Chapter 260 The Balcony
Emilia’s POV
The movie had long since faded into background noise, some forgotten scene flickering on a screen neither of us was watching. My eyes were growing heavy against Sebastian’s shoulder.
"I’m dead on my feet," I mumbled, stretching under the blanket. "I’m going to shower first."
He grunted something in reply, his fingers trailing lazily along my arm as I slipped away.
By the time I came back, Sebastian had abandoned the sofa entirely. He was out on the balcony, a bottle of red wine already opened, a glass in his hand as he stared out at the night.
I padded over, poured myself a glass without a word, and took a long sip.
"Should you be drinking?" His deep eyes fixed on me.
I wiped a stray drop from my lips and shrugged. "It’s fine. Red wine’s good for the heart. Everyone says so."
I tipped my head back and took another generous gulp. Sebastian’s hand shot out and snatched the glass right out of my fingers.
"Slow down."
"It’s one glass," I protested, reaching for it. "You know exactly how much I can handle. This is nothing."
He held the glass behind his back, well out of my reach. "If I say you’ve had enough, then you’ve had enough."
"You are unbelievably bossy, you know that?" I pouted and stalked to the far side of the balcony, folding my arms on the railing and resting my chin on them. Down below, the beach stretched out in the moonlight. Every now and then a couple wandered past along the sand.
Behind me, Sebastian polished off half the bottle on his own. Then, catching that I was still sulking, he called out, amusement thick in his voice, "Do you really want that drink so badly?"
I rolled my eyes. "What do you think?"
"Fine. Come here."
I ignored him and kept staring at the water.
"Emilia. Come here."
He beckoned me over. I marched across the balcony, ready to snatch my glass back, only to watch him pat his thigh. "Sit."
I didn’t know what he was scheming, but I sat.
"Careful," Eve murmured somewhere in the back of my mind, sounding far too entertained. "He’s up to something."
"Obviously," I shot back.
"I’ll give you a drink," Sebastian said. "Close your eyes."
I stuck out my hand. "I can drink it myself, thanks."
"Then no wine for you." He raised the glass to his own lips and sipped it slowly, savoring it just to torment me.
For some reason I couldn’t name, I really did want to drink tonight. And he knew it. "Fine," I huffed. "Feed me, then."
"Close your eyes."
"What are you planning?"
"Just close them."
I shook my head, exasperated, and shut them.
I waited for the cool rim of the glass against my lips. Instead I felt his mouth, warm and soft, pressing against mine. On instinct my lips parted, and a cool stream of wine slid across my tongue and down my throat.
My eyes flew open. My heart was slamming against my ribs, my face burning like I’d already drunk the whole bottle.
"You absolute menace," I breathed.
"I told you I’d feed you." His green eyes glinted.
"You didn’t say you’d feed me like "that.""
"What did you expect? A glass? Boring." He took another mouthful of wine, then pressed his lips to mine again, letting it flow slow and warm between us.
The softer I melted, the harder he kissed me, until my head tipped back and my damp hair fluttered loose in the night wind. I looked up through half-closed eyes at the moon hanging fat and silver above us.
"No more wine," I whispered, giving his chest a weak little punch.
"Then let’s do something more worthwhile," he said, his voice dropping low.
His hands slid under my thighs and he lifted me clean off his lap. I gasped and buried my flaming face in his hair as he carried me toward the stone table on the far end of the balcony.
"This is the balcony," I hissed, pounding his shoulder.
"The bed gets dull. A little variety keeps things interesting and keeps the romance alive."
"You keep going on about romance, but I’ve never seen you this obsessed with it," I said.
"Can’t you tell I’m trying?"
I’d known the second he lured me in with that wine that he was up to no good. And of course, I’d been right. But wasn’t this a little too exposed? There were still people strolling down on the sand.
"There are people out there," I reminded him quickly.
"Ignore them. Only lunatics are wandering around at this hour instead of sleeping."
""You’re" the lunatic. Who does this on a balcony? You’re insane. Completely insane."
"If I’m insane, it’s your fault," he murmured against my throat. "You should feel flattered."
He set me down against the cool stone.
Night air hit my overheated skin, and I sucked in a breath at the contrast.
His hands moved slow and sure over me, stripping away every teasing word we’d traded until I was trembling against him, already wet and impatient.
When he pushed into me, I arched to meet him, a sound catching in my throat.
He filled me in one deep thrust, thick and hard, and out here everything landed sharper than it ever did in a bed. The stone was cold at my back, the sea wind on my bare thighs, and he was burning hot against my front.
"Sebastian," I gasped, my fingers digging into his shoulders.
He answered with a low growl and started to move, each thrust deeper than the last.
I locked my legs around his waist and pulled him in. Voices drifted up from the beach below, too far to see us, close enough that my pulse jumped every time he drove into me.
"Someone might hear," I whispered.
"Then be quiet," he said against my mouth, and thrust harder anyway.
The warning should have cooled me down. It did the opposite. A rush went through me I had never gotten from sheets and a closed door.
I bit his shoulder to keep from crying out.
His rhythm turned rough, almost desperate, and I met him stroke for stroke, chasing that heat with him.
The heat built fast between us until it broke, and I came with his name still on my lips, muffled against his skin.
He followed with a groan, holding me through it, his forehead pressed to mine, both of us shaking.
We stayed like that, breathing hard, the moon silver above us and the waves still breaking below.
"Told you," he whispered, a wicked grin tugging at his mouth. "Worthwhile."
I laughed weakly and swatted him. "You really are insane."
"And you love it."