Hard Rock Love Box Set, page 30
The truth was, she wanted to give him another chance.
She wanted to give herself another chance, with the man who may just be her soulmate.
She had been realizing, with the more time that they had spent together as friends recently, that she missed him.
But not just as a friend.
Instinctually, she leaned into his touch, and Sebastian shivered. As he withdrew his hand, she leaned forward, bringing her hand up to his face to kiss him, slowly, gently.
She stopped herself in the midst of it all, knowing that there was a reality that she had to face before getting into anything deeper.
“Sebastian. I—”
“What is it Lily?” He was a little disappointed that she had broken the moment between them before kissing.
“I need to tell you something.” She looked down in defeat, not knowing which words to use. She wanted to be as tactful as possible, not knowing where her words would take her. The future became uncertain and the restlessness in Lillian’s heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. But she knew that the right thing to do, in this very moment, was to be honest and tell the truth.
“I… I met up with Ash over the weekend…” Lillian looked up to see if Sebastian was paying attention. And for the first time since Lillian knew him, she could see the look of sadness on his face. She continued. “We kissed.”
At that moment, Sebastian’s face lit up with frustration, passion filling his every pore. He was confused, and at the same time, he was visibly upset.
“You kissed? He kissed you?”
“I don’t remember who kissed who. All I know is—we did.” She gave him a moment to swallow it all in. To allow him to understand what it was she was saying to him.
“Lillian. What does this mean then?”
“I don’t know. But I know I don’t have any feelings for him.”
“How can I know that? You kissed him. And after just meeting again.”
Sebastian was at a loss for words, his head hung dry, and every pore in his body became drained.
“I know. But I knew I couldn’t keep it from you Sebastian. I needed to tell you. Before any of this—” she beckoned an invisible circle between them “—happens.”
Sebastian wrinkled his brow, not knowing how to react to this news. He slumped back into the gravity of the couch beneath him, he didn’t look at Lillian in the eyes anymore. After a few silent moments, Lillian reached out and touched Sebastian on the shoulder, “Seb—”
“No, Lillian. I need time.”
“I… I understand.”
With that, Lillian grabbed her bag and started for the door. She knew she had to give Sebastian time to think. More than anything, she wished that the kiss between her and Ash had never happened. Her head hung in shame as she got into the elevator. Like a scene in a movie, the doors closed, and the sky was dark.
Thirty-Six
It had been a long night at the office and Bella was getting off later than what she was used to. She was tired while closing up shop. It’d been a long day of fixing up costumes after the theatre performance. After locking up the building, she turned the corner, and a familiar figure intercepted her path.
“What are you doing here,” she asked, feeling the rate of her heart increase as her mind ran through all the reasons, all the possibilities of what he might say, what he might do. She wondered if she should run, attack him, pull out her phone, or ignore him.
But she was frozen, and nothing seemed like the right answer. It was a dark alleyway that they were in and she wasn’t sure if there were any people around. In the dead of night, it seemed like the silence echoed throughout the cement buildings.
“There’s been some interesting developments,” Lucas said with a smile. “I thought you might want to hear about them.”
“No—I don’t,” she said, making a move to try to pass him, but his arm shot out, catching her by the shoulder and pulling her towards him.
She thought her heart was going to stop beating.
“Oh, I think you do. That man you’re in love with, he’s seeing someone else now.”
“Lucas, I don’t care. I’m not in love with him. He can do whatever the hell he wants.” She yanked away from him, rubbing at her shoulder as she glared at him.
“No, Bella, I think you’re lying to yourself. You’re in love with him. It’s why you won’t let yourself be with anyone who’s good for you. Like me.” He took a step closer to her and Bella resisted the urge to cry out. She wondered if anyone would even care. He wasn’t technically doing anything after all.
“Do you want me to take care of her for you, Bella? The woman he’s in love with? Then you could go back to him, and I could have myself a pretty little photographer…”
“No, Lucas, I need you to stop. Stop talking to me.”
“I’m only trying to help you Bella. I know you better than anyone, right? You know that.”
She felt like she was about to start crying as he took another step closer to her, almost backing her up into the wall of a nearby building. He took one of her wrists in his hand. He spun her around and pinned one of her arms behind her back, pushing her against the wall and digging his muzzle into the back of her neck. He inhaled the scent of her perfume, noting the intricate notes of every flavor. Bella whimpered.
“I’m only trying to help, Bella. You don’t seem to know what you want. You know that? I can help you figure that out, I can help you get over him. I bet without much searching I can dig up dirt on this lawyer and expose him for the whole world to see. Then you’ll understand how much better off you are without him.”
He pushed himself onto her, but she retaliated.
“Don’t make another move Bella.”
He was strong. And she knew it was futile to try to fight him. She closed her eyes and decided she would just take whatever it was that was going to happen to her. Lucas slid his rough hands up the side of Bella’s thigh, pushing the fabric to the side, exposing her bare leg. She winced.
