Rose of Thorne

by Mia Michelle

  All of this is beneath the Sebastian Thorne that I allow the world to know and see. Who would ever believe that I was standing here helplessly watching a girl dancing in a studio? The same girl whose mere presence has the ability to leave me paralyzed and helpless. I send fear across boardrooms and across the world for fuck sake. Sebastian Thorne is a force to be reckoned with. Yet as I stand here looking at her, I realize I have found my weakness, my kryptonite. Skylar Rose.

  Skylar

  “Oh. My. God, Skylar! You have like a HUGE box with a red bow on the back office. I have been about to die while waiting for you to get here!” Kylie pulls me to the back of the café. My heart leaps out of my chest when I see the white box sitting on the desk.

  “Well? Open the damn thing before I rip into it myself!” Kylie shouts.

  I blink myself out of my daze and place my hand on the box. Gently I pull on the large red silk bow and lift off the top of the white box. I fold the layers of white tissue back and find the most beautiful red wool coat underneath with a note.

  Forgive me for ruining your coat. I somehow believe red to be more your color.

  Sebastian

  It’s from him.

  Sebastian with the glowing amber eyes that I cannot get out of my head. Sebastian, the beautiful man whose lips I still dream about on mine. With trembling hands, I lift the beautiful coat up and gasp at the PRADA label.

  “Try it on!” Kylie urges, and I slide my arms into the sleeves.

  It is perfect, and I absolutely love it, but I can’t accept it. It is too much.

  “I can’t accept this Kylie! It’s Prada for goodness sake!”

  “YES, you can! You don’t even have a coat now, remember? Besides, it’s not like you know where to return it.”

  “Okay, ladies, time to get shaking up front. We got a house full already!” Jesse shouts from around the corner. I smile once again at the beautiful coat in my arms and lay it back in the tissue-filled box. I tie my grease stained apron around my waist and smile at the memory of yesterday. For the rest of my shift, I can’t help but stare at the place at the counter where he sat. In some way, I had hoped he would be sitting there again tonight, but I had hoped wrong.

  Two more days go by and still no Sebastian. If it weren’t for the red coat that I am wearing, I would swear he is a figment of my imagination. I feel like an idiot running off like that after we kissed and I’m sure he must think I’m not worth the time.

  Way to go, Skylar.

  It is hazing night at the university, and this is always a busy night for us. I show up an hour early because I know that Jesse would be calling me in early regardless. It turns out to be a complete madhouse. Jesse has Tina’s hand wrapped in a towel when I walk in, and she is looking down at the blood-soaked fabric and crying hysterically.

  “Thank heavens you’re here! Tina just cut her hand wide open in the kitchen, and I have to take her to the emergency room. Tony has the grill under control, but Kylie called in sick, so it’s just you, kiddo. Can you handle things until I get back?” Jesse shouts.

  “Uh, yeah, I hope,” I reply as I nervously look at the massive group gathering in the café.

  Jesse grabs his keys and is out the door faster than I can change my mind. Not that I will of course, but the thought has honestly crossed my mind. I hurry and put the orders out that are waiting on the serving window and hustle to take the new orders from those who have just come in. I don’t think I have ever worked so hard in all of my life as I do tonight.

  I am sitting the tray of drinks down for a back table of guys that I recognize from campus and try to pass them around to the right people. One particular face I recognize all too well… Tanner Matthews. Tanner is the leading quarterback for the university’s football team and a widely popular guy among campus. He has asked me out more times than I can count, but I have always turned him down and will continue to do so. He has a nasty reputation for being rough with girls and I want no part of it. Normally I can handle him, but tonight, with the combination of alcohol and his other friends to cheer him on, he is way too brave with his moves.

  “Hey, Skylar baby, you wanna go in the back and fuck?” he blurts out loudly.

  “Tanner, you need to shut your mouth,” I spit back.

  “Just as long as you don’t shut yours, baby. You have such a beautiful mouth. I’d love to have it on my cock,” he says as he grabs my ass and pulls me tightly against him. His friends begin chanting him on and laughing as he continues to try to run his hand up the back of my dress. Finally, I manage to free one of my arms, grab the pitcher of tea, and dump it on him.

