Calmness. Part 2.

He had never kissed me so passionately before, so ardently, as if he had been underwater and I was his air. He held me so tightly that it was hard for me to breathe, and his kisses covered my face and neck. There were moments when I wanted to pull away, but Sebastian had no intention of letting me go. He continued to kiss me persistently and passionately.

Suddenly, a desire came over me for him to look into my eyes. I still couldn't believe he was here. "Sebastian," I whispered, stroking his face. "Sebastian, look at me." But he didn't react, as if he couldn't hear me. "Sebastian, please." I cupped his face in my hands and compelled him to meet my gaze.

What I saw is impossible to convey in words. His usually blue eyes were the color of lava, and his pupils were so constricted they seemed like mere dots. I blinked rapidly in astonishment. I had never seen him like this before. His appearance was unusual, even alarming. I felt as if I was frightened - I had never seen him in such a state. Though he had shown various emotions over all this time, from anger to tenderness and passion, this Sebastian was unfamiliar to me. He looked like a person ready to kill. Christoph's words came to mind - a death machine.

Evidently, my thoughts were reflected on my face, and he tried to turn away.

"No, Sebastian, forgive me, your eyes..." - I embraced him again and directed his gaze towards me. I no longer felt fear as I studied him. The prince froze, awaiting my reaction. It was evident he feared that I would push him away upon seeing him like this.

I continued to look into his eyes, gently stroking his cheek. Then, leaning in, I smiled and kissed his lips. "It seems to me that I'm dreaming, and you're visiting me in my dream again," I said, hugging him around the neck and settling onto his chest, listening to the rapid rhythm of his heartbeat.

Sebastian placed his hand on my head and ran his fingers through my hair. "And do I often appear in your dreams, my dear?" - his voice was husky, as if he had been shouting loudly for a long time.

I chuckled. - "That's my most secret secret, Sebastian, and I'll never tell you," I replied.

He kissed the top of my head. We sat there, embraced, and fell silent. It was so strange, yet so comforting. We hadn't seen each other for so long, but words weren't necessary - the warmth of our hands and the rhythm of our hearts were enough.

After some time, I noticed that it was already almost noon. I realized that the castle must have noticed the flash. "Sebastian, they will be searching for me," I said, lifting my head.

He looked at me, his eyes still fiery, but the pupils had returned to normal.

"Can you make it to the horse?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"Yes, are you alright? Did the burst from the rift harm you?" I inquired.

"No, my protective shields held up," he replied, swaying a little, then stood up and extended his hand to me.

We made our way to my horse and headed for Savoyar. Luckily, I had left her further into the woods, anticipating the rift, and she was unharmed.

Chaos reigned in Savoyar. Clearly, the castle's residents had noticed or sensed the flash and immediately assembled a search party. Magicians belonging to Sebastian's team were already mounted on their horses, ready to act by the rift. Peter was issuing them orders, indicating how they should proceed.

We arrived just as the search party was about to depart. After handing the horse to the stable hand, Sebastian made his way to Peter, while I hurried to the castle. I needed to reassure Sam and Samantha; they were surely worried.

It was evident that the elders were concerned about my appearance, but I reassured them, stating that the injuries were superficial. I ordered some food to be brought to my chambers and the Duke's chambers as well. Once the adrenaline subsided, a ravenous appetite would likely kick in, and there was no energy left for descending and adhering to etiquette. Apparently, I truly looked worse than I thought, and Samantha didn't even try to argue.

I instructed Sebastian to prepare the Duke's quarters and informed him that he would stay with us at least until morning. He had been by the rift as well; he needed time to recover.

It seemed that while I was giving orders to the servants and comforting Sam and Samantha, Sebastian had discussed the situation with his people. He entered the castle swaying a bit. We were shown upstairs, and we went to separate rooms.

It took me about an hour to wash off all the blood and dirt. My hands suffered the most, so I immediately bandaged them with cloth and applied some soothing ointment. I would deal with the other scrapes and wounds later; for now, they weren't causing much discomfort. After putting on a dress, I knocked on the adjoining door and heard soft footsteps.

"I was just about to come to you," Sebastian opened the door. His hair was still damp; he had changed into a shirt and trousers. There were always several sets of his clothes in the Duke's chambers, dating back to his first visit to the castle. "Will you have lunch with me?" Sebastian asked. I nodded and invited him into the room. He had already moved the lunch that I had ordered for him earlier.

As I was about to sit across from him, Sebastian took my hand and pulled me onto his lap, resting his forehead against my shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to let you go for long yet. This hour hasn't been easy for me," he said.

I gently stroked his head. "It's alright, you see, I'm mostly intact. It seems you've saved me again, Sebastian," I said, kissing his hair and continuing to caress him. "You need to eat and regain your strength. It seems you've depleted your reserves considerably."

