Sebastian tasted like reason, and it was the sweetest fucking thing I’d ever felt across my lips.
Our kiss was tender, and I was mindful of his injuries when I swept my tongue into his mouth. He made a noise that made my eyes roll and melted into my embrace. When I tried to pull away, he sunk his nails into my cheeks and yanked me back.
I laughed against his mouth. “We’ve got to get you cleaned up, baby bird.”
And then… vengeance.
“Bullets and bombs.”
A bruise for a bruise. A scar for a scar. Blood for blood.
Sebastian made a huffing sound and kept his hands on my cheeks when he surrendered. Our foreheads came apart. Wide, gray eyes trailed the features my face wore, and his nose made an adorable wrinkle.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
The pads of his fingers felt rough as he brushed them across the corners of my mouth. His own lips turned downward, and it took me a moment to understand what had made him upset.
I was wearing his blood.
“I don’t mind the taste of your pain, baby bird.” I sucked my lips into my mouth. His blood was sweet as it exploded across my tongue. “I like making it disappear. I promise.”
His lips tipped up into a smile. As though it were a paintbrush, he moved his finger in waves across my face, tracing my jaw and drawing hearts on each of my cheeks.
“Hold on tight, sweetheart.” Hands anchored on his thighs, I stood from the ground. His ankles locked around my hips, and I carried him to the sink. It was small, and the porcelain top was stained. I was careful as I placed him on the edge, squeezing his thighs once.
“Keep holding onto me, yeah? I don’t trust this thing not to collapse.”
He nodded.
There was a small towel folded neatly in the corner, and I snatched it. The faucet was loose as I flipped it, and the water made a chugging sound before it filled the bowl. Checking the temperature, I made sure it was warm enough for him before wetting the towel and dabbing the cut on his lip.
“Do you have any ice, baby? Any antibacterial ointment? Something to prevent infection?”
He lifted a finger and tapped it once on the mirror behind him. Flipping it open, my breath caught at all the first aid supplies he had stuffed inside the medicine cabinet.
Bandages…
Gauze…
Ointments and sprays…
There was a finger splint and a suture kit. A small bottle of concealer was tucked in the corner, andfuck!
I couldn’t breathe.
Turning away from him, I choked on violent breaths, chest rising and falling in rapid succession. Hostility burned a hole in my chest, but pain burned a hole in my heart.
How many times had he put himself back together?
How many times had he bandaged his own wounds and wiped his own tears?
Sebastian tapped me once on the shoulder, the gesture shy. I pivoted toward him and palmed his face. My voice nearly broke as I spoke to him. “I’m so fucking sorry it took me so long to find you, baby bird.”
He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and mouthed my name again.
Daddy…
I pressed a kiss to the center of his forehead and returned the cloth to his mouth, dabbing at the remaining blood. His fingers were next, and I had to talk myself down from a fit of rage when I inspected the way some of his nails were broken.