65: Sneaking out

It took us a few moments, but when Sebastian and I finally found the strength to move, we only ended up moving further underneath my sheets where we tenderly held onto each other. His skin had now cooled down tremendously, and so I held him tighter, cooling myself down and warming him up in the process.
"You know if you told me about a month ago that you and I would be under your sheets after a night of sex, I would never have believed you." Sebastian said softly.
I giggled in response and then said, "Oh really? Not even the first time you saw me, looking exactly as I did before?"
He bit his lip and tilted his head from side-to-side. "Well, I mean when I first saw you, standing there on the highway, I honestly struggled to keep myself from just taking you in my arms and kissing you senseless."
I gasped at his statement in disbelief. "It didn't seem that way. In fact, I can remember being so terrified of you, I could barely function."
Sebastian chuckled and kissed the top of my head. "I'm sorry for being so cold to you. It was all just an act. I thought that if I could make myself seem as rude and cold as possible, you'd be too afraid to want to get close to me, and I'd be too cautious to try to make a move on you. But obviously I couldn't hold myself back for long. I'm glad I didn't, because if I had, we'd never have been able to get to this point."
"Speaking of, shouldn't we meet Lucretia soon?" I asked, absently running my fingers against his skin.
"I suppose we should. Tomorrow, does that sound good?"
My eyes furrowed and I asked, "When I was looking for you earlier, I overheard you all talking about the Council. Would it not be unwise for me to disappear so quickly after I've just returned?"
Sebastian nodded and thought for a moment before saying, "Then we'll have to do it early in the morning. Around the time the guards change shifts. It will give us leeway to sneak out... that is, unless you're too tired to sneak out. It is, after all, quite late at night already."
I chuckled and shook my head. "I think I've gotten enough sleep for a decade. Both literally and figuratively."

***

By the time Sebastian and I had to leave, the soft subtle tinges of orange peeked amongst the clouds, brightening the once dark skies. The air was cool and had a soft sweetness to it as it stung at our noses while we crept along the tall trees towards the glass gates of the entrance to the palace.
Luckily, it was as empty as Sebastian had assumed it would be, accounting for the change in shifts of the guards.
The next barrier was the long silver gate which extended to a distance I still could hardly fathom. Here the guards were few, but vigilant. And so, Sebastian had to distract them while I snuck passed.
"Jonathan, good morning," He uttered, and as he did, I hid behind one of the trees nearby.
"Mr Dragović, what are you doing here so early?"
"I'd like to go into the city. My Mistress Phoenix is running low on a few items."
And as he conversed with Jonathan, the other guards began to join into the conversation as well, and eventually, I found a space I could slip through. Once I was on the other side, I let out a little sigh of relief... until I heard a loud rustling amongst the trees. I neared the noise cautiously, taking care not to trample on any of the dried up fallen leaves and the smiled when a soft, familiar scent tickled at my nostrils.
"Stalking me, are we?" I uttered.
Demetri chuckled and then emerged from behind one of the trees. I smirked at him and shook my head. "You know Sebastian is definitely not going to approve of you joining us. Speaking of, why are you here... following us?"
"Firstly, Phoenix, I don't need Sebastian's approval for anything," he was now standing right in front of me and had a mischievous smirk on his face, "and secondly, I saw you two sneaking around this morning. I'm an early riser so I see everything that happens in the early hours of the day. Did you know that Liam and Xavier have sex in almost every single empty room that the palace has to offer? And it's frightening how loud they are!"
I laughed in response and leaned into his hand which he placed on my cheek. "I suppose they are making up for lost time. Though I would love to find myself in one of those rooms."
Demetri wiggled his eyebrows and then nodded before saying, "I can't say I haven't been contemplating joining the two myself. It would be interesting, don't you think?"
Once again, I found myself in awe of his way of looking at things. "I like the way you think Demetri. But it will have to be our little secret..."
"What secrets are you planning on keeping?" I heard coming from behind me. I turned and saw Sebastian who already looked rather annoyed. His annoyance only grew when his eyes settled on Demetri.
"What are you doing here?"
"Following the two of you. I take it you're going to visit Lucretia?" He said, his smile never once faltered.
Sebastian rolled his eyes and gave a long sigh. "Go back you annoying, yapping dog."
"No thank you, you fanged block of ice."
"Yes."
"No."
"Y-"
"You both are such children. Demetri is coming with us, and that is final."
"But-"
"-Am I understood, Sebastian?" I said firmly.
Sebastian sighed once more and then placed his fingers on either side of the bridge of his nose. "Fine. But only because you asked."
I smiled and kissed him on the cheek which got rid of the deep frown tainting his beautiful but irritated face.
"No love for me?" Demetri teased. I could tell he was deliberately trying to get on Sebastian's nerves, and so I joined in on the fun. It was, after all, in both Phoenix and Diana's nature to drive the poor man to insanity.
I placed a soft kiss on Demetri's cheek and Sebastian glared at him and clenched his fists. At one point I could swear I saw steam pouring out of his ears.
"Now, can we finally get going? We are, after all on a time limit." I said, holding a hand out for Sebastian to lead the way.
"This is going to be a long day..." Sebastian said after shooting Demetri a glare. And for once, I agreed with him. Having mates was such a difficult job, and I honestly did not get paid enough... or at all.
----
HELLO! I missed you all so much! Thank you so much for your patience with me! I've read all of your supportive comments and they really encouraged me! I'm so grateful to each and every single one of you!
Stay safe! Stay healthy! Sending my love!💗