"The reserves are a small concern compared to when I realized I had lost you," Sebastian whispered with a hoarse voice, filled with weariness as if the battle had lasted for hours.

"But you didn't lose me. You made it in time, Sebastian," I looked at him, and he smiled at me as if I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Barely made it, dear. When the ancestral artifact activated, I was in negotiations in the Drow Kingdom. Luckily, I had two spatial artifacts on me," he caressed the ring on my finger. "Never do something like this again, Alex. I lost you, and I won't allow it anymore."

"I want to understand what you're talking about. Will you tell me later?" I gently stroked Sebastian's cheek, and he wearily nodded.

"We need to eat, and it's been a dreadful morning. Are you okay if we rest a bit?" Sebastian asked, offering me a piece of meat. I silently nodded.

Sebastian fed me himself, paying no attention to my protests that I could manage on my own. Then he carried me to the bed and helped me out of the dress. He didn't react to my objections; it seemed he was too tired to argue or negotiate. When I got into bed, he took off his shirt, lay down beside me, and pulled me against his chest.

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After a few minutes, his breathing evened out, and he fell asleep. Every time I tried to turn or move, he held me tighter, buried his nose in my hair, inhaling its scent, and softly sighing, "Made it."

I didn't understand what he had gone through to save me, but I hoped he would share those experiences with me when he was ready. We slept through dinner. I heard a soft knock on the door, but I didn't respond. Sebastian and I were too exhausted, and we practically slept until the next morning.

____________________________________________________________________

It was dark, and through a dream, as I embraced Sebastian, I felt pain in my palm that woke me up. It seemed the effects of the ointment had worn off, and the other wounds were starting to bother me. I hadn't managed to tend to the numerous scrapes yesterday, as I was too exhausted, and then we just shut down.

Seeing that dawn was approaching, I tried to extricate myself from Sebastian's embrace, but he held onto me just as tightly. I could only turn to face him and began to caress his chest in the hope that he would relax his grip.

After a few minutes, he stopped my hand and opened his eyes. They were blue again, and his gaze was unusually warm.

"Good morning, my love," the prince whispered, leaning in to kiss me gently.

"Good morning, beloved. May I?" I automatically responded as if it was something ordinary between us. As I was on the way to my, still sleepy, consciousness, I grasped what Sebastian had just said to me. I stumbled and turned around.

My expression must have been thoroughly puzzled by the sudden information. Sebastian calmly got up from the bed, smiled, and quickly kissed me on the lips before heading towards his own room, saying, "I'll be back shortly to help you examine and treat those scrapes."

I continued to stand in the bathroom doorway, when the adjacent door closed behind him.

I stood in the bathroom, covering my chest with a towel, turning my head from side to side, examining the wounds on my back. Yesterday, I hadn't even noticed that my entire back was scratched up from the thorns. I was angry, and tears welled up in my eyes.

The wounds were fairly deep and would probably leave scars. When I imagined my entire back covered in uneven scars, a sense of sadness and resentment washed over me. After all, any dress with a back cut would accentuate these wounds. Footsteps sounded outside the door, and I locked it so that Sebastian wouldn't come in. I didn't want him to see it, I didn't want anyone to see it. Tears continued to roll down my cheeks.

I heard him stop at the bathroom door and knock. "How are you, dear?" his still hoarse voice sounded.

"I'm not dressed, Sebastian. Please, go away. I'm not ready yet. I'll come to you myself," my voice trembled, barely holding back tears.

"Alex, open the door or step away," his male voice sounded tense.

I opened the door slightly, poking my head out so that only my shoulders were visible. "I told you, Sebastian, I'm not dressed yet!" I tried to infuse a hint of anger into my trembling voice.

"I can see that, and your tear-streaked face too. Will you tell me yourself, or should we play the guessing game?" He nudged the bathroom door open and entered.

I gazed into his eyes, not knowing how to explain. He surely had scars from battles or training as well. And his position as a guardian implied the risk of losing one's life, not just acquiring a couple of scars. I understood that. But knowing about the possibility and seeing your pristine skin marred by those marks were two different things.

I decided not to explain anything, just turned my back to him and swept my hair aside. Sebastian touched the edge of the towel and ordered, "Lower it." I uncovered my back, only shielding my thighs and chest from the front.

For a few minutes, he silently stared at my back, and in the mirror, I could see anger and concern etched on his face. Then he noticed what I had mentioned about Christoph's gift - elven cosmetics, and asked to see it.

I pointed to the voluminous box in the corner. Sebastian approached and began examining the colorful jars, quickly setting them aside. His gaze lingered on a vial of liquid that resembled elven perfume but was significantly larger.

