Chapter 18

We decide that driving our own cars to my place makes the most sense.

Sebastian walks me to my car, opening my door for me and buckling me in to my seat. He kisses me slowly, and I savor every second. I feel like I've done some pretty good drugs, my heart light and my head spaced out. Driving probably shouldn't be on the cards right now.

He eventually pulls away, gesturing to his truck and saying he will follow close behind me.

I try not to speed on the drive home, but the dial does go over the limit quite a few times. Sebastian's truck is close behind me the whole way. I'm embarrassed to admit how much I have to stop myself staring at him the rear view mirror, trying to keep my focus on the road.

I can't believe that we actually kissed. Are we actually trying this? I won't bother him about the details tonight, but I do want to clarify what's going on here soon, set some parameters. I hope that he's into the same things as me in the bedroom. Heck, I'm getting way ahead of myself. We've just kissed, a very hot kiss, all the same. But that doesn't mean he's going to hop into bed with me right away. God, I wish I had asked Tabitha or someone what the deal with Monsters is. Are they more or less free, sexually? Do they like to wait and date for a bit, first?

It's both the longest and quickest drive I've done from the new studio so far. The anticipation is too much, and there's a wetness pooling in my panties. It's just dinner, I remind myself. I need to calm down a little. Pulling into my space, I stay in my seat for a minute and take a few deep breaths.

My rear view mirror shows Sebastian leaving his truck and walking towards me. Fuck, he is hot, his biceps look ready to burst out of his Henley shirt. He looks so good in that with his jeans, almost as good as he looks in his sweatpants.

I get out of the car when he approaches my door. He slams it shut behind me and pushes me against it, bending to kiss my neck. Oh, fuck. He moves one of his legs between mine and I unabashedly grind against it. His hand slips into my hair, gripping it tight and pulling me against his leg harder. My body is pressed flush against his, the hot pressure of him against me sending me. I let out a little moan and he groans, moving to kiss my lips.

The kiss can only be described as a claiming. I'm helpless to do anything but kiss him back and grind against his leg. I whimper when he pulls away, wanting to drag him back down to me.

"Shh…" he strokes my hair, stepping away slightly. "I can hear someone coming."

A moment later, one of my neighbors walks to their car. He moves faster when he spots us, fear driving him into his vehicle as quick as he can. He revs his engine and speeds out quickly.

"I think you might have given him a bit of a fright," I giggle, patting Sebastian on the chest.

"God, Flora." He groans my name, pulling me close against him. "That drive was torture. I wanted to be near you again."

Warmth spreads through my cheeks. "Let's go get some privacy, then."

We make it up to my apartment with only two brief kissing breaks. Which I think is quite the accomplishment, personally. Nervously, I open the door to my apartment, curious to what he will think of it. I'm also worried that I didn't clean up this morning before I left.

The coast seems clear, everything neatly put away. I turn to look at Sebastian, but he quietly clicks the door shut before moving past me. He has a little wander, looking at my fake plants, my fresh flowers. He pauses a moment to have a closer look at my vinyl collection.

"Do you mind?" He asks as he pulls one out, moving towards the record player.

"No, go ahead." I'm still standing by the door, observing him. I twirl my key around my finger, "what do you think of my place?"

"I like it. It's cozy but also nice and airy. Does it get a lot of sunlight?"

I nod, hearing the opening phrase of my favorite Clarissa Raye album playing. I regain a brief memory of telling him it was my favorite after the club, when we were talking about music the first time.

Sebastian wanders into the kitchen area, opening the fridge.

"What are you doing?" I ask, tossing my keys in their dish and following him in.

"Cooking," he says, simply.

"Oh! I thought we would get takeout." He is going to be disappointed with whatever he finds in my fridge. Even I don't know what's in there right now.

"I want to cook for you." He reaches in, moving a few things around. "Where's your pantry?"

I open the correct cupboard for him, gesturing for him to go ahead. "You see, the thing is, I really don't cook. So I'm not sure if there even is anything you could make a meal out of."

"I can see that," he chuckles. "Lucky for you, Sunshine. I'm pretty creative."

He picks through my cupboard, and I leave him to it. My kitchen space is pretty small, and there's not much space in there normally. Never mind with a fully grown Dragon Shifter.

I slip around to the other side of the island and sit on one of the bar stools. Sebastian really is too big for my kitchen. He pulls a selection of things out of my cupboard before opening my freezer.

"How long have these been frozen?" He holds up a zip lock bag with freezer burnt chicken breasts in it. I shrug, I really have no idea, I did not remember that they were in there. "You're really testing me, Flora."

"Well, I didn't know that you were planning on cooking in here!" We both giggle at our predicament. "Don't worry about it. I have very good Chinese food on speed dial."

"No," he sighs, trying to place his hands on his hips and banging his elbow on the fridge door. He pulls a unopened bag of battered chicken chunks from the freezer. "Huh, these aren't expired. Listen, it's not going to be the best meal I ever cook you."

He pushes up his sleeves, and all I can think about is when did forearms become so sexy? Sebastian leans across the island, "but it's important for me to cook for you right now. It's a Shifter thing, so just let me look after you." He kisses my forehead softly, slowly pulling away. Turning, he shows me his back as he sorts through the ingredients he's chosen.

"Besides, next time I'll have you around to my place and I will cook you something really great."

He's talking about me coming around to his place? I wonder what it's like. Where does a Dragon Shifter even live? I think about what I know, feeling like Sebastian would have a very sophisticated apartment. Maybe some sort of bachelor pad. I guess I'm going to find out soon.

