by Lola Gabriel
His sentence was interrupted by the princess grabbing his head and pressing her open mouth to his, immediately deepening the kiss.
Sebastian still kept his arms behind him, not understanding what was happening but not wanting to make it worse.
“Princess,” he muttered.
“Kaia,” she said. “Just call me Kaia.” And then she kissed him again, her arms wrapping around his neck, and Sebastian couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He grabbed the Kaia’s waist and pulled her to him, feeling that relief settling inside him once more.
They stayed exactly where they were for a while, as if their bodies were getting acquainted with each other this way. They had never been this close, not even when they were children and Kaia used to grab Sebastian’s hand to drag him away to their next adventure. He had always felt honored, blessed to be the one the king had chosen to protect his daughter, to be there for her when she needed him, and that was still his priority: Kaia’s wellbeing above all else, even as his tongue licked inside her mouth and he felt her shudder against him, giving back as good as she was getting.
Kaia’s hands moved from Sebastian’s neck to his waist, reaching for the hem of his shirt to pull it off him, and he lifted his arms to help her facilitate the process, no matter how much his body yelled at him not to let go of her.
The sooner you get your clothes off, the little voice said to him, the sooner you can get back to touching her.
Well, he couldn’t really argue with that, could he?
He popped open the button of his jeans, but before he could push them down his legs, Kaia curled her fingers around the loops and tugged him forward, leading them both to her bed. She stumbled on her way backwards, and Sebastian barely had time to catch her, pressing his hands to the small of her back. She looked down at what had made her trip and glared at it like it had personally offended her.
“Goddamn futon,” she cursed under her breath, kicking it aside. Then she pulled Sebastian to her and kissed him, sucking his bottom lip between her teeth as she continued their path to her bed. The back of her knees hit the edge of it, and she fell back on top of it, dragging Sebastian down with her, above her, without their mouths breaking apart.
“You’re not sleeping on that stupid thing anymore,” Kaia hissed, groaning when Sebastian kissed the corner of her lips and moved his mouth to suck a bruise onto the skin of her throat.
He pulled away in confusion and frowned down at her. “Then where am I going to—?”
Her raised eyebrow was the answer he needed, and he blushed in embarrassment at having asked in the first place, which was worth the adorable smile that took over her face.
“Oh,” he said.
Kaia rolled her eyes at him and sat slightly upwards. For a moment, Sebastian thought that she was finally going to tell him to stop, and he prepared himself to stand up and pretend like nothing had ever happened, but he realized Kaia had only sat up so she could take her blouse and pants off.
Sebastian stayed frozen where he was, kneeling in front of the princess he had grown up with as she took off her clothes. Soon enough, she was completely naked before him, and Sebastian had to pause for a moment and just look at her in all of her glory.
Kaia was unbelievably beautiful. Her skin was white as snow, her long hair cascading down to her shoulders, her blue eyes bright and intense, her pupils wide as she stared at Sebastian, gauging his reaction. He couldn’t stop staring at her—at her rosy nipples, at the patch of white-blonde hair above her sex, at her slender calves, at her navel rising and falling with every breath she took.
She giggled, and Sebastian glanced at her in surprise.
“You can stop staring and touch me, you know,” Kaia said.
It was all the permission he needed to hear. He went to suck another bruise on her gorgeous skin, right between her collarbones, and he traced a path down her chest with his mouth until he reached that patch of white-blonde hair and tentatively licked Kaia’s mound, making her gasp. She lay back down against the bed and arched into the touch of Sebastian’s tongue, and when he wrapped his lips around the little nub of nerves on top of her mound, Kaia cried out and bucked her hips up.
Her reaction made Sebastian suck harder and even add one of his fingers, easily slipping it inside her because of how soaked she already was. Kaia let out a high-pitched groan and tightened her legs around his head. She grabbed it between her hands and ground her hips against his mouth, and Sebastian continued to suck on her nub and curl his finger inside her until she cried out and climaxed.
