Divorced CEO's Forgotten Wife Strikes Back (Riley and Bryce) novel Chapter 401

Chapter 401 The Long-Overdue Intimacy

"If it's not a game, then what is all this? Are you trying to prove you can control me whenever you want?" He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand off him.

This time, he held her instead.

Riley looked at him—at the anger in his face, the conflict, and the confusion.

This version of Sebastian was rare.

"I just wanted to comfort you," she said honestly.

"Comfort me?" he echoed, stunned. He hadn't expected that answer at all.

"Yes. Comfort you. I've never comforted anyone before, and I'm not really sure how to do it. But I wanted you to feel good." As she spoke, she caught a glimpse of his ear again. It had grown even redder. So had his cheeks.

Riley lowered her head and kissed the corner of his eye.

She continued, "You said you'd only take me back if I loved you as deeply as you loved me. I never know how to measure something like that—how strong, how deep—but I can tell you one thing for sure. Other than my family, you're the first man I've ever loved this much. Sebastian, I really do love you."

Her kisses kept falling, soft and steady across his face, drifting slowly until they lingered on his lips.

Her warm mouth brushed against his, and his breathing started to turn uneven.

"I want you," she whispered, giving his lower lip a playful bite. "Do you want me too?"

He stayed silent, but the rough edge in his breathing and the tight movement in his throat said more than words ever could.

Riley's fingers slipped to his shirt buttons one by one. She parted the fabric and ran her hand over his tense stomach.

"I know you're hurt. So don't move. Let me handle it, okay?" Her fingers traced over him again, stirring the desire he had been holding back.

He stared up at her. "What do you want from me?"

"You," she said with a small smile. "How is that not clear?" She leaned down and kissed him again and again. "Be good. Don't move. I know where you're hurt. I'll be gentle."

Her soft voice felt like the sweetest temptation.

His mind kept warning him to stop, but his body refused to let her go. He let himself sink into every touch—into her warmth, her sweetness, the way only she could undo him.

*****

The long-overdue intimacy ended with Riley exhausted, falling asleep in his arms.

Sebastian sat up quietly. Watching her sleep, he cleaned her with careful, slow movements.

When he tucked the blanket back over her, she murmured in her sleep, "Don't... Sebastian, don't..."

His hand froze. Whatever warmth lingered from before drained out of him instantly.

What was she dreaming about? His ugliness? His anger? Was that why she kept saying "don't" in her sleep?

Even if she acted like she loved him when she was awake, was she still rejecting him in her dreams?

The lights were off, leaving the room dim.

Only the fading sunset spilled through the glass, washing him in a deep orange glow and pulling his shadow long across the floor.

Riley stepped into the study and immediately noticed the ashtray on the side table—filled to the brim with cigarette butts. Her brows pulled together. "You're still injured. Why are you smoking like this? How many did you go through?"

When they were together before, she had rarely seen Sebastian smoke.

Even on bad days, it was one or two cigarettes at most.

Now the ashtray looked like he had burned through half a pack.

Sebastian turned his head toward her, took another slow drag, and let the smoke roll out of his mouth. "So you're awake," he said quietly.

"Yeah, I'm awake," she replied. "But what about you? Why smoke that much?"

He put out the cigarette with a sharp twist and slowly stood up. "Do you know what my father is like?" he asked.

Riley blinked, confused by the sudden shift, but she answered anyway, "I've met him a few times, so, yes, I have some idea. Where is he now? Did they catch him?"

The fire at the Torres Group anniversary event—it was Gregory who orchestrated the whole thing.

Even now, Riley still couldn't understand why he would go that far.

Was it really just to make it easier for Cynthia to get to her, so Sebastian would be pushed over the edge?