“Bella, you’re so sexy.” The tip of his finger found his way into her panties, pushing them to the side, and slipping into the outermost area of her sex.
He whispered in her ear, “just like old times, hmm?”
She resisted the urge to cry. All she could do was bring herself to close her eyes and wait, fighting back the tears.
“You’re so fricking hot when you squirm.” He pushed his entire finger into her lady parts and started stroking her pussy, the wetness of her sex shamefully pouring out. “You like that, don’t you baby.”
He pulled his finger out and licked up the remnants of her sweet nectar. “This time…”
Lucas started undoing his belt. But in the distance—a voice.
“HEY!”
A dark figure made its way towards them and Bella was more than relived. Lucas let go of his grasp on her and turned to face the silhouette advancing on them.
“What’re you doing?!”
“Nothing that concerns you.” Lucas yelled back.
The man looked at Bella whom was clearly distraught, he knew that he needed to be vigilante in this moment. He knew there was something serious happening.
“Leave!” The man’s voice was strong, confident, and authoritative.
Lucas raised his hands up in surrender, and slowly backed away, knowing his battle was lost. He made a few steps backward and then turned away to quicken his pace to disappear into the darkness.
Then it was just Bella and the man. She settled herself together, allowing herself to cry a bit into her hands. But then, quickly composed herself as the stranger made his way towards her.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Thank you for saving me.”
“No problem. My name’s Ash. Ash Bennet.”
Bella was left wondering how she was supposed to deal with all this. All she wanted to do was get home, back to her apartment building, and back to safety.
“What’re you doing here, Ash? The theatre’s closed. Since long ago.”
“I was trying to find a friend. I suppose she’s not here.”
Bella grabbed her arm, still a little shaken from what happened. Ash looked at the poor girl, wondering what he could do to help.
“Can I walk you home, miss?”
“I would like nothing more than that.”
They started the walk back to her apartment, and she considered a list of everyone she might be able to call. She didn’t know if any of her friends would believe her—especially if they were from the company, Lucas had a way with people—and even if they did, what power did they have.
Her parents were far away, and she didn’t want to bother them. None of her relatives lived anywhere close, and she doubted the police could do anything without evidence.
There was, then, only one person that she could call.
She just hoped he would pick up.
Sebastian was alone in his apartment when his phone rang. With the first round, he grumbled and ignored it, wondering who could be calling him at this hour and cursing the heavens that he hadn’t remembered to turn his ringer off.
The second time, Sebastian knew it was urgent. Sebastian growled and reluctantly picked up his phone, flipping it over to see who it was. The name on the screen surprised him.
Bella.
Had she changed her mind? Either way, he knew that there was something seriously wrong. The protector in him knew he had to deal with this.
He picked up the call, “Hello?”
“Sebastian. I need you.”
Bella was too much a proud woman, too proud to be calling a man she used to hook up with at a late hour such as this, at least, not without a suitable reason. And then there was the issue of the male ballet dancer…
Bella could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she clicked her phone off, knowing that help was on its way. She turned to the stranger that had helped her in the alleyway.
“My friend is on his way. Thank you for saving me back there.”
They both sat on the pavement, Bella still a little shaken from the events beforehand. Ash was rubbing her back in soothing motions, making sure that this new companion of his was in better shape than before.
“Hey, don’t mention it. I just hope you’re doing okay.”
“What were you doing there anyways? Not that I’m not glad you were there. You saved my life.”
“What’s important is that you’re safe. But, I was there looking for a friend—hoping to be able to talk to her.”
Bella was curious now but knew better than to pry. If anything, she was more worried about herself right now. And some stranger—no matter how cute—was the least of her worries. She just wanted Sebastian to get to her apartment faster.
And then, a miracle.
Sebastian’s car rolled up to the front door. And Sebastian stepped out of the car, only to be faced with the most unexpected surprise of his life.
“Ash?”
“You two know each other?” Bella looked at both of them in surprise, not knowing how to react to this strange turn of events.
Sebastian’s face became red with anger, his fists clenched up, and he was about ready to hit the next thing that moved. He started his lunge towards Ash, and Bella had to physically put herself in between both men, separating them with her arms. She could see the tension between them, not really knowing or having the comprehension to explain the situation.
“Whoa whoa whoa! What’s going on here?!”
Sebastian was leaping towards Ash, and Ash held up his arms in defense.
Ash responded, “I don’t even know you!” Although, in the back of Ash’s mind, Sebastian seemed familiar to him.
Sebastian tried to make his move past Bella, “This doesn’t concern you, Bella.” And Sebastian lunged towards Ash who made a swift movement to dodge his advance.
“Stop! You two!” Bella screamed out. “This is not what I called you here for Sebastian!”
Both the boys were in opposing corners of the sidewalk, both at a measurable distance from one another. Ash had no idea how he ended up in this predicament and knew that things were becoming hostile. He had to say something, “Look, Sebastian. That’s your name right?” His attempts to calm things down were working, he inched his way into explaining the situation with all he could muster up.