He pulled away from her and stared at her gasping face, her flushed cheeks, the sweat pooling on her forehead and rolling down her temples.
Her hands were still holding his head, and they tugged him forward.
“Come here,” Kaia muttered, kissing him and not wasting any time on pushing her tongue past his parted lips. She reached down to his pants and began to push them off almost desperately. “You haven’t even taken your stupid pants off—”
Sebastian helped her get his jeans and underwear down his legs, with Kaia’s hand wrapping around his erection the second she could, causing him to choke on a gasp. She stroked him once, twice, and then she grabbed his hips and pulled his body to hers with an urgency that ignited Sebastian’s nerves. He rested his palms on each side of Kaia’s head and carefully guided himself inside her hot, wet mound.
Being connected to Kaia like this, Sebastian’s soul felt at peace, like there had been a space with Kaia’s shape within him, and he had finally filled that space, and now he was exactly where he was always meant to be. He let out a groan and began to thrust, moving his hips to the rhythm Kaia’s hands set, wanting nothing than to please her again, to have her spend with him inside her. He bit back a moan at the mere thought of it, and he leaned down to kiss Kaia and swallow her little sounds of pleasure.
It wasn’t long before Kaia’s voice started rising in volume and pitch, and she pressed her knees against Sebastian’s sides and kissed him hard, biting his lips as she pushed and pulled at his hips faster now. Sebastian thrust two more times, three more times, and then Kaia was screaming into his mouth, crying her release. He only had to look at her face when she broke away from him—blissed out and completely fulfilled—to reach his own climax, biting the skin of her shoulder so as not to yell her name.
They were both still breathing heavily when he softly, carefully slipped out of her. Sebastian made to get up and pick up his clothes, but Kaia hadn’t let go of his hips, and she curled her fingers around them as if to keep him there. He didn’t have the strength to argue with her or deny her silent request. Instead, he lay down next to her, and she instantly turned on her side to wrap her arms around his waist and nestle into his body, her eyes closed.
“Um.” Sebastian warily pressed his hands to the bare curve of her spine. Now that they had… done something that a princess and her personal royal guard should probably not have done, the little voice in his head was gone, and he didn’t feel as sure as he had when Kaia had kissed him rather than telling him to get out of her life and never return. “So. What, um, what happens now?”
“I sleep,” Kaia said, not opening her eyes. “You can, too, if you want to. Or, if you don’t, you can just be kind of creepy and watch me sleep.”
He tried to say something but came up empty-handed.
“I meant,” he said, “what happens with us now?”
She was silent for such a long time that Sebastian thought she had fallen asleep. But then she took a deep breath and let it out as a long, long sigh.
“Can we talk tomorrow?” Kaia asked him, pulling him closer and laying her head on the crook of his neck. “I…need time to think.”
“Yes, of course,” Sebastian assured her. Of course she would need time to think about what had happened. He didn’t know if he would still be her personal guard tomorrow morning, or if she would think better of it and actually send him back—or worse. Or, perhaps, on an optimistic mindset, he wouldn’t be her pe
rsonal guard, but he would be…well, more than that. Someone worthy of being by the princess’s side, standing as her equal.
He had always felt right at Kaia’s side, as early as the first time he remembered meeting her. Although he knew it was his duty to protect her, and that was the only reason he was supposed to be with her at all possible times, he had felt a connection to her, so deep inside him that he had never been able to explain it to himself. He hadn’t needed to, though; it was enough to be allowed to be in her company.
But now… now he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. It felt wrong on an intimate level, like his destiny was to look out for her for as long as he lived. Right now, having her in his arms, nestled safely in his embrace—this felt right, and Sebastian could only hope that it was the same for Kaia.
He squeezed her closer and let his eyes drift shut. Whatever happened tomorrow, Sebastian would always do everything in his power to protect her.
6
When Kaia woke up, Sebastian was still asleep, his arms tight around her. Though the grip of his hands against her back hadn’t lessened, it was also gentle, like he didn’t want her to be uncomfortable in the slightest. Even in his slumber, he hadn’t let go of her, as if he couldn’t bear the mere thought.
Makes two of us.
Kaia didn’t know what had overcome her last night. She had been so angry at Sebastian for the way he’d acted at the cafeteria, and she had been intent on letting him know he couldn’t do things like that if he wanted to keep his position as her personal guard. Threats of sending him back and telling her father she didn’t want Sebastian in the Fae Royal Guard anymore had occupied the tip of her tongue, but then Sebastian had kissed her, and instead of growing even angrier that he was disrespecting her like that, the ugly little voice that she’d tried to ignore since Sebastian had shown up had been at peace, exhaling a sigh of relief.
Do you see? it had mocked her. Do you see that this is where you should’ve been all along?
And Kaia had. She couldn’t explain in words how her first kiss with Sebastian had felt, only that she had wanted to feel it again as soon as he broke away from her and began muttering apologies.
She sighed to herself and closed her eyes, hoping she’d fall back asleep for a few hours. She’d told Sebastian they would talk in the morning because she needed time to think, but a full night of sleep hadn’t made anything easier, nor had it brought her the answers Kaia had hoped it would. What was supposed to happen now? Should they go back to how things had been before? Should they pretend none of this had ever occurred?
The thought of it was enough to make Kaia’s chest ache. Her entire being hurt at the image of her and Sebastian going about their day as if they hadn’t kissed, or held each other, or been connected like they never had been with anyone else.
Kaia gently untangled herself from Sebastian’s embrace. The second she started to move, Sebastian began to rouse, and since she didn’t want to disturb him, she patted his arm in what she hoped was a soothing manner.
“Shh, shh,” she murmured. “It’s okay, it’s just me. I’m okay. Go back to sleep.”
She didn’t really think that was going to work, so she almost gasped in surprise when Sebastian slowly let go of her and allowed her to get up from the bed. It was kind of unbelievable how, even unconscious, her wellbeing was still all he cared about, and he had only released her when he realized she wasn’t in danger.
Kaia smiled to herself and pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head.
During twenty-two years of my life, she thought, I only looked twice at you when I was a kid. And now, it’s like I’m that little girl with that crush on you again. Except that her crush wasn’t just a crush anymore—it was so much more than that, a connection she felt down to her core, as though their very souls were intertwined.
She saw Sebastian’s disheveled hair, the little ponytail on the back of his head, his rosy skin, and she remembered the intensity of his green eyes and how she had felt like he could see all of her. She recalled thinking that she and Sebastian matched when they were children, and she nodded her head to herself in approval.
Good call, me, she praised her younger self. Now that they were both adults, the match was even more obvious; at least it was to her.
Kaia began to pick up her clothes to put them on the hamper by her desk, but first, she emptied the pockets of her jeans to make sure she hadn’t left anything important in them. Her hands wrapped around a rectangular object, and she pulled it out to realize she’d left her phone on her pants all night long.
The screen lit up, showing that she had 13 unread messages from the group chat she had with Carlie and Layla, and she cursed under her breath. They didn’t know what had happened after they’d left her talking to the cute wolf shifter guy wanting to ask her out on a date. Kaia had been so excited at the prospect of going out with him, and now she couldn’t even remember his name.
The first unread text was from Carlie.
Heeeyyyyy princess, what did the hot wolf want to talk to you about?
Layla:
He wasn’t that hot, but I also wanna know.
Carlie:
OMG Layla, we need to talk about your fckn eyesight.
Carlie:
But yes Kaia please tell us what you two talked about.
Kaia scrolled down to the last two texts, which were from each of her friends saying the exact same thing: TELL US WHAT HAPPENED AND IF WE NEED TO KICK SOMEONE’S ASS.
