Rose In Bloom (4 page)

“Yes,” she sadly replies.

“So how is Sebastian?” I ask, trying to sound concerned when I’m not.

“He is sleeping. The doctors think he might be able to be released in a few days if he keeps improving.”

“You need to eat something, Skylar.” I shake the tray in front of her to get her attention.

“I know, but I’m not hungry. Don’t worry. I drank some juice earlier. I promise I will eat something later.”

I take her hand in mine, savoring the way her soft, warm hand feels. I don’t want to let it go. I can’t bear for him to be the one to hold this hand, to hold her.

“Skylar, I need to ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth, all right?” I ask her.

“Of course, Lucas. What is it?”

“What did you forgive him for? In order for me to make peace with this, I need to know what he did to you all those months ago.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t talk to you about that. It’s private, and I need to keep it that way.”

“Why, Skylar? Why can’t you tell me? Secrets like that will destroy you. I won’t let him do that to you again.”

“I can’t, Lucas. Things in the past are usually best kept in the past. He lied to me, and I lied to him. We’ve forgiven each other, now it’s time to leave the past in the past and look to the future.”

“But Skylar, I-”

She stops me. “Please Lucas. If you love me like you say you do, like I know you do, then please, don’t ask me about that again.”

Blowing out a frustrated breath, I pull her against me and breathe her in. I don’t know when I will be able to hold her in my arms again. She isn’t going to like me for what I am about to do, but I am doing it for her own good.

“I just want you to be happy, Skylar. I won’t lie to you. I want that to be with me. I don’t think you are making the right decision, but I know you will only realize that by following your heart. You need to know that, no matter what happens, Skylar, I will always be here… always.” Standing, I smile and she stands with me, wrapping her sweet arms around me.

My angel.

“Thank you, Lucas, but I know I am making the right choice. I love him. I want you to be happy, so please don’t wait on me. Sebastian holds my heart and he always will.”

“I’m letting go for now, but I’m not going anywhere, Skylar. Please take care of yourself. If you need me anytime, day or night, you call me. Understand? I don’t care where I am or where you are, I will come to you.”

“Goodbye, Lucas.”

Fuck, those words hurt like hell. I will never bring myself to say those words to her.

“I love you, Skylar,” I reply, releasing her from my hold and walking out of the cafeteria. I have one stop to make before I leave.

With Kylie heading downstairs to check on Skylar, I make my way down the hall. Glancing through the window in his door, I study him. Mr. Almighty and Powerful looks weak and vulnerable lying there in the bed. Maybe I should pity the bastard for what he’s been through, but I don’t. He is going to answer some questions for me once and for all.

His eyes open when he hears the door shut behind me. At first, he looks stunned, but then again, I think part of him was expecting this.

“Come to finish the job?” he spits hatefully at me.

“Save it, Thorne. We need to talk.”

“Talk about what? You and I have nothing to say to one another.”

“Oh, I believe we have lots to discuss.”

Scooting up in the bed, his face winces with pain, but he continues speaking. “Spit it out, Lucas. What do you want?”

“You know what I want.”

“Well, you can’t have her. She is mine.”

“Funny thing is that, up until yesterday, she had been mine.”

“She never was yours in the first place. If you think for one fucking minute that you are going to win this one, you have another thing coming, Drake. That girl is my fucking life. I’ll die before I let her go again.”

“What are you hiding, Sebastian? Whatever it is, I plan on finding out. You can’t make her keep secrets for you.”

“You don’t know what you are talking about, Drake. She and I have no secrets between us.”

“I came here to give you the chance to tell me on your own. I won’t give you this chance again.”

“Fuck you, Drake. Get the hell out of here, and mind your own goddamn business for once. If you come near my girl again, I will end you. Is that understood?”

Laughing, I look back down at him. He doesn’t scare me one fucking bit.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were a bit scared. Maybe you doubt your own words just a bit there, mate.”

“Get out!” he shouts, and I turn to leave.

“This is far from over. In fact, I’d say we’ve just begun.”

As I exit the hospital, I begin making all the necessary arrangements for my return to Austin. I hate to leave her, but right now, I need to attend to urgent business, business that will hopefully answer some long awaited questions of mine. As I settle back into my car, I make the one phone call I have waited for all this time.

“Maverick Larson.” His powerful voice echoes into my phone.

“Mr. Larson, this is Lucas Drake. I need to speak to you about a personal matter.”

“I’m an extremely busy man, Mr. Drake. Perhaps, if you make an appointment, we can find some time in the next few weeks.”

“It’s in regards to Sebastian Thorne, Mr. Larson.”

Silence fills the line, and for a moment, I wonder if he has hung up the phone.

“Tomorrow morning, 8 a.m. sharp.”

“Yes, sir. I will see you then.”

Hanging up the phone, I know I am going to confront the devil himself, but it’s high time that the demon comes into the light. This is the only way I can make sure that I can keep my angel safe.

Skylar

Fate is a funny thing for most. One minute, it’s bringing someone into your life, and then, in an instant, it’s ripping you apart from them and pushing you into someone else’s arms. But I believe that when you are meant to be with someone, you will always find your way back to one another. And when you do, you’ve got to be ready to fight for that love every single day. At all costs… even if it involves hurting someone you love.

