Black Thorns: A Dark New Adult Romance (Thorns Duet Book 2)

I don’t know how long I lie there sprawled out on the ground.

But it’s long enough that the sweat has started to get cold and goosebumps erupt on my skin.

Sebastian disappeared from on top of me soon after he was done, but I haven’t heard his footsteps around me.

For some reason, it feels as if he’s watching me from the darkness, biding his time before he jumps me again.

Or maybe he’s giving me an opening so I can get the hell up and leave his apartment.

The reality of what’s happened hits me hard and fast and I jerk up into a sitting position. A slight ache erupts between my legs and I wince as I lean on my palm to catch my breath.

I can’t stay here.

When Sebastian said he’d tell me what he wanted in exchange for staying away from Akira, I knew it would be something sexual.

But I never thought we’d pick up right where we left off as if nothing had happened. I never thought the mere touch of his skin on mine would set my world ablaze. It’s even more intense than when we were college kids.

His touch has become more firm and unapologetic.

Control oozes from each of his movements, turning me into a bundle of shriveling nerves.

The thought of him doing that to anyone else boils acid in my stomach. It brings out the angsty, stabby part of me I thought I left in Blackwood.

Not that I have the right to be jealous.

Anyway, I need to get out of here so I can pull myself—or what remains of myself—together.

I attempt to stand when Sebastian’s heavy footsteps echo around me. I still, holding my rugged breaths in. It’s so hard to breathe with him around and I find myself counting each inhale and exhale.

Blinding white light bathes the room. I was so used to the darkness that the brightness assaults my sticky lids.

My eyes slowly widen when I make out Sebastian. I knew he was naked earlier, but feeling it and seeing it are entirely different.

He’s leaning against the wall, crossing his developed arms over his chest and crossing his legs at his ankles. The two tattooed lines are the only break in his perfect abs and they look so aesthetically pleasing.

Despite quitting football, he hasn’t lost much weight. He’s now muscular in a lean type of way that fits the man he grew up into.

I try not to ogle his cock, but it’s impossible, considering the way I can still feel its impact inside me.

It’s long and thick, even when half-erect, and I can’t help the shiver that goes through me when I think about the pleasure and pain that part of his anatomy can bring me.

Sebastian’s light eyes fixate on me, staring at my body the same way I’m observing his.

That’s when I realize I’m sitting naked on the floor. I scramble for my dress. Or what’s left of it. The scraps of material barely hide my nakedness, despite my attempts to fold into myself.

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he says ever so casually, his voice regaining that cold edge he’s been using ever since we reconnected.

My chest squeezes, but I ignore it, holding a piece of my dress against it. “I did my part. Now, you have to do yours.”

“And what might that be?”

“You said you’d stay away from Akira if I showed up at the address you sent.”

“I said I’d think about it. Besides, the date we agreed upon was yesterday, not today.”

“What are you saying?”

“Exactly what you’re thinking.” A cruel smirk paints his lips. “It was all for nothing.”

I jerk up, letting the ruined dress fall to the ground as I walk over to him. “You can’t do that!”

“Just did.”

“Sebastian, don’t test me or I swear…”

“What? What will you do, Naomi?” His eyes heat as he dips them to my bruised nipples. “It’s not wise to threaten me when your tits are tempting me with something entirely different.”

My libido awakens again at his attention. I’ve been starved for so long and now that I’ve had a taste of what I truly craved, my body is unable to abide by my frustration.

But I hold on to my barely existent cool. “Why are you so insistent on working with Akira?”

“Because you don’t want me to.”

“You can hate me as much as you want, but don’t destroy yourself in the process.”

He pauses, his mystical gaze sliding back to me. “I can’t destroy what’s already been destroyed.”

A lump lodges in my throat and I can’t get rid of it, no matter how much I swallow. “Sebastian…”

“Why did you come here?”

“Because you asked me to.”

“You could’ve not shown up like yesterday, but you chose otherwise. Why?”

“You said you wouldn’t work with—”

“Don’t say his fucking name in my presence again and don’t use him as an excuse, because you and I know you’re not here because of that.”

My shoulders hunch and a strange cold sensation settles at the bottom of my stomach. “If you already figured it out, why are you asking?”

“I want to hear you say it. I want to hear you admit that you’re a slut who’d rather be fucked against the ground by me instead of your husband.”

“Don’t call me that outside of whatever fucked-up shit that just happened.” I raise my chin. “It was just sex. People have it all the time.”

His jaw tightens and a haze of darkness falls on his features. “Do you make fucking people outside of marriage a habit?”

“I don’t see why that concerns you.”

“I just fucked you without a condom. Who knows what type of shit you just gave me.”

“It should be the other way around.”

He says nothing, his expression easing a little, but he continues to openly stare at my nakedness.

I step backward and gather my scattered underwear, which is also ruined.

That’s when I notice that his living room is empty. As in, there’s no furniture whatsoever.

From what I know, he didn’t recently move here, so why is it so…vacant?

“Can you lend me some clothes?”

“Why?”

I spin around, showing him my ripped underwear and tip my chin at the dress. “It’s the least you can do after you ruined my clothes.”

“Say please.”

“I’m not going to beg for clothes.”

“Then you can stay naked.”

I purse my lips, staring him down. “You’re such a dick.”

“Calling me names will diminish your chances, not strengthen them, Tsundere.”

I jolt, swallowing thickly at the sound of that nickname coming out of his mouth. Black butterflies take flight in my stomach and it takes everything in me not to grin like an idiot.

“Do you make a sport out of being an asshole or is it just your personality?” I pretend I’m not affected, even though I’m internally flying.

“A little bit of both.”

“Just give me some clothes so we can get out of each other’s hair.”

“I don’t hear a please in there, do you?”

I grit my teeth. “Please.”

“I didn’t hear that.”

“Please!”

“Much better.” He pushes off the wall and heads into a room.

I fidget, observing his apartment and wondering why it’s cold and impersonal. Almost like there isn’t a person living here.

A few moments later, Sebastian returns with sweatpants and a hoodie that will definitely swallow my petite frame.

Our hands brush when he gives them to me. Instead of backing away, he remains there, unmoving.

I clear my throat. “Can I use your bathroom to wash up?”

“No.”

“No?”

He grabs my wrist and I yelp when he pulls me forward and whispers in my ear, “You’ll go back to your husband with my cum dried in your cunt and between your legs so he knows you were fucked like he’ll never be able to fuck you.”