him through a few mindless minutes. An anvil was in freefall when the door opened.
‘Sebastian?’
He turned in his seat. ‘What’s up?’
‘I, er …’ Her face was no longer pale. If anything, she looked a little flushed. The curve of her cheeks was bright pink, her gaze glued to the floor. ‘Oh, god.’
He was in his feet in an instant. ‘What’s wrong? Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself again?’
She shook her head violently. ‘No, nothing like that. I just…this is so awkward.’
‘More awkward than when you kissed me?’
‘I can’t undress myself.’
If there was a more humiliating scenario than this, Nic couldn’t think what it was. She’d got as far as unzipping her overalls before she’d realised that pulling them off her shoulders and down over her injured hand was going to be impossible without help. She’d briefly considered keeping them on, but the fabric was thick and sweaty and dirty.
No way would she be able to sleep in it. Exhaustion wrapped around her, hot and stifling, and she felt like she’d gone ten rounds with a heavyweight boxer, spots of light dancing in front of her eyes as the pills threw themselves into the mix.
Her knees dissolved.
Sebastian caught her just in time. ‘You’re crashing,’ he said. ‘We need to get you into bed.’ He half carried, half walked her back into her bedroom. ‘Your adrenaline levels have dropped. You’re going to feel pretty damn awful for the next few hours.’
‘Great,’ Nic mumbled. ‘So not only is everything a complete sodding disaster, I’m going to feel crap too. Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.’
‘Stop complaining. Things could be worse.’
‘How could they possibly be worse?’
Sebastian sat her down on the bed. He slid one big, warm hand inside the overalls and pulled out her left arm. Then he repeated the move with her other arm. Nic winced as the sleeve pulled over her battered hand. ‘We could’ve had sex,’ he said, as if that was a perfectly reasonable and perfectly normal thing to say. ‘Then things would really be awkward.’
Nic turned her head so she wouldn’t have to look at him. Yes we could, she thought. But you had sex with my sister instead.
Throat tight, she turned her head to the side, though the effort nearly killed her, given that it felt like a bowling ball. The shiny full length mirror that she’d bought as part ofher preparation for the Misses and Motors contest, hauled up into the flat, leaned against the bedroom wall and then refused to look in reflected the scene straight back at her. The overalls were scrunched around her hips, the dark grey fabric in stark contrast to the plain white cotton of her bed covers and her even whiter skin. Her hair looked like it belonged to someone else, glossy and rich, even pulled back in a scruffy stub of a ponytail.
She looked a mess.
And yet with Sebastian knelt between her thighs, so dark and masculine, she looked something more. She looked…naughty. He slid one hand down under her bottom and lifted her slightly, forcing her to plant her uninjured hand on his shoulder to keep herself steady as his other hand went to the edge of her overalls.
Her fuzzy brain guessed his intention just in time. ‘No!’ The word came out hard, a shout that shocked her. ‘No,’ she said again, trying to control her volume level. ‘It’s fine. I can do it now.’ She wasn’t wearing anything under the overalls but her cotton vest and heart print knickers, and she absolutely couldn’t let Sebastian see her left hip, and the long, ugly lines that ran across it, most white, three still purple, all precisely spaced.
His knuckles grazed her waist, but his hand stopped. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’ Nic shoved at his chest, but it was like shoving a boulder. A warm, gorgeous smelling boulder. She pushed him harder. Still nothing. One of her vest straps fell down her arm, exposing the top of her breast, and she grabbed at it with clumsy fingers.
‘Jeez,’
‘Sebastian?’
He turned in his seat. ‘What’s up?’
‘I, er …’ Her face was no longer pale. If anything, she looked a little flushed. The curve of her cheeks was bright pink, her gaze glued to the floor. ‘Oh, god.’
He was in his feet in an instant. ‘What’s wrong? Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself again?’
She shook her head violently. ‘No, nothing like that. I just…this is so awkward.’
‘More awkward than when you kissed me?’
‘I can’t undress myself.’
If there was a more humiliating scenario than this, Nic couldn’t think what it was. She’d got as far as unzipping her overalls before she’d realised that pulling them off her shoulders and down over her injured hand was going to be impossible without help. She’d briefly considered keeping them on, but the fabric was thick and sweaty and dirty.
No way would she be able to sleep in it. Exhaustion wrapped around her, hot and stifling, and she felt like she’d gone ten rounds with a heavyweight boxer, spots of light dancing in front of her eyes as the pills threw themselves into the mix.
Her knees dissolved.
Sebastian caught her just in time. ‘You’re crashing,’ he said. ‘We need to get you into bed.’ He half carried, half walked her back into her bedroom. ‘Your adrenaline levels have dropped. You’re going to feel pretty damn awful for the next few hours.’
‘Great,’ Nic mumbled. ‘So not only is everything a complete sodding disaster, I’m going to feel crap too. Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.’
‘Stop complaining. Things could be worse.’
‘How could they possibly be worse?’
Sebastian sat her down on the bed. He slid one big, warm hand inside the overalls and pulled out her left arm. Then he repeated the move with her other arm. Nic winced as the sleeve pulled over her battered hand. ‘We could’ve had sex,’ he said, as if that was a perfectly reasonable and perfectly normal thing to say. ‘Then things would really be awkward.’
Nic turned her head so she wouldn’t have to look at him. Yes we could, she thought. But you had sex with my sister instead.
Throat tight, she turned her head to the side, though the effort nearly killed her, given that it felt like a bowling ball. The shiny full length mirror that she’d bought as part ofher preparation for the Misses and Motors contest, hauled up into the flat, leaned against the bedroom wall and then refused to look in reflected the scene straight back at her. The overalls were scrunched around her hips, the dark grey fabric in stark contrast to the plain white cotton of her bed covers and her even whiter skin. Her hair looked like it belonged to someone else, glossy and rich, even pulled back in a scruffy stub of a ponytail.
She looked a mess.
And yet with Sebastian knelt between her thighs, so dark and masculine, she looked something more. She looked…naughty. He slid one hand down under her bottom and lifted her slightly, forcing her to plant her uninjured hand on his shoulder to keep herself steady as his other hand went to the edge of her overalls.
Her fuzzy brain guessed his intention just in time. ‘No!’ The word came out hard, a shout that shocked her. ‘No,’ she said again, trying to control her volume level. ‘It’s fine. I can do it now.’ She wasn’t wearing anything under the overalls but her cotton vest and heart print knickers, and she absolutely couldn’t let Sebastian see her left hip, and the long, ugly lines that ran across it, most white, three still purple, all precisely spaced.
His knuckles grazed her waist, but his hand stopped. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’ Nic shoved at his chest, but it was like shoving a boulder. A warm, gorgeous smelling boulder. She pushed him harder. Still nothing. One of her vest straps fell down her arm, exposing the top of her breast, and she grabbed at it with clumsy fingers.
‘Jeez,’
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