"Well, isn't that thoughtful of Uncle Christoph? Very convenient," he sarcastically commented on his find. "There are many useful things here; I'm surprised Christoph managed to obtain them from the elves. But right now, we need this," he turned to me, showing the vial.

"What's this?" I asked, skeptically eyeing the bottle.

"Elven elixir. A few drops in any cream or ointment, and wounds heal without scars," he handed me the bottle and picked up a tube of soothing salve from the basin. "This will do. Let's go; I'll help," he turned and gestured for me to follow.

I lay down on the bed and exposed my back. "Sebastian, I can handle most of the wounds myself."

"I believe you, but allow me," he added a few drops of elixir to the salve and began to slowly treat each mark.

My back tingled slightly as he worked, and when he reached my lower back, I squirmed a bit, saying, "Tickles."

He chuckled. "Just a bit more. Extend your arms and show your palms."

Still lying down, I straightened my arms and turned my palms upward.

It seemed the wounds had already closed up, as the vial was placed on the nightstand, and now Sebastian simply traced the tips of his fingers over my clean back.

"Put your hands under your head," he requested.

I slightly turned my head to look at him, trying to understand what he had in mind, but the prince just gazed at me, waiting for me to comply. I folded my hands, resting my chin on them, not comprehending what would come next.

Suddenly, I heard him sit closer, and in that moment, I felt his breath on my lower back, followed by a kiss. It was very unexpected, but the warmth of his lips sent shivers throughout my body.

He continued to cover my back with kisses, as if memorizing the spots of cuts, and he kissed them, moving upward towards my shoulders. Sweet shivers ran through my entire body. Suddenly, Sebastian turned me around abruptly and kissed me passionately, pressing closer. Waves of pleasure and excitement spread through me as his hand began to move along my thigh. I arched my back and moaned his name, "Sebastian!"

My body was covered by a towel, which Sebastian tore away abruptly, his touch trailing over the lower part of my abdomen. Then his hand slid down my thigh again, moving to its inner side, igniting a sharp sensation of heat and arousal.

Sebastian paused the kiss for a second and whispered directly onto my lips, "My love, I just need to taste you, will you allow me?" His hand continued to move along my thigh, and he broke the kiss, whispering, "Let me love you, Alex."

After these words, his hand moved to my sensitive point, and I arched with a groan: “Yes, Sebastian,” he drove along the tubercle in circular motions, now increasing, then weakening the pressure. I felt a rising wave of pleasure and moaned, throwing my head back and closing my eyes. I completely lost myself in his movements.

For a while, Sebastian watched me, and when the tension had almost reached its peak, he removed his hand. I let out a disappointed moan, "Sebastian."

He chuckled softly, "I'm not done yet, my impatient girl."

He began to cover my neck and shoulders with kisses and descended lower. I arched again as he reached my chest and sucked my nipple into his mouth, biting it lightly with his teeth. He did the same with the second breast.

He covered my body with hot kisses, going down to my stomach. Fiery waves of arousal washed over me as he kissed the insides of my thighs. I almost screamed when Sebastian moved up and sucked my clit into his mouth. Arching in pleasure as he covered my folds with kisses, I moaned as his tongue greedily explored my crotch like he was tasting me. He practically growled at me, "Sweet girl." Without stopping, he sucked at the clitoris at the same time and inserted his fingertips into me, finding another sensitive point inside.

I began to squirm as Sebastian, holding me by the small of my back, penetrated even deeper and began to move his fingers. With his tongue, he caressed my clitoris without removing his fingers. Moans echoed around the room. The sweet tension grew and they no longer held me, allowing me to move my hips surrendering to his caresses. When I could no longer contain the pleasure raging in me, causing a sweet shiver, he sharply pushed his fingers even deeper. A wave of pain and bliss shot through my body at the same time. With all my strength, I let out a moan, which smoothly turned into a muffled scream, and then weakened, plunging into a sweet languor.

For a while, I lost touch with reality. With remnants of unclouded consciousness, I sensed Sebastian covering me with a blanket. Then he headed to the bathroom, and I could hear the sound of water without opening my eyes.

Gradually, clarity returned to my mind. I found that he was lying next to me, silently watching, waiting for me to come around. "Sebastian," I didn't know what to say at that moment; words seemed unnecessary. He traced his finger along my lower lip, and I licked my parched lips.

"I love you, my Alessandra," he said, not waiting for my reaction, and kissed me gently. Then he pulled me closer, wrapped in the blanket, and positioned my head on his chest. We lay in silence.

I realized that he had finally confessed his feelings, and he just silently stroked my hair. Only the rapid beat of his heart betrayed his restless thoughts.