When Storms Collide

~17~

~~

"This is not what I had in mind when you said you knew how to take our minds off the situation."

I was panting. My whole body was covered in sweat and aching.

Sebastian gave a lazy grin from beside me on the floor. "But this is fun."

I rolled my eyes at his smug look. I couldn't believe I'd actually let him do this to me.

He'd been relentless. I couldn't even feel my legs anymore.

The sound of our heavy breathing filled the room.

"Exercising isn't exactly my idea of fun." I gave him a glare.

He stretched his arms above his head, and I tried to ignore how his glistening muscles contracted when he did that. He had ditched his shirt half an hour ago and was only wearing low-hanging sweatpants at this point.

He patted my thigh encouragingly. "Come on, we're not done having fun yet. Time for push-ups."

I groaned as I flopped back on the yoga mat.

"Push-ups aren't fun, Sebastian," I hissed as I turned my head to look at him.

His eyes lightened with challenge, and his lips twisted into a knowing smirk.

"Want to bet, tesoro?"

I raised my eyebrows at him pointedly. "The day I believe that doing pushups is fun is the day I start liking pineapple on pizza. Which, in case you didn't understand, is never going to happen."

"I can be very convincing." His voice suddenly turned husky.

"Then convince me," I smirked.

His gaze suddenly darkened. My heartbeat sped up.

In a second, he had flipped over so that his body was hovering over mine.

"Lie back." His voice was soft.

It always surprised me how someone as big and harsh-looking as him could be so gentle with me.

I gave him a small smile before doing as he said. I lay back on the yoga mat and looked up at him. He placed his hands beside my shoulders, and I watched in awe as he stretched his body into the perfect plank position above me.

For a moment, he didn't move. He was completely still above me, his head bent toward mine, eyes locked. His eyebrows were furrowed, like he was trying to figure something out. His gray eyes seemed almost black. They were intense, heated.

And then, very slowly, he bent his elbows so that his body lowered enough to brush against mine lightly before lifting himself again.

My breath hitched as he lowered himself again and again. . .

It took a moment for my brain to process that he was doing push-ups over me.

His eyes remained locked with mine.

Every time his body brushed against mine, I felt like I'd been lit on fire. It was sweet torture, so good, but not nearly enough.

This time, when he came down, my legs automatically wrapped around his waist.

His eyes widened a fraction in surprise and then darkened even further.

This time, when he lifted up, my pelvis raised off the ground with him. I gasped.

He made a noise at the back of his throat, like a growl. His lips hovered over mine, our breaths mingling.

"Seba—Oh fuck!"

Warren's voice had me screaming in panic as I practically rolled out from under Sebastian and jumped to my feet.

"We were exercising!" I blurted out.

"Of course you were." Warren gave me a blank look, which clearly said he didn't believe me.

Sebastian slowly stood up, his thumb hooked in the elastic of his sweatpants casually.

I could see his lips twitching, his eyes dancing with amusement as he looked at me.

"Well, yes, I was demonstrating to Angelica how push-ups can be fun." He gave me a slow smile, his eyes hooded.

Why that smug son of a—

"Sure you were," Warren cut in. He blinked at us, completely unphased. His nonchalance was actually helping lessen my embarrassment.

His attention focused on Sebastian. "I came to tell you that your flight has been booked for seven AM."

Sebastian gave him a curt nod.

I watched Warren's retreating back in confusion.

"Flight?" I questioned. "Where are we going?"

I noticed his body go still. His facame impassive.

"We're not going anywhere, Angelica. I am," he said calmly.

I could feel my heart plummeting to my stomach. I remembered the time he'd disappeared for a week without a trace, the helplessness and hurt I'd felt came crashing back down.

He's leaving again!

He's leaving me alone and in this safe house with people like his uncle and Lucian.

I wanted to scream.

Do I mean so little to you?

Are you just going to disappear again without a word?

He sighed as if he'd read my mind. He took a step closer to me and gently rubbed the crease between my eyebrows with his fingers.

"It's not what you are thinking, mia cara," he murmured. "I am not leaving you." His gray eyes were soft. "You remember my nephew calling a while ago?"

I nodded.

"It was to remind me about his middle-school graduation. It's tomorrow. I had forgotten about it because of recent unfortunate events, but Adrian called to remind me." He paused to swallow. "That boy is everything to me. I can't miss his graduation."

The anger and frustration I'd been feeling earlier completely vanished, replaced by relief.

"I'm sorry for overreacting. I had no idea you were going to your nephew's graduation. I understand; he's family. He's important to you, and when someone is important to you, you have to be there for them even if being there for them is going against all odds."

He leaned his forehead against mine. "Thank you for understanding, Angelica."

We stayed like that for a moment before he took a regretful step back. I could see the reluctance in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but it's already six. I need to leave if I want to catch my flight."

I wrapped my arms around my waist and nodded, a lump forming in my throat.

There was an ache in my chest.

He hadn't even left and I already missed him.

He took another slow step back, almost forcefully, like it was physically painful for him.

"Warren will stay here with you. He'll make sure nothing happens while I'm away," he said softly.

I bit my lip.

"You take care of yourself too. Say hi to Adrian for me." I gave him a small smile. "And come back to me soon."

His jaw hardened as he gave me a stiff nod. He turned around and walked to the door, slowly pulling it open to leave.

Just as he was about to step out, he twisted his head to look at me.

His words were so low that I had to strain my ears to catch them.

"Anche tu sei importante per me. "

("You are important to me too.")

~~