I flip the vinyl when needed, and then I chill on the couch, my feet tucked under me as I scroll on my phone. I only hear a few bangs and swear words coming from the kitchen.

"Dinner is served," Sebastian calls. I make my way over to him as he places two plates on my tiny dining table. "Hang on, I poured us wine too."

I look at my plate as I sit cross-legged on my chair. It looks like he's made some sort of mushroom risotto, with the chicken chunks on the side. Did I even have mushrooms?!

"I can see your confusion," he chuckles as he sets a glass of white wine down next to my plate. "I found a small jar of dried porcinis in the very back of your cupboard. They looked pretty fancy, so they were definitely a gift."

An astute assumption.

"You also had rice. The grain is a little long for risotto but it should be passable. I used some of your wine to cook that too. The chicken chunks are a little left field, I'll admit that. But you literally had nothing else to use as a protein."

I take a bite. He's so cute, watching for my reaction. It's actually pretty good, considering. "You did well. I'm surprised this managed to come out of my kitchen in its current state."

The wine pairs pretty well too, I decide, as I take a sip.

"I'm pretty into food," I tell him. "I've never been a good cook. So I kind of stopped bothering after a while. My best friend, Rosie, and I used to live together and she cooked all my meals. Then when I moved into my own place, I started eating out a lot more and getting takeout."

"Well, we're a good match then." I cover my mouth to hide my smile, trying not to look too eager. "I love to cook. But tell me about Rosie, where is she at now?"

I tell him all about Rosie and our college experience as we eat. Mentioning about her café now and how I will need to take him sometime, he needs to try her cooking. We spend the meal talking about that, and about my family. He asks follow up questions, and he's actually really chatty with me.

"Well," I set my fork down on my empty plate. "That was certainly the best thing that's ever been cooked in that kitchen."

"Then I am sorry to tell you, that is extremely sad." I laugh at his blatant teasing.

"I'm not going to lie, Sebastian. Until the night at the club, I really thought you hated me."

I nervously wait for his response, worried if I've put my foot in it.

"That couldn't be further from the truth, Flora." I look up to see the earnest in his eyes. "I've been an idiot. I thought you wouldn't be interested in me, and I think I internalized that a bit too much. Because I ignored any kind of sign you had given me. And then when I tried to kiss you the other day and you stopped it, I thought I had pushed you away…"

"You are an idiot, but I like you anyway." I say, it's hard to believe what he is saying. But I'm not going to ask him to go into any more detail right now. I stand up and grab our plates. "I'm going to clean up real quick."

I leave him to his thoughts and move into the kitchen.

I drain the sink, suds still on my hands as I finish up. I'm running them under the faucet when I feel Sebastian sidling up behind me. He lifts my hair over one shoulder as he presses his lips to my neck.

I moan, pressing back into his warmth as I rest my wet hands on the sink. He trails kisses up my neck before nibbling on my ear lobe. Before I know what's happening, he flips me around, lifting me to sit up on the island. I barely have the time to cross my hands around his nape for stability.

Sebastian's mouth is on mine again and I lose myself to the kiss. I hook my ankles around his hips, pressing myself flush against him. My stomach presses against his hard length, so I rub against him as we kiss. His hands roam over my waist, my arms, and tangle in my hair.

He pulls away, nibbling on my ear and whispering, "I love your hair, Sunshine. I've wanted to run my fingers through it like this for so long."

Sebastian strokes my hair, petting it and smoothing out any tangles.

"But I've also wanted to grip it like this, too." His hand tightens at my scalp, holding my head in place. Oh, fuck, my pussy gets so wet as he holds me there. "Do you like that, Flora?"

He continues his soft whisper in my ear, the deep timbre of his voice sending me. "Oh, fuck. Yes." I moan, grinding my hips and trying to get some friction.

"Good girl."

Sebastian kisses along my jaw, trailing a path to my lips. He controls my movements with his hand in my hair, all I can do is move my mouth and tongue against his. I fist my hands in his shirt and use my feet to push him even closer to me.

After a while, his hand relaxes, his kisses slowing and growing more tender. I just know that my lips are swollen from his attentions.

"We still have some wine left…" he smooths down my hair. "Let's go finish it before I head home."

He leaves the kitchen, grabbing our glasses and moving to sit on the couch. I slide down onto my feet, gravity working against me and I take a second to right myself before following him.

Oh, I am not letting him leave this apartment tonight. Let him think whatever he wants to.

I sit on the couch next to him, my feet tucked under me as I angle myself towards him. We drink wine and chat more. I make sure to touch him as much as I can. Resting my elbow on the back of the couch, I reach up and playing with his hair as we speak. I make sure to let my skirt ride up, showing off my full thighs.

My brain is a little fuzzy, and I can't tell if it's because of the wine or the lingering effects of Sebastian pulling my hair and calling me a good girl. I am still shocked that he did exactly what I wanted him to in the moment. I wonder briefly if mind reading is a trait for a Dragon Shifter. Or am I lucky enough that he's into the same things as I am in the bedroom?

He finally finishes his glass of wine and sets it on the coffee table. Leaning towards him, I cup his face with my hand and kiss him. His hand roams down my back before settling on my ass and squeezing lightly. I kiss along his neck, following his move from earlier and whispering in his ear.

"I know you wanted to go home…" I nibble on his earlobe and he groans and squeezes my ass. "But I was thinking that it would be much better if you spent the night."

My teeth graze his lobe and I decide to add, "I want you to fuck me, Sebastian."