Sleet Banshee by S.J. Tilly

CHAPTER FIFTY

MEGHAN

Our walk to the player’s parking lot has been silent, and I can’t quite tell if it’s comfortable or awkward. I’d lean towards the latter, but Sebastian’s been holding my hand the whole time, so…

I decide to be fine with the quiet and take in my surroundings, since I’ve never been down this way. I’m sure this is just a normal everyday hallway, but it feels like I’m in some super-secret spy bunker.

When we reach a metal door at the end of the hall, Sebastian lets go of my hand. Holding the door open, he lets me step through first.

“So, your brothers seem fun," he remarks, placing a hand on my back to guide me.

I shake my head. “Fun’s one way to put it. Obnoxious is another.”

“Miles though…” He pauses. “I don’t think he likes me.”

I make a noncommittal humming sound and chew on my lip.

Sebastian stops us next to an all-black Jeep Wrangler. He’s parked in the back corner of the subterranean lot, and - over here, on the far side of the Jeep - we’re shrouded in shadows.

Using the hand on my back, he turns me to face him.

“Banshee?”

I opt for playing dumb. “Oh, no, I’m sure he likes you.”

He steps closer, resting his hands on the passenger door, caging me in. “I don’t like it when you lie to me.”

I bat my eyes and smile. “Why, does it make you want to punish me?”

Sebastian presses his hips against mine, allowing me to feel his reaction to my question. “Baby, I always want to spank you. No matter how bratty you’re being.”

His growly voice rolls through my body and out my toes. I don’t even have a choice, I lean into his body. My hands reach out to press against Sebastian’s chest. The muscles bunched beneath my fingers.

He leans his face closer, and I hope he’s about to kiss me, but he speaks instead. “I’d love to take you home right now and teach you a lesson.”

“Yes, please - ” I beg.

“But I promised your brother that I’d bring you straight to Jackson’s.”

Well, bringing up my overprotective older brother is one way to kill the mood. “Fucking Miles. He just needs some time to get over it.”

“Get over what, exactly?”

Not wanting to look him in the eye, I keep my gaze locked on my hands as they continue to press against Sebastian’s warm chest. “I may have gotten drunk with my brothers after a family dinner a while back. And I may have been a little upset at the time.”

“Upset with me?” he asks.

I shrug.

“Banshee - ” he grips my chin and makes me look up at him.

Those damn dark eyes. They make me want to confess everything.

I sigh. “In hindsight, no. But at the time, yes. So… they may not have gotten the best first impression of you.”

“Well that clears it up," he deadpans.

With his grip still in place, I look away. “I didn’t want to face my role in the fight that night. It was easier to blame you than it was to face my own guilt.”

“Meghan, none of what happened was your fault,” Sebastian says before placing a kiss on my forehead.

I want to melt into the sweet gesture, but instead I shake my head. “You don’t get it. Girls need to stick together. We’re safer in numbers. I was supposed to be with her, but instead I was with you.”

To my surprise, Sebastian pulls me into a hug.

His lips are pressed into my hair, but I can still understand him. “It wasn’t your fault. Even if we hadn’t been out back, having the best sex of my life, you can’t tell me that anything would have turned out differently. I’m sorry your friend got hurt. I’m sorry my friend got in trouble. But I’m not sorry that you weren’t anywhere near that. I know the world is a dangerous place for women. I have a sister, and the worry I have for her nearly strangles me at times.” He squeezes me tighter. “And now I have your crazy, sexy ass to worry about. If fucking you in alleys will keep you away from violence, then I’ll do it every chance I get.”

His words undo me.

My arms wrap around his body and I’m holding on for dear life. Every time I try to distance myself from him, he shows me another layer of his personality. And this layer, this I protect what’s mine emotion seeping off him? It's addicting.

Feeling his sincerity, I try to comfort him. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m careful.”

With my ear pressed against his chest, I hear his rumbling laugh at the source.

“There’s a reason I call you Banshee, Megs. You live in your own world and do your own thing.” He gives me a squeeze. “If I think about it too hard, I’ll give myself a fucking ulcer.”

He’s not wrong.

Sebastian sighs, and a sliver of unease trails down my spine.

“I like you.” The words themselves are positive, but his tone is heavy.

I swallow, waiting for the but.

“But I need to focus on my career. I’m not in a place where I can have a serious relationship. I want to see you, spend time together, but I need you to know where I’m at. I don’t want to lead you on, make you think this is something else. Something that it’s not.”

