Chapter 105: Ten Minutes

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Ten Minutes

Sebastian woke because his phone refused to stop vibrating.

At first, the sound existed somewhere beyond the heavy warmth of sleep, an irritating mechanical buzz that reached him through layers of tangled sheets, lingering pheromones, and the enormous body attached to his back, but when it stopped for several seconds and immediately began again, Sebastian reluctantly opened his eyes and stared at the pale morning light filtering through the curtains.

He did not move.

That turned out to be the best decision.

The moment awareness returned, so did the rest of his body, and Sebastian discovered that several muscles he had never previously considered worthy of individual attention had apparently spent the night composing formal complaints.

His thighs felt heavy, his hips sore, and there was a deep ache through his lower body that made the events of several hours earlier return with unnecessary clarity.

Sebastian closed his eyes again.

Of course.

Nero.

Two meters thirty centimeters of Nero.

Apparently nature had believed proportionality was important.

Sebastian had known Nero was enormous in every other respect, had spent months being hauled around by hands large enough to span most of his waist and sleeping beneath limbs that occasionally made him feel as though he had acquired an exceptionally possessive weighted blanket, but somehow he had failed to extend that observation to everything else until it became personally relevant.

In retrospect, that had been optimistic.

The phone buzzed again.

Nero made a displeased sound behind him and tightened the arm wrapped around Sebastian’s middle until Sebastian was dragged several centimeters backward, his spine settling against a warm chest while a long leg slid between his beneath the sheets.

"Leave it."

His voice was thick with sleep.

Sebastian looked toward the bedside table without attempting to reach for it yet.

"It has called three times."

"Then it lacks manners."

"Nero."

A face pressed into the back of Sebastian’s neck.

Nero inhaled slowly, apparently finding whatever he smelled there vastly more interesting than the outside world, then began leaving lazy kisses along Sebastian’s shoulder while his hand spread over his stomach.

The phone started vibrating for a fourth time.

Sebastian sighed.

"I need that."

"No."

"You don’t even know who it is."

"I know who you are, and you are currently in bed with me, which makes everyone else considerably less important."

Sebastian turned his head enough to see part of Nero’s face behind him.

His hair was everywhere.

The immaculate white-blond curtain that normally looked as though Nero employed an entire department devoted exclusively to maintaining it had been reduced overnight to long, disordered strands across the pillows, Sebastian’s shoulder, and Nero’s own face, and somehow the damage only made him look more offensively attractive.

Worse, he looked content.

Utterly, shamelessly content.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

"You look pleased with yourself."

"I am."

"I’m sore."

Nero’s mouth curved against Sebastian’s shoulder.

"I noticed."

"That was not praise."

"I didn’t require it to be."

The hand on Sebastian’s stomach drifted lower.

Sebastian caught Nero’s wrist before it got very far.

"No."

Nero kissed the back of his neck.

"I haven’t done anything."

"You are trying."

The phone buzzed again.

Sebastian reached for it this time, stretching across the mattress while Nero continued clinging to him with all the cooperation of a particularly large predator unwilling to surrender something it had dragged into its den.

His fingertips barely reached the device.

"Let go."

"No."

"Nero."

"You can answer from here."

"I cannot reach it from here."

Nero considered that problem for half a second, extended one arm over Sebastian with insulting ease, picked up the phone, glanced at the screen, and then placed it directly into Sebastian’s hand without releasing him.

"Christopher."

Sebastian immediately became more awake.

He accepted the audio call.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

Chris sounded fully dressed, fully awake, and far too composed for the hour.

Sebastian blinked toward the bedside clock.

Breakfast started in ten minutes.

"Oh."

Behind him, Nero pressed another kiss below his ear.

Chris was silent for one beat.

Sebastian could almost hear the interpretation happening.

"Breakfast begins in ten minutes."

"Yes. I see that."

"We were expecting you downstairs already."

"We overslept."

Nero’s arm tightened around Sebastian as though objecting to the implication that sleep had been the only reason.

Sebastian elbowed him lightly.

Nero responded by nuzzling deeper into his neck.

Chris continued, "Lucas has asked twice where you are."

That did it.

Sebastian sprang upright. Or attempted to.

Pain pulled sharply across his lower back and hips, making his entire body lock halfway through the movement.

"Fuck."

Nero was upright behind him instantly.

One arm caught Sebastian around the waist before he could pitch sideways, while the sleepy amusement disappeared from his expression with such speed that Sebastian almost regretted making any sound at all.

"What happened?"

Chris’s voice sharpened through the phone.

"Nothing."

"That did not sound like nothing."

"I moved too quickly."

Nero’s hand was already at Sebastian’s lower back, fingertips pressing carefully along the tense muscle.

"Where does it hurt?"

Sebastian closed his eyes.

"Please do not conduct an examination while I am speaking to your father."

"My father would prefer that I conduct an examination if you are injured."

"I am not injured."

Chris, unfortunately, remained on the line.

"Nero?"

"He pulled his lower back getting out of bed."

Sebastian turned around.

"I did not pull anything."

Nero’s attention remained on his back.

"You made a pain sound."

"I am sore."

Nero went still for a fraction of a second.

Then the concern in his eyes acquired a deeply inappropriate layer of satisfaction.

Sebastian saw it happen.

"You are a terrible person."

Nero smiled.

Chris was quiet again.

Sebastian pressed two fingers against his forehead.

"We’ll be downstairs shortly."

"You have nine minutes now."

"We’ll manage."

Another pause.

Then Chris said, far too neutrally, "Should I tell Lucas you overslept?"

"Yes."

Nero spoke at the same moment.

"Tell him Sebastian needs another hour."

Sebastian stared at him.

"No."

Nero looked entirely serious.

Chris made a sound that might have been a cough.

"We’ll be there," Sebastian repeated.

"I’ll tell them."

The call ended.

Sebastian lowered the phone and immediately attempted to slide toward the edge of the mattress more carefully this time.

Nero pulled him backward.

Sebastian landed against his chest again.

"Nero."

"Stay."

"We have breakfast."

"I do not care about breakfast."

"Our parents are downstairs."

"They have survived without us."

Sebastian turned within Nero’s arms until they were facing each other.

The mistake became obvious immediately.

Nero’s eyes dropped to his mouth, then lower, and whatever thoughts had occupied him since waking were clearly nowhere near food.

Sebastian rested a hand against his chest.

"No."

"I still haven’t done anything."

"You are looking at me like that."

Nero leaned closer, his long hair falling around them while one hand slid beneath Sebastian’s shirt and settled possessively against his bare waist.

"I woke up with you in my bed after waiting seven years for this," he murmured, mouth brushing Sebastian’s cheek. "You genuinely expected me to be interested in breakfast?"

"It is technically our bed now."

Nero smiled.

That had been the wrong thing to say.

The arm around Sebastian tightened.

"Even better."

"Nero, we have eight minutes."

"I can accomplish quite a lot in eight minutes."

Sebastian laughed despite himself and pushed at his shoulder.

"You are not accomplishing anything."

Nero kissed him.

It was lazy at first, all warm lips and lingering morning affection, but Sebastian felt the intention behind it almost immediately when Nero’s hand moved from his waist to his hip and tried to draw him closer.

Sebastian broke away.

"No."

Nero followed his mouth.

Sebastian leaned farther back.

"We are going downstairs."

"After."