She chuckled quietly. Carlie would have a field day when Kaia told them she and Sebastian had spent the night together.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up at the memory of last night, and Kaia wondered if she should actually tell her friends what had happened. She wanted to be honest with them and share the good things and events in her life, but a small part of her wanted to keep her night with Sebastian a secret, something that only they knew about. Something that was only theirs, so to speak.
I guess I don’t have to give them any details, Kaia thought, reaching a compromise. She’d just say that she and Sebastian had grown…acquainted last night, but she wouldn’t tell them anything more than that, no matter how much they asked her to.
Kaia put her dirty clothes in the hamper and changed into some clean ones, brushing her hair and washing her face so that she wouldn’t look like a sleep-deprived zombie. The hairs on her nape were still standing, which was kind of strange, considering she wasn’t thinking about Sebastian anymore, but she supposed that he was still there, in the back of her mind. Even though it wasn’t a conscious thought, it was still there, and her body knew it.
Once she was ready to go, she sent a text to her group chat.
Hey gals, let’s have breakfast at the cafeteria, OK? I’ll tell you anything you wanna know! Well…almost anything… ;)
She bit back her laughter at Carlie’s immediate response: BIIIIIIITCH omg I’ll be there asap!!!!
WAIT FOR ME WAIT FOR ME I’LL TAKE A BIT LONGER ‘CAUSE I HAVE A MEETING WITH MRS. TORRES BUT I’LL BE THERE PLEASE WAIT FOR ME!!! Layla texted.
Kaia put her phone away and searched for a paper and pen to leave a note for Sebastian, who was still asleep. She wondered how much rest he had actually gotten during the time he’d been here with her, since he was awake when she went to bed and awake when she woke up. It couldn’t be all that easy, being the Fae Princess’s personal royal guard, and yet he’d never complained or even shown how tired he was. Kaia wanted to let him sleep as much as he needed, because once he woke up, he would probably argue that he didn’t need to.
Then again, perhaps he would listen now, since they weren’t just the princess and her personal guard any longer. Their whole relationship was bound to change in some way, and Kaia only hoped it was for the better.
After she made sure to leave the note somewhere Sebastian would see it, she walked out of her room and headed to the cafeteria, excited to talk to Carlie and Layla. She felt a shiver go down her spine as soon as she cl
osed the door behind her, and she allowed it to reach her toes, fully aware of how the mere thought of Sebastian made her feel now.
Immortals were meant to have mates—someone they were meant to be with, someone with whom they had a bond unlike any other, two beings destined to spend their existence together. Was Sebastian that for Kaia? Was he her mate? Was that why she didn’t like the image of them going back to the way they’d been before? Because they were meant to be more than that?
Just as she was wondering if she had known her mate her entire life and had only just realized it, Kaia suddenly found that her field of vision was completely black, as though someone had placed a bag over her head.
“Shut up and don’t move or you’re dead,” a male voice snarled in her ear, grabbing her arms.
Oh. So someone had placed a bag over her head.
Kaia wasn’t about to go without a fight, so she pushed her elbow back against her would-be attacker/kidnapper as hard as she could, punching the air out of him. He let go of her arms for a second, and Kaia took the chance to try to kick him, but the bag around her head kept her from knowing exactly where he was. When she reached to pull it off her, her attacker’s hands pushed it down again, and he wrapped one arm around her, pushing her own arms to her chest and immobilizing her upper body.
Kaia desperately kicked out, hoping she would catch him with a hit to his shins, but without being able to see, she was at a disadvantage.
“HELP!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “SOMEONE HELP ME! I’M BEING KIDNAPPED! HELP!”
Either there was no one left in the dorms to hear her pleas for help, or the bag around her head was much more soundproof than it appeared to be.
“HELP ME!” Kaia kept screaming. “PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP!”
“I said, shut up!” growled her attacker, and then Kaia felt something pinch her neck.
A needle, she realized. He just drugged me.