“I found Bella in the alleyway, there was a strange man with her. He ran off. But I walked her home to her apartment.”
Sebastian turned to Bella, and she nodded in agreeance. They’d have to settle this another time.
“I’ll take things from here.” Sebastian turned to Bella and propped her up by her arm and shoulder, leading her up to the apartment steps, turning away from Ash.
“Thank you, Ash.” Bella mouthed these words to her accidental savior, making sure that Sebastian wouldn’t see to avoid any unnecessary confrontation.
Ash nodded. The two figures made their way up the steps, and into Bella’s apartment.
Thirty-Seven
After reaching Bella’s one-bedroom apartment, Sebastian and her plopped themselves onto the couch. After a brief moment of composing themselves, Sebastian decided he would finally ask.
“Bella, what happened?”
“It’s…a long story,” she said, taking a shaky breath, wondering where she should even start. “But you’re in danger, and I think I’m in danger, and I’m worried that Lillian might be in danger too.”
“How do you know Lillian?”
“She’s photographing where I work. But that doesn’t matter. There’s…a dancer there. A man. We used to date in the past, but he’s very controlling. It took me a while to realize that, but now he’s back from London and he wants me back and he knows where I live and I was so scared—”
“Bella, take a few deep breaths, slow down,” Sebastian said, and it was only then that Bella realized her words had been getting progressively faster, blurring together as panic entered her system.
She started rubbing her temples. All the while, Sebastian’s thoughts were running wild. Why was Ash at Bella’s workplace? Of all people. It had to be Ash. And especially at a time like this, where things with Lillian were taking a turn for the worst.
“Listen, Bella. We need to get you out of here. I know a place you can stay.”
“Please. I don’t know if I can stay here.”
Her voice sounded small, and she hated it. She hated having to come to the man who she had just walked away from for help, and so soon after everything had happened. But she knew he was her only hope, especially knowing that Sebastian had power.
Sebastian found himself shallowing his own pride, as he reluctantly picked up his phone to send a text message. He let out a sigh and decided to put his ego aside and call the only person he could think of to call for help right now.
Lillian. I need you.
Sebastian turned to Bella who was still in distress. He patted her on the back, and she retracted herself away from his touch. This wasn’t something normal, he thought. Bella usually leaned into his touch, not away. His phone buzzed and he looked at it right away.
Sebastian. What’s wrong?
I need a favor.
Sebastian proceeded to call Lillian instead. He hated having to explain such important matters through text. And the message would most likely be lost over miscommunication through words. After a few rings, Lillian’s familiar voice came through the line.
“Sebastian?”
“Hey.” Sebastian’s voice struggled to find the words. “I’m here with a friend. She thinks she’s in danger, and from the little bit I got, she’s probably right. She claims you know her. Her name is Bella.”
Lillian nodded, and it instantly clicked for her. “There was a situation when I was photographing the workshop. One of the male ballet dancers seemed to be bothering her.”
“That would probably be him. Listen. She needs a place to stay tonight. And I know this may seem sudden. But is it alright if she stays with you?”
Lillian was a little dumbfounded by his offer but knew this wasn’t the time to question any details. This was serious.
“…I suppose. Yeah.”
“Thanks Lil’. I owe you. I’m on my way.” He clicked the phone off, and automatically turned his gaze over to Bella. “Pack your bags. Let’s go.”
It was a short drive to the building where Lillian lived, and the area was fairly nice. As Sebastian pulled up to the front, he turned to Bella. “Kay, everything upstairs is ready for you. Come with me, Bella.”
They went up to the twelfth floor, and then down a couple of pristine hallways before Sebastian knocked on a white door. Even though Lillian knew they were coming, it was still several minutes before anyone opened the door. It ended up being Rebecca who greeted them, and this was a relief to Sebastian.
“Come in, please,” she said, gesturing them inside her apartment.
It was quite nice, Bella thought to herself, if small. The living room was decorated with a level of taste that many people failed to acquire—a few bright accent colors that warmed up the place along with a selection of neutral tones.
The tension seemed to dissipate as the two of them walked into the room. Coby came over to greet his new guest, rubbing his cheek against Bella’s leg.
And around the corner, Lillian emerged from her bedroom. Her hair was up in a bun and she waved sheepishly to Sebastian and Bella.
The four of them all took a spot on the couch and Rebecca offered everyone some tea.
“Tea?” Rebecca lifted up her china pot, presenting it to their new friend. Bella shyly grabbed her teacup and held it out for Rebecca to pour the liquid into.
The ambiance in the room became more relaxed, as the chamomile was now coursing through everyone’s veins.
It was Lillian who finally broke the silence, as she was becoming more anxious wondering what the heck was going on. The room became silent and all eyes were on Bella, awaiting her answer.