Almost losing Sebastian had been my fate. It had been the one thing I needed to open my eyes and see what I tried so hard to ignore. He completes me. He is truly the other half of my soul. Forgiveness isn’t easy, but when you truly love someone, you come to realize that there is nothing you can’t forgive him for.

I hurt Lucas, and I hate myself for it. Things in life shouldn’t be this difficult, but nothing in my life has ever proven to be easy. As I watch Sebastian sleep, I know, without a shadow of a doubt, I’d made the right choice.

Lucas had wanted me to answer his question truthfully, and I had. I can’t tell him or anyone else about the reason I’d left Sebastian in the first place. I just got him back, and I can’t lose him. We have a baby and a future to look towards. It is time we both stop dwindling in the past and finally start living our future together. The scary thing is that I know Lucas won’t let this one go. He’s worried about me, and as much as I appreciate that, he needs to let the past go and not dig the skeletons of our life back up. Nothing good can ever come from that.

“Hey, baby,” Sebastian says sleepily.

“Go back to sleep.” I urge him. I know he needs to rest as much as possible so he can get well enough to come home.

“I can’t sleep without my girl. You know that,” he teases, patting the side of the bed next to him.

Carefully, I crawl beside him and gently lay my head against his chest. I feel it rise and fall beneath me. His loud heartbeat is music to my ears. It scares the hell out of me to think that I’d almost lost him. Placing a kiss on his chest, I snuggle into him.

He senses the tension in my body and tenderly moves my shoulders, turning me to look at him.

“What’s wrong, Skylar?”

Releasing a deep breath, I know I can never hide how I feel around this man. It’s as though he has some direct radar to my soul.

“I’m just scared a bit. I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m going to be all right, baby. Don’t be scared about me. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know, babe. It’s just that Lucas said something to me today, and it got me to thinking.”

His body tenses beneath me, his heartbeat increases against my palm.

“What did the fucker say to you? I swear to God I’m going to beat the shit out of him when I get out of here.”

Ignoring his words, I get straight to the point.

“He asked me what I’d forgiven you for. He accused me of keeping secrets. When I wouldn’t tell him, he said he wouldn’t stop searching until he found out.”

“Lucas is not going to find anything, Skylar. You and I are the only two people who know about what happened that night. He’s just trying to mess with your head. He came in here earlier today and threatened me if I didn’t tell him what he wanted to know.”

“Are you sure, Sebastian? I can’t lose you again. If he ever links you to the accident, you’ll end up in jail. I just want us to be a family. I just want us to be happy.”

“And, we will be, I promise. So, let him look. He won’t find a damn thing.”

Laying my head back against his chest, I try to swallow the fear inside of me. His words should comfort me, but something inside of me remains terrified. I know when people get desperate, they don’t think rationally. The fate of my life and happiness lies in the hands of Lucas Drake. I pray he doesn’t destroy me in the process of trying to bring the love of my life down.

I will never survive losing Sebastian again.

The next several days in the hospital go by quickly, and Sebastian finally gets the okay to be released from the hospital. We spend another week at Kylie’s place, just to make sure he’s strong enough to travel. I try like hell to make sure he doesn’t push himself too much, but nothing is keeping this man down.

Almost two and half weeks after the accident, I say goodbye to my best friend and we board Sebastian’s jet, heading home to Austin.

Home

Home is a word I didn’t understand, until now. Any place I am with Sebastian is home. Whether that is in Austin or Siberia, I don’t care just as long as I am with him. Before our departure, I had grown more and more anxious about returning to the penthouse. I don’t think I can handle going back in that building without a wave of hurtful memories hitting me square in the face. I guess I will deal with that when the time comes.

When the plane lands, we make our way to a car that is waiting for us. Sebastian holds off getting in, allowing me to settle first in the back seat. Once I am in, he eases in beside me. Even in his soreness, he still pulls me tight against him. We haven’t made love yet, although I can admit to some heavy petting this past week. Both of us are constantly touching one another as a reassurance that the other is truly here.

He laces his fingers through mine and squeezes. I look down at my ring finger and smile. I am so grateful to have my engagement ring back on my finger. Never again will it ever leave my hand. Pulling my face towards him, Sebastian brushes my loose waves back and kisses me on the mouth. Damn, I want him so freaking much, but the doctors say he needs to wait at least another few weeks. I honestly don’t know if I can make it that long. When I finally do have him inside of me, I know I am in for one hell of an orgasm. Hell, I could damn near have one right now, just thinking about it.

Noticing that our driver misses the normal turnoff, I become confused. At first, I think maybe he’s just trying to avoid traffic, but then he also misses the next two turnoffs before taking the next exit.

“Where are we going?” I ask, now curious. Sebastian scoots up a bit in the seat, looks out the window, and smiles.

“We’re heading home.”

“But the driver just missed our exit.”

“No, he didn’t.”

We approach a large iron gate and pause for a few moments while the driver pushes a code into the keypad. The gates open immediately, and we begin the journey down the long shaded drive. When we make it past the long row of tall trees, my mouth drops open at the massive, brown stone house that is coming into sight. Luscious green trees and vibrant, colorful flowers perfectly line the outside of the property. The yard is enormous and appears to have several attached buildings. Around back, I see a large red horse stable and gorgeous rolling green pastures that seem to go on for miles. This place looks and feels just like home.