen.

A long, stone bench runs the entirety of one wall with two sets of everything, including sinks.Perfect for a couple.The shower is at the back, and even with the stone bench seat, it could easily fit four people. But that’s not what snags my attention. To the left is some kind of enclave, but when Sebastian steps further into the room, I see that the space cut out into the side of the bathroom is almost big enough to be its own room. The three walls that make up the extra space are all made of glass, and in the middle of the square cut-out sits a round bathtub.

Large pots sit in the two far corners behind the tub, the plants reaching at least halfway to the ceiling.It’s so beautiful.It’s too dark to see what lies beyond the glass, but I could easily imagine it being some kind of garden.

Sebastian sits me on the vanity, the cold stone beneath me sending a shiver through my body. When I don’t unhook my legs from his waist, he plants his hands on either side of me, leaning down enough that his face is right in front of mine. His eyes trace my face, and I want to know what he’s thinking.

He asked me to stay.

After a moment longer of doing nothing but justseeingeach other, he plants a lingering kiss on my lips, and I tighten my legs around him, bringing him even closer to where I desperately want him. My breath rushes out on a shaky exhale when he pulls back.

God, he’s handsome.

“You never told me where we were,” I say, curious as to why we didn’t go back to the penthouse.

He’s quiet for a moment before answering. “This is my parents’ house. The house I grew up in,” he says and presses another kiss to my lips. “I thought we could use a change of scenery.”

My mouth opens and closes as I search for something to say. “The one you haven’t been back to since…” I ask. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he says, followed by another kiss, but I don’t believe that he’s genuinely let himself feel what it means to be back here after all this time. In fact, I worry he’s never let himself feel the true weight of their deaths at all.

When he pulls back, my eye catches the side of his neck. Although through the haze of lust, it takes me a second to realise what I’m looking at. Three large scratches run from just under the side of his jaw towards his collarbone. I let my legs fall from around him.

“Sebastian… your neck,” I say, and he glances behind me to the mirror, tilting his head to the side.Oh God, did I do that?They weren’t there in the club last night, or were they? My head may be foggy, but I’d definitely have remembered seeing them. “Idid that?” My voice cracks.

“It’s nothing,” he says, bringing his attention back to me.

“It is something, Sebastian,” I say, guilt eating away at me.

“Hey.” He cradles my face in his hands, tilting my head up. “I’m okay,” he says, but it does nothing to alleviate the guilt quickly rising within me.

“I’m sorry.”

“Grace, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“But—”

“No buts. Let it go. It’s not worth worrying about. I promise you I’m okay,” he says, sealing his lips to mine, preventing me from saying anything more.