  “You fucking bitch! I’m going to make you do me extra for that one,” he snarls and pulls me back down into the booth with him. We are in the back room, and nobody can see me up front. He pins me down and holds a hand over my mouth to muffle my screams. He is just about to run his hand up my skirt when suddenly, he’s jerked off me. I hear a loud thud as I slide back up the booth. Sebastian’s strong forearm is pinning Tanner’s drunken body against the wall. Tanner is gasping for air, and Sebastian leans in closer to him with a look of murderous rage on his face.

  “You ever fucking lay a hand on her again and I will kill you. Do you understand me?” Sebastian growls at him.

  Tanner gasps and nods as he is dragged over to the booth where I am sitting. Sebastian has him by the collar and forces him in my direction. “Apologize! And so help me, you’d better be sincere, because if you aren’t, you are going to eat the asphalt outside.”

  “Sorry,” he mumbles under his breath.

  “EXCUSE ME? You heard me. I said APOLOGIZE to the lady!” Sebastian roars and shakes him.

  “I’m sorry, okay? Fuck! I’m sorry, Skylar,” Tanner confesses, and Sebastian pushes him back into the wall.

  “You see her, you go the other way. Understand? Whatever you do, you stay the fuck away. Now fuck off!”

  A terrified Tanner and his cowardly crew begin fleeing the café.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, standing before me.

  “Yes… I… I’m okay, thank you.” I manage to reply.

  “Where is Jesse anyway?” he asks angrily as he looks around to the front of the café.

  “Tina cut her hand in the kitchen, and he took her to the emergency room. He asked me to handle the place until he gets back.”

  “You need to close the place up, Skylar. I am sure Jesse will understand,” he says. His voice is filled with a new and unfamiliar authoritative tone.

  “What? No, I can’t close the place, Sebastian. I have a whole front section full and people waiting. Tonight is one of Jesse’s busiest of the year, and besides that, I’m the only waitress he has tonight. I promised him I’d stay.” I desperately explain to him.

  He looks angry, and I swallow the lump in my throat. His amber eyes soften as he moves to tuck my fallen hair back behind my ear. He tips my face up to him and gently kisses my lips.

  Gosh, how I have missed him.

  “So, where’s another apron?” he asks.

  “What? Why?” I stutter trying to recover from the kiss.

  “Because, if I’m going to help you, I might need one,” he says and winks. Heat rushes over my face, and I can’t believe he is here and willing to help me now.

  I untie the apron around my waist and hand him the order book. He flashes me smile as he makes his way behind me.

  “You cover the counter, and I’ll take the room. How about that?” I offer.

  “Deal, but you are going to owe me pie after this,” he jokes.

  “You got a deal,” I say smiling.

  I am so happy he is here. HOLY SHIZNOTS! He is REALLY here!

  For the next two hours, we slide past one another as we grab our orders and place new tickets in the window. Jesse is finally walking in the door when we are turning off the neon OPEN light.

  Jesse thanks me over and over for working tonight and promises he will make sure I get paid extra for all my trouble. He reaches in the register
and pulls out some money and tucks it in Sebastian’s hand.

  “Thanks, man. I don’t know what we would have done without your help.” Jesse offers as he shakes his hand.

  Sebastian tries shoving the money back to him, but Jesse refuses to take it back.

  I see that the large glass tip bowl on the counter is over halfway full of bills, and I break out in a huge grin. I should have known that Mr. Gorgeous would fill up the damn tip jar.

  “Looks like someone earned some major tips and a few phone numbers tonight,” I tease and shove the jar towards him.

  Sebastian smirks and sits down at the counter in front of me. I try to appear unaffected by his presence, but I can’t seem to keep myself from admiring him.

  Holy shit, he is HOT! Get control of yourself, Skylar!

  “If you don’t mind, I could really go for a cup of coffee,” he says, and I pull myself out of my dreamy state.

