The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 408

The realization finally hit Riley, and she instantly began to explain herself. "I wasn't purposely trying to hide it from you. I honestly just didn't overthink it. I've always handled every crisis in my life completely on my own. It's just a habit.

"As for why I hesitated when you called... it wasn't a cover-up. I was just thinking about how Eleanor was still in the hospital, and Victoria was constantly plotting against you, and you were drowning in work. I didn't want to add my stupid drama to your plate and stress you out even more."

She was just trying to protect him.

And she genuinely considered the whole situation with Pierce to be 'stupid drama'.

Her explanation hit every single right note. The suffocating dark cloud that had been hovering over Sebastian instantly vanished.

However, when his eyes landed on the heavy, dark circles under her eyes, a fresh wave of irritation flared in his chest.

He reached out, his long fingers gently brushing over the delicate skin beneath her eyes. His voice dripped with sour jealousy and undeniable heartache. "You stayed with him the entire night?"

"No. The second his fever broke, I left."

Sebastian nodded.

When he didn't say anything else, Riley asked tentatively, "Are you still mad?"

He wasn't.

But Sebastian had no intention of admitting that just yet. "Yes."

Riley frowned. She had just explained everything perfectly. Why was he still mad? She had no idea what else to do. Thinking back to how coldly he had treated her in the hospital room, a heavy, suffocating weight settled over her heart again.

She lowered her eyes, staring blankly at the concrete floor.

A thick, tense silence stretched between them.

"Are you not going to coax me?"

A low, helplessly amused voice drifted down from above her.

Riley snapped her head up. She hadn't expected him to say something like that. A second later, she looked at him with genuine, innocent curiosity. "How do I coax you?"

Sebastian pressed his lips together, refusing to answer. He simply stared at her, his eyes silently conveying: That sounds like a 'you' problem.

Riley had never actively tried to 'coax' a man before. She felt entirely out of her depth. "I don't know how."

Hearing this, Sebastian felt a strange mix of joy and exasperation. Joy, because her total lack of experience proved she had never done this for Pierce. Exasperation, because it meant he had to walk her through how to seduce him.

"Kiss me."

"Huh?"

Sebastian arched an elegant brow. "Do you not know how to kiss either?"

A fierce blush exploded across Riley's cheeks. A shy, nervous flutter touched her eyes. "I know how to do that," she murmured.

She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss against his cool lips. "Are you still mad?"

"That was a peck. Not a kiss."

Riley's face was flushed a deep, feverish red. Her eyes were hazy and wet. She answered with absolute honesty. "It's too hard. I can't learn that."

A low, dark chuckle rumbled deep within Sebastian's chest.

She rarely saw him smile this genuinely. The corners of his sharp eyes crinkled slightly, the faint lines adding an incredibly sexy, mature charm to his face. It was so devastatingly attractive that Riley couldn't look away.

Sebastian often found Riley's brutal honesty completely exasperating. Like last night on the phone—she could have just lied to save herself the trouble, but she had answered with painful sincerity.

But right now, that exact same brutal honesty was incredibly endearing. It filled him with an unexpected surge of joy. And an undeniable urge to tease her.

"Are you saying you want me to keep teaching you?"

Riley shook her head frantically. "That's not what I meant."

They were in a hospital. Even though this stairwell was practically abandoned, someone could still walk in at any moment. That last kiss had already pushed her anxiety to the absolute limit. She wasn't brave enough to risk another one.

"I think it is."

"I—"

She only got a single syllable out before his mouth crashed down on hers again.

Whether it was his overwhelming skill or her own treacherous desires, Riley quickly realized she had zero defenses against Sebastian's kisses.

Just as they were hopelessly lost in each other, a sharp, terrifying squeak echoed behind them. The heavy fire door was being pulled open.