Chapter 89 Coquettish
Sebastian’s POV
When I woke up, sunlight was stabbing through the curtains like a knife to the skull.
My head pounded. My mouth was dry. And my hand... my hand was on something soft.
I blinked.
I was on the floor. And next to me, tangled in my arms, was Emilia. Her hair was messy. Her shirt was hiked up. And my hand was underneath her shirt, resting right on her breast.
I froze.
Ryder was wide awake, howling with satisfaction. Mine.
No. No, no, no.
I tried to pull my hand away. But she woke up before I could.
Her eyes fluttered open. For a second, she looked confused. Then she looked down at where my hand was. Then she looked back up at me.
She did not scream.
She just looked at me with that infuriating calm and asked, "What are you laying your hand on?"
I was stunned. My brain short-circuited. I could not find the words.
"Well?" she said. "Are you going to answer me?"
I yanked my hand back like I had been burned. "I— It was an accident."
She sat up, crossing her arms. "What did you do to me last night?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?" She raised an eyebrow. "Then why was your hand underneath my shirt?"
"Maybe it was just misplaced."
She let out a cold laugh. "Misplaced? Out of all the places in the universe, your hand was misplaced on my chest? And you were grabbing my—"
She stopped, too embarrassed to finish.
I felt panic rising in my chest. My wolf was pushing against my skin, wanting to claim her. But my pride was screaming louder.
"Do you think I wanted to put it there?" I snapped. "You were the one who grabbed my hand and put it there forcefully. I didn’t expect that such a dignified woman would be so coquettish after drinking. You kept asking me for it. I’m a man. No matter how much I hate women, I’d have an instinctive reaction, not to mention last night."
Her face went pale. Then red.
"Coquettish?" Her voice was dangerously low. "You used the word coquettish to describe me?"
I opened my mouth to defend myself. But before I could say another word, she launched herself at me.
Her arms wrapped around my neck from behind. She climbed onto my back, wrapped her legs around my waist, and started choking me.
"I’ll strangle you to death!" she screamed in my ear.
I was so stunned I almost fell over again. Her weight hit me from behind, and I stumbled, my hands grabbing at the air. She was stronger than I expected, or maybe I was weaker from the hangover. Either way, I was actually struggling.
"Get off me!" I grabbed her arms, trying to pry them loose.
"No! Not until you admit you’re a liar!"
"I’m not admitting anything!"
She tightened her grip around my neck. I could barely breathe.
"You— woman— are— insane—" I gasped.
I finally managed to grab her waist and throw her off. She landed on the sofa with a grunt, glaring at me.
"Do you think I wronged you?" I said, my voice rough.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I found the recording and hit play.
A voice came through the speaker. Soft. Flirty. Desperate.
"Give me, give me, give it to me..."
Her eyes went wide. Her face turned crimson. She looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
"I— That was— That was not—" she stammered.
"Not what?" I smirked, feeling my confidence return. "You were the one asking. I just didn’t want to refuse a lady."
She let out a strangled sound of pure humiliation. Then she jumped up and ran into the bedroom. The door slammed shut with a bang.
I stood there, grinning like an idiot.
But when she was gone, I pressed play one more time.
"Give me, give me the wine."
That was the full sentence.
She had been asking for more wine. Not... what she thought.
I had cut the recording just in time.
I laughed to myself. That woman was too easy to fool.
I got dressed. After ten minutes, she still had not come out. I walked to the bedroom door and knocked.
"Hey," I said. "You’re usually open-minded. Don’t be so ashamed over such a small thing."
No response.
I knocked again. "Don’t take it to heart. I’m not just anyone. It’s natural for you to want it from me."
The door flew open.
She stood there, furious, her face red. "Are you crazy?"
I was stunned by her sudden change of topic. "I’ve always been crazy. You know that."
"Yes, I know," she snapped. "But I didn’t know you could be this crazy!"
"Well, now you know, don’t you?" I said, crossing my arms. "It’s not too late to find out. Don’t be so fierce. Be a little gentler."