  “Sure thing,” I reply turning my back to him. I try to regain my composure and pour the last bit of coffee in a cup. Sebastian purposefully grazes his fingers across mine when I hand him the cup and I shiver at the energy that exchanges between us. Our eyes meet, and I see him studying me closely as if he is trying to read my reaction. Nervously, I look away and turn around to begin washing the empty coffee pot. Jesse sits beside him and engages in conversation, and I bravely steal a glance toward them. Sebastian’s eyes are locked on to my every move, and I feel the nervous flutter in my stomach and the reddening of my cheeks. Turning away from him, I begin straightening the shelves in the cabinets behind me. For the next fifteen minutes, I do anything and everything I can to keep my mind off the beautiful man behind me.

  When I finally turn around to face him, he has placed the entire contents of the tip jar in front of me. He pulls out the money that Jesse gave him and adds it to the pile. There is at least $200 sitting there on the counter in front of him.

  I look at him with complete shock as I register what he is doing.

  “What can I say? I am a big tipper,” he jokes and finishes his coffee.

  “Well, since I have this awesome customer that tips me so well, how about I buy you that piece of pie?” I tease while I untie the apron from my waist.

  “Deal! Now, lead the way,” he says and winks.

  Sebastian

  I have stayed away for four days now, and I can no longer stand being away from her. When I walk inside Jesse’s Café, I am shocked to see such a long line of people waiting and no one working up front.

  Where is everyone at?

  Stepping around the long line of people, I head to the back room that is normally reserved for large groups and parties. A group of whistling, drunk, college guys surround a table. They are cheering the guy in the booth on, but I can’t see from this angle what is happening. When I step around the group of guys I see Skylar’s terrified face as the boy holds his hand over her mouth. I see red and shove the rest of the guys out of my way.

  This motherfucker is dead!

  I yank his punk ass off of her and watch as his friends all scatter like the pieces of shit they all are. I lifted him up to the wall and proceed to make him understand just how serious I am about him leaving her alone. As soon as he leaves I just want to take her into my arms and lose myself in her. I haven’t been able to get her off my mind, and I now crave her more and more with every breath I take.

  Waiting tables has been an experience all on its own. I am ashamed to say that it is the first time in my almost twenty-seven years that I have ever truly gotten my hands dirty and broken a sweat. I barely could manage the few customers I had at the counter, but she breezed around the entire front of the room with ease. I was already exhausted after just thirty minutes of doing this. How on Earth does she do this for hours and hours on end?

  Girls had slipped me their numbers all night, but I just smiled politely and tossed them in the trash. A month ago I would have never tossed a number, but now there is only one person I want. I know it is wrong, but I admit it… I want her. I didn’t know how, but I am going to do whatever it takes to make her mine.

  After the shift, we walk side by side down to Marie’s bakery. I can’t help but smile at the red coat that she is wearing. It fits her as though it was custom made for her. I was right. Red definitely is her color. She senses me watching her and begins speaking.

  “Thank you so much for the coat, Sebastian, but you truly shouldn’t have. I feel badly enough for running out on you the other night. Besides, I could have just cleaned mine,” she says shyly as she looks down to the pavement.

  “Skylar, I’m the one who is sorry. I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable or ruin your jacket with the coffee. It’s the least that I can do,” I reply.

  She seems to ease at my words and nervously crosses her arms in front of her body as we continued walking to the bakery. Marie throws her arms around my neck and kisses my cheek as I enter her shop. She wiggles her eyebrows at me and even pinches my butt as I follow Skylar into the back of the shop. I shake my head at her forwardness; for an older woman she is quite the flirt.

  “Marie, I’m going to show Sebastian the light from the roof if that’s okay with you?” she sweetly asks the older lady.

  “Why of course, darling, go ahead. Oh, here let me pack you some stuff to take with you. I just took this out of the oven. It’s your favorite cheesecake bites.”

  I can see Skylar beaming at the old woman’s words and Marie quickly packs us an assortment of treats and hot chocolate to take upstairs with us.

  “Here, you grab this and follow me. Be careful, these stairs are a little shaky,” she warns as she points up to the top of the stairs.

