He Couldn't Be That Bad? // Sebastian Sallow and You (spicy)

50. Yule Ball

"Are you in here?" Sebastian's voice calls out and I hear the door shut behind him.

"Yes, but you have to close your eyes, I'm not quite ready yet." I call out as I dash behind a dressing screen. "And I want it to be a surprise."

"I always love your surprises." Sebastian says. I peek through the screen to see he's dressed in a fine suit, tailored to his broad shoulders and slim waist. His hair is slicked back but his hands rest in his pockets, and despite the suit, he still wears an air of relaxation. Lazily meandering around he adds. "I see even The Room of Requirement got into the spirit of the festivities."

"It looks nice, I hope Deek didn't put himself too out on it." I say. All through the castle Christmas trees dusted with little flurries of perpetual snowfall stand, and the Room of Requirement is no exception.

"These your shoes? Silvery ones by the vivarium." Sebastian's footsteps sound as he crosses the room. The soft click of dress shoes on the hardwood floor makes me giddy, I half expected him to just wear his boots.

"Yes, can you bring them here?" I slip the straps of my dress up my arms where they rest just off my shoulders, and shimmy the rest of the way into the dress. "Thanks, I thought you would be a little later."

"Or really?" Sebastian comes close to the dressing screen and puts the shoes over the top. "I'd be happy to assist you in getting ready."

"What you're offering is far from assistance." I chide and take the shoes from him.

Then I hear him walk over and plop into a leather chair. "Very well, I'll be here if you need me."

"No, I'm fine." I wheeze out trying to pick up the shoes from the floor. My dress makes bending over quite a challenge. My arms are tired from pinning my hair up, then pulling the corset then the dress into place. "I don't really want to spend all night being a chaperone but I personally vow to find a spot with a chair so I can at least sit if I need to."

"You could just sit in my lap." Sebastian offers with a soft chuckle. I peek through the partition and he's tossing a snack up into the air and trying to catch it in his mouth. A smattering of popcorn already forming around where he sits.

I try again to bend over long enough to buckle my shoe but I can't work the clasp. There's no getting around it, I should have asked Anne or Poppy to get ready with me so I don't have to do all this by myself. Coming around the screen I head for Sebastian with my shoes in my hand, the hem of my dress pooling slightly on the floor at my feet. I kick my legs with each step so I don't trip.

Sebastian sees me and his jaw drops. His eyes wander across the crystal strewn fabric, practically the same silvery pewter of Ancient Magic itself, then linger across my cinched waist and up to my perfectly placed cleavage. He's practically smitten as he sees the necklace he gave me hanging between my collarbones, the silver of the chain perfectly complimenting the shimