Abigail no longer resisted.

At such a close distance, she noticed just how long and lush Sebastian’s eyelashes were, curling naturally upward. They said people with lashes like that seemed to be wearing eyeliner by default, their eyes appearing larger than those of others with sparse lashes. She watched him for a moment, gradually becoming aware of the heat radiating from his body. He was much warmer than she was, and it was making her feel uncomfortably hot. After all, this was the first time she had ever been this physically close to a man, let alone falling asleep in one’s arms.

Abigail shifted slightly.

Sebastian instinctively tightened his hold, his chin grazing her hair as he mumbled, voice muffled and low, “Orange, just five more minutes…” She remembered him once saying how much Orange had loved curling up next to him when he slept. That cat had been gone for quite some time, and yet Sebastian’s habits hadn’t changed.

Somewhere deep down, she realized, he was still unwilling to believe that the cat had truly left. Her thoughts wandered aimlessly for a while, but the heat became increasingly difficult to ignore.

“Seb,” she whispered.

Sebastian’s eyes opened. For a split second, he looked bewildered, as if caught in a dream, but then it came back to him. He had asked her to come over last night.

“You’re awake?” he said, his voice hoarse from sleep, textured and warm.

The unease Abigail had been feeling vanished the moment he spoke, soothed by the quiet intimacy in his tone.

“Yeah. But… what time did you go to sleep?” she asked. It was rare for Sebastian to wake up later than she did. This morning, not only had he overslept, but his eyes were bloodshot as well.

“Couldn’t really sleep. First time and all,” he replied, releasing her from his arms.

Abigail sat up at once. A wave of warmth rose from beneath the blanket, enveloping her. Flushing, she murmured, “You run way too hot. I was practically sweating from how tightly you were holding me.”

Sebastian gave a quiet, lopsided smile at the complaint whispered beside his ear. He pushed himself upright and, following some sleepy instinct, leaned forward and kissed her, gently drawing her back into his... She was pretty sure she’d been trying to complain just moments ago.

“Morning, Abby,” he murmured, his lips brushing her forehead as his voice slid into that same rough, lazy register.

“Morning…” she answered, giving him a light push.

Chuckling, he let go and slouched against the headboard. “Heading to work?” He’d barely gotten three hours of sleep, and the pounding in his eyes was hard to ignore.

Chapter 277

“Yeah. It’s getting late. I’ve got an early meeting today,” Abigail said, turning away to gather herself. Her face was still warm, but the smile on her lips was impossible to suppress.

Sebastian caught her hand and held it for a moment, reluctant to let her go. “Let me drive you. Just give me five minutes to close my eyes again.”

“You shouldn’t drive when you’re running on fumes,” she said immediately.

He traced the back of her hand with his thumb. Her palms were calloused from the labor she’d done in prison, but the backs of her hands remained soft and smooth. He liked the contrast. The texture of her skin was oddly satisfying, and he found himself reluctant to let go.

“You sleep beside me for one night and suddenly you’re all scatterbrained. Let the driver take us. I’ll just go along for the ride,” he said with a lazy smile.

Abigail murmured her agreement, her mind indeed feeling a little muddled after all the kissing. She returned to the bed and lay down beside him, gazing at him. “Why were you up so late last night?”

His pajama collar had slipped slightly open. With his eyes closed, his voice came slow and lazy. “Thinking about you… The closer you are, the more I think about you. Couldn’t sleep.”

She knew very well what he meant. It was desire, gnawing at the edges of his restraint.

“And you managed to hold back?” she asked, curious.

He opened his eyes and looked at her, eyes smoldering. “We’re barely getting started. Of course I had to hold back. What if I scared you off?”

Abigail’s lips quirked into a smile. She hadn’t told him that back in high school, some classmates used to secretly pass around steamy novels. Out of curiosity, she’d read a couple. At the time, they had shocked her, but they’d also left her strangely intrigued.

“I’m not that easy to scare off,” she said, laughing softly. “I’m not a kid anymore. You have no idea what some of the older women in prison would say. It made those books look tame.”

Sebastian lifted her hand and pressed it against his chest. “Keep talking like that and you’re not going anywhere this morning.”

“You held me so tight I was sweating through my clothes. I need a shower,” Abigail said as she pulled her hand away, though not without first taking one last, furtive impression of his skin, how firm and smooth it felt beneath her fingertips.

But Sebastian caught her wrist again and leaned in with a mischievous glint in his eye. “I heard women love a guy with an eight-pack. I’ve got one. Wanna see for yourself?”

Abigail blinked. He was clearly in a flirtatious mood this morning. Still, she lifted his shirt, and sure enough, his abdominal muscles were sharply defined beneath.