  I nod and carefully follow Skylar up the large wrought iron staircase and out onto the rooftop of the old bakery. The view of Austin’s lights is simply magnificent from up here.

  “It’s great, isn’t it?” she asks knowingly. Her loose curls blow in the night wind and her face seems to light up as she gazes out across the skyline.

  “Yes, this is a really a great view up here.” I reply smiling back at her.

  My view is even better, but I’m certainly not talking about the lights.

  She reaches in the basket behind her and slides one of the treats into her mouth. The way she closes her eyes and savors the bite makes me envy that little piece of cheesecake. My mouth involuntarily opens at the sounds she makes as she continues enjoying the dessert and I feel myself awakening below.

  SHIT! Down boy! Not now!

  Catching me off guard, she pops the cheesecake into my gaping mouth. The flavors of caramel and cheesecake swirl in my mouth and are simply heavenly.

  “MMMMmmmm!” I moan.

  “Delicious, isn’t it?” she asks as she giggles.

  Not as delicious as she is. God, her smile is killing me!

  I slowly nod, smiling as I lean in closer, and put my hand to her face. I still have a tiny bit of cheesecake on my lips, and she gently swipes her tongue to lick it off.

  “Mmmmm…,” she giggles as she wraps her arms around my neck and lifts up on her toes. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her slowly up my body. Our tongues tenderly move across one another, and my desire for her ignites as she makes that noise that drives me fucking insane. I don’t want to, but I have to slow this down before I lose complete control and take her right here. This beautiful creature deserves more than that the first time we are together. Oh shit, has someone else already taken her like that up here? The thought of any man holding her, kissing her, inside her, I just can’t deal with it.

  Pushing the thoughts out of my mind, I ease her back down to her feet, pulling her over to a nearby patio chair. I sit, and she eases herself down in my lap and leans back against me. Her long hair falls against my chest, and I inhale her scent as I pull her waves closer to my face. Lifting her curls, I begin kissing a trail up her neck, and by the time I reach her ear, she’s smiling. She turns to face me and our eyes lock. There is something so magical in just the way she
looks at me. It’s like she sees so much more than just me, she sees deep inside, past all the hate and fear to the parts I never knew survived. How can that be?

  I cup her face, and she closes her eyes at my touch. She is so responsive to me. Like she was made just for me. I trace her plump perfect trembling lip with my thumb. Her breath catches, and she opens her turquoise eyes. Those long full black lashes blink and we are slowly pulled to one another. It is so magnetic; as if the universe itself can’t pull us apart. She brushes my hand on her cheek and never breaks our stare as our lips meet. We deepen the kiss and her hand squeezes mine. I don’t want to break the kiss, and when we finally come up for air, I press my forehead to hers.

  What is she doing to me? Better yet what am I letting her do to me? I am never like this. This feels like something out of my control.

  I watch as she traces my face with her finger and I find myself so hard I have to grit my teeth to control myself. Closing my eyes as she feathers kisses across my face, I can smell her sweet breath. She runs her hands leisurely through my hair, and every inch of me melts at her silky touch. Never in my life have I been at any woman’s mercy, and yet here I am, fully surrendering myself to her.

  Suddenly she stops and stands to walk over to the railing on the side of the brick. She hugs herself as she stares quietly across the night skyline. I come behind her and rest my chin on her shoulder and wrap my arms around her.

  God she feels so magnificent, so fucking perfect. I don’t ever want to let her go. But what am I doing? I can’t have her.

  “Are you okay?” I ask her.

  “Yes, I am just thinking,” she says softly.

  “What are you thinking about?” I ask as I begin rubbing her shoulders. She moans in appreciation and smiles back at me.

  “I am just thinking about the fact that I really don’t know you. Yet, I feel as though I’ve known you my whole life. It scares me how you make me feel, and I just can’t lose my head. Not now. I have too many responsibilities, and my little sister depends on me. I’ve waited a long time for something like this, and I don’t want to lose it, but I feel out of control when I am around you. It’s like it hurts to be without you, but how can that be? Now do you think I’m crazy?” she asks as she drops her shoulders.