Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

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A slow, deliberate smile touched Stella’s lips in the dark car. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes were sharp with a warning she made no effort to conceal.

“Then you should know,” she said, her voice low, “I’m far more dangerous than he is.” With that, she collected her things, got. out, and walked toward the waiting car.

She tried the passenger door, but found it locked.

Stella’s eyebrows rose sharply, her expression clearly asking what that was supposed to mean.

She tapped on the dark window. Instead of the front one, the back window slid down, revealing a pale, strikingly handsome face.

Sebastian’s fine features looked almost unnaturally pale, the corners of his eyes tinged with a faint, dangerous red. His expression was lost in the shadows.

“Mr. Gray?” Stella could hardly believe it. She hadn’t expected him to come himself.

“Get in.” Sebastian’s voice was low and rough, followed by a quiet cough.

She got into the back seat beside him, and the car started to move.

Stella let out a lazy yawn, a slight, unreadable smile on her lips. She didn’t even notice how her mood had lifted the moment she saw him again.

“Were you afraid I wouldn’t come back?” she asked, sinking into the leather seat and glancing at him, her voice light and teasing.

Sebastian kept his eyes on the road, his face blank. His gaze was cold and distant, his whole bearing pale and restrained.

“You are overthinking things,” he said in a cold voice without even looking at her.

Stella let out a slow, unconvinced “oh” and stifled another yawn, her attention drifting toward the window as sleep pulled at

her.

“Stella…” Sebastian called.

The car entered the underwater tunnel, plunging them into darkness.

“What?” Stella murmured, already half asleep.

“About earlier…” Sebastian began.

Before he could finish, he felt the weight of her head settle against his shoulder. At the same moment, the Bentley emerged from the tunnel, and light flooded back into the car.

Jake, who was driving, glanced into the rearview mirror and flinched.

In the back, Stella was asleep, her head resting against Sebastian,

Oh, damn. Mr. Gray hated being touched. If he lost his temper…‘ Jake’s mind raced. He ducked his head, only to meet a pair of ice–cold eyes in the rearview mirror.

He snapped his gaze forward and pretended he’d seen nothing.

Sebastian didn’t move her. She slept on, unaware, her head drifting closer to his neck.

GR

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Chapter 17

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Her face, free of any makeup, looked all the more defined against the black hoodie. From where he sat, he could even see the faint blue veins beneath her skin, and her whole face seemed to nestle within the span of his hand.

Sebastian’s low voice cut through the quiet. “Jake.”

Jake immediately let the car coast, smoothing out the ride so Stella wouldn’t wake.

The jarring ring of a phone pulled Stella from sleep. Irritated, she kept her eyes closed and fumbled toward the noise.

“Hello?” she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep and an unmistakable chill.

Nothing but heavy silence came from the other end.

“Who’s there?” she pressed, her tone sharpening.

“What the hell?” Allan Reed, Sebastian’s friend, exclaimed. “This is Sebastian’s number, right? Why is a woman answering his phone? And you sound like you just woke up?”

Before Stella could form a reply, Sebastian’s hand reached over and took the phone from her.

“Allan, enough.” Sebastian’s voice was like ice, and it instantly silenced Allan.

That was when Stella finally opened her eyes and sat up.

The room was decorated in stark black and white, cold and impersonal, exactly like its owner. She had only been here once, but Stella knew immediately she was in Sebastian’s bedroom.

“I’m coming back from Rexland now. Don’t leave the island.” Allan’s was urgent, and the line went dead before Sebastian could reply.

Quiet settled back over the room.

“Mr. Gray..” Stella said, her tone languid and familiar.

She leaned back against the headboard as if it were her own. She looked perfectly at home in Sebastian’s bedroom and showed no curiosity about how she’d gotten there.

“Since we’re here, take your shirt off,” Stella said, her voice calm and direct.

Sebastian just looked at her, speechless.

He watched her yawn, her captivating eyes glazed with sleep.

She didn’t seem to realize how startling her request had been.

A strange silence hung between them.

Snowball slid out from the shadows. It looked first at Sebastian, then at Stella.

花

Without another glance, it turned and slipped into Lucas’s room, nudging the door shut with its tail.

When Sebastian remained motionless, Stella raised an eyebrow, wondering if she hadn’t made herself clear,

“There’s still a needle in your chest. I need to remove it,” she explained.

Only after she spoke did it occur to her that she’d forgotten to mention that part. The thought crossed her mind that he must have thought she was a total creep.

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Chapter 17

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With a pale and impassive face. Sebastian reached for the collar of his black shirt. He undid the buttons one by one, each movement deliberate and slow.

His eyes remained fixed on hers as the scars across his chest and torso came into full view. They were a complex lattice of marks some shallow, others deep.

The pattern was stark against his skin, like cracks marring a once flawless surface.

Stella stepped quietly across the carpet, her feet bare

The air around him carried a faint, clean scent that grew stronger as she neared.

Standing before him now, Stella spoke softly. This will hurt. Try to stay still.”

He acknowledged her with a low hum.

Her hand was warm against the cool skin of his chest, and he tensed slightly at the touch.

Then, she drew out a slender silver needle from near his heart.

A wave of sharp pain spread through him, tightening his already severe expression. His hands, resting on the arms of the wheelchair, gripped them until his knuckles whitened.

As Stella withdrew the needle, a shudder ran through Sebastian’s body, leaving him rigid.

His face, however, stayed still and expressionless, lips pressed into a pale, tight line. It was the quiet resignation of someone who knew pain too well.

“Don’t bite yourself” Stella said, her thumb coming to rest lightly against his lower lip.

Sebastian looked up at her, his handsome face covered in a layer of cold sweat.

His lips parted leaving her thumb damp in a way that felt deliberate.

You’ll have a fever tonight,‘ she said. “But when it breaks, the pain will be half what it is now.”

“How long?” he asked his voice low and rough with pain as his hair fell across his eyes. Even now, he looked unsettlingly handsome.

“Two weeks.” Stella answered, her tone soft and a little weary. It was easier when he understood.

The process would need to be repeated every two weeks, on and on.

“Stay here tonight,” he said.

He could feel the heat spreading through him. Sweat clung to his hairline, lending him a worn, solitary air.

“Mr. Gray Stella leaned closer, her hands on either side of him. A faint smile touched her lips as they drew close enough to

share a breath

“As you wish,” she murmured.