I squeeze my eyes shut and nod. Now the hug feels less like a gesture of affection and more like something to hide behind. But I’m grateful for it, since it means I don’t have to look into his eyes while he tells me he wants me, just not like that.

As is the pattern with Sebastian, he goes from hot to cold in an instant. A moment ago, he was proclaiming that I’m on the list of women he worries about. Which almost felt like the speech you’d give someone before you told them you loved them. It had made my own worry about our future unravel, knitting itself into a blanket of hope. But his words right now, they’ve disintegrated any delusion I'd started to build.

I knew this was coming. This is the fuck buddy conversation I was preparing myself for. It just doesn’t sound the way I’d imagined. His tone is apologetic. Like he knows that this isn’t what I want. Like he’s ready for me to push him away and tell him to fuck off. Like he really does mean everything he’s saying. And for some reason that hurts my heart even more.

I already know my answer. I’d decided long before tonight. I’ll take Sebastian however I can get him. I just need to find a way to remember that this isn’t real. That it’s temporary. That I can’t let him in too deep.

I can do that.

Probably.

He must take my silence as a bad sign. “It’s not personal. It’s just that I wouldn’t be able to commit the time it takes to have a girlfriend. And that’s not fair to anyone. Mostly it’s not fair to you… ” He lets out another deep breath. “I’m not trying to be an asshole. I just want to be upfront, so nobody gets hurt.”

I force out a laugh and hope it doesn’t sound as fake as it feels. “Sebastian, please don’t give me the it’s not you it’s me speech. You’re the man, of course it’s you.” I push him back so I can face him. I don’t really want to look at him right now, but I need him to believe me. “I’m not looking for a husband, so you can quit freaking out. Okay? I’m more than happy to keep this casual. But thank you for being so forthcoming.”

I was expecting to see relief on his face, but his clenched jaw makes him look almost mad.

No time like the present to lay out my one rule. “I do have a stipulation.”

“Stipulation?”

“Yeah, big guy. A rule. An agreement for our arrangement.”

He drops his chin. “I know what stipulation means.”

“Good.” I pat his shoulder. “My only request is that so long as you’re fucking me, you’re not fucking anyone else.” His eyes widen, and I’m not sure if it’s from shock over my bluntness, or my request itself. “This isn’t me trying to turn this into a relationship, this is me not wanting to catch the clap from some stupid hoe.”

It’s not the whole truth, but the end result is the same.

“I can agree to that. Hoes aren’t really my thing anyway.” He smirks.

The uncomfortable tension between us snaps, morphing into something more primal.

One heartbeat he’s standing in front of me, and by the next, his body is slamming into mine.

Sebastian grips my hips, and - in a show of libido-fueled strength - he lifts me off the ground. My legs instinctually wrap around his waist, my feet barely touching behind his back.

When his lips find mine, my brain forgets all about the internal conversation we just had about guarding my feelings. And when his tongue breaches into my mouth, I forget my own name.

My eyes are closed, letting the darkness heighten the feel of his body against mine. My fingers are clawing him, trying to pull him even closer.

Our kiss becomes so frantic, our teeth clank together. It makes me want to grin, but I refuse to break contact. This feels like a first kiss, but also like we’ve done it a million times before.

His mouth is warm and demanding, and so fucking delicious.

There are two layers of denim between us, but my core is lined up perfectly with his rock hard cock. I undulate against him, and the friction is nearly enough to get me off.

His flip from calm to animal was like the strike of a match. And I caught fire. I’m so wet, so hot, so ready.

Sebastian’s hands are on my ass, squeezing and holding me tightly against him. I moan and wriggle around, trying to get pressure right where I need it.

He bites my lower lip, making me clench my thighs around him.

I’m dangerously close, and a moan pours out of my throat.

I arch my back, reaching for release and Sebastian breaks the kiss…

He loosens his grip, causing me to drop my legs and sets me down.

“There," he says, stepping back. “Now we’re even.”

Then he turns and walks around to the driver’s side door.

Stunned.

I am mother fucking stunned. And horny-as-fuck.

I hear his door open and shut, and I angrily rip the passenger door open, slamming it behind me after I climb in. “New stipulation. No more of that bullshit. Orgasms or bust.”

Sebastian laughs as he backs out of the parking spot.