"Talk to me," Sebastian said, his voice pleading.

Was he really that naive not to know what had made me mad?

"About?" was my arrogant response.

He countered with a perfectly timed eyebrow raise.

I groaned and sat by myself on the bed beside him. It took a little finagling on my part, not to fall flat on my face, but I retrieved the manila envelope from the bag off the floor.

"Here," I said and thrust the packet onto his chest.

Sebastian propped himself up on his elbows. His brows furrowed, and he glanced at me. "What's this, and what does it have to do with you being mad at me all of a sudden?"

Good God, he really was that naive.

"Just open it, Bass."

A small, playful smirk played at the corners of his lips that I so wanted to kiss but couldn't. Per the usual, Sebastian took his sweet time with opening the letter. I was ready to pull it from his oversized hands and tear the envelope open when he finally finished.

His eyes squinted as they darted back and forth across the paper. Even his mouth moved a mile a minute while he read what all it entailed.

"Baby, are you..." A slight pause as a beautiful smile took center stage on his face. "Serious?"

I nodded and grinned at my giant. Although, he still wasn't off the hook with me for inviting that Courtney bitch into his dorm room. Thoughts bounced around my head in a matter of milliseconds of all the other girls Sebastian had "invited" in to help him as well.

A quick blink later, I detached myself from my giant. Sitting on the side of the bed was a much-needed respite for the time being. This was a mistake. Coming here. Contemplating leaving my school back home and a pre-law program that I adored, for what? This?

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.

I did the first thing that came to mind and grabbed my bag. Luckily, my jacket wasn't too far away on the ground beside it. I made it to standing when Sebastian broke the uneasy silence.

"I guess I have to ask you again. Where are you going?" he asked. By the time he finished the last word, Sebastian had jumped up from the bed and stood beside me, ready to pounce.

Well, I guess he wasn't going to make it that easy for me to escape as I would've liked.

"Home, Bass. Where I belong." My body automatically moved toward the door after delivering that declaration. It was true. Too damn true. I belonged back home--in my element. Not here, in Sebastian's world.

"Where you belong?" Sebastian's voice sounded hard, followed by a distinct sarcastic chuckle. "I have no idea what's going on with you, especially if you don't tell me. I'm not a mind reader, Shelby."

I flinched and sucked in my bottom lip. The not-so-subtle heat rose into my chest, fueling my dismay. Just walk away, Shelby. Just walk away. Only, I couldn't. Instead, I swiveled around on my good foot to face him.

"Fine. What is going on with Courtney and you?" I closed my eyes, not willing myself to watch him try and lie to me.

Sebastian chortled and choked it back down once he realized I wasn't joking. "Courtney? That Courtney?" When I looked at him, he was pointing at the doorway while his brows were furrowed in confusion.

"Yes, smartass. 'That Courtney.'"

A low rumble emanating from the back of his throat morphed into a full-fledged laugh. "You're kidding me, right?" he asked.

I should have known that Sebastian would make a joke out of this!

"Ugh!" I spun around, determination marking my steps. Too bad I only make it about three paces before Sebastian scooped me into his arms.

Fighting him proved futile once he plopped the two of us onto his bed. "Someone's jealous," he said in a sing-song voice into my ear.

I squinted my green eyes at him. "What are you, a five year old?"

Sebastian smiled his famous cocky smile. "Maybe." A small shrug as he nuzzled my shoulder. "But I'm right though."

His warm breath sent a shivering sensation zipping down my spine. My heart beating faster as an automatic result. Sebastian was good. Too good.

I manufactured an unaffected grin. "Right about what?"

"Oh, darling," Sebastian said and positioned me on his lap after sitting us both up. He pressed his lips to my forehead, his lips lingering on my skin. "You are so jealous, but you have no reason to be..."

I huffed, pulling away to look him straight on. "No reason, Bass? Huh? Fine. Just tell me then. Who should I be jealous of?"

Sebastian leaned back and his face went like flint. He waited for a few of my shallow breaths to respond. "Shelby, you can't be serious."

My hands rose into the air of their own accord. "Oh, I can't? Why is that?" I detangled myself from his grasp and stood before him.

My giant wouldn't immediately glance up at me. He grabbed my left hand and started caressing, focusing most of his attention on my ring finger.

"Because I would never do anything to risk losing you." His serious eyes lifted to mine, and my breathing hitched. "No girl here—no person anywhere in the world is more important to me than you. I need for you to believe that and trust me."

"But I heard you in the hallway—" I started.

Sebastian cut me off by pressing a finger of his to my lips. "You heard what, exactly? Me asking Courtney to help look for my suitcase that she borrowed and swears that she returned. I was doing it to prove a point, Shelby. Nothing more."

My eyes didn't leave his face. I kept searching for a tell that he was lying. A small grin? His gaze not quite meeting mine? Maybe a simple flush of his cheeks. There was nothing. As much as I hated to admit it, what if he was telling the truth?

"Bass, you swear that's all it was?" I clutched the paper off his bed and waved it back and forth for him to understand the significance. I was hedging a huge bet here, and Sebastian needed to know the stakes.

Sebastian drew me into his chest, holding me so my head rested above his heart. "Baby, I love you more than anything. I promise that you will never have to anything to be jealous of."

I breathed deep, savoring the warmth of being in his arms. Regardless of all my fears, I knew without any doubt in my mind that this here was my home. That Sebastian Fitzwilliam Birch was my home.

A couple of seconds passed, and Sebastian separated enough to crash his lips onto mine. The minty taste of his tongue moved against mine and in an instant, all the anxiety I'd been holding onto melted away from me.

"Well, we have some celebrating to do, Miss Ryan," Sebastian said and leaned his forehead to mine.

I playfully asked, "And what is that?" Besides the obvious of crisis averted, I wanted to add but abstained.

He winked and tapped the tip of my nose. "You becoming a Dutton Devil, silly."

Good thing he thought this was such a wonderful idea because right now, I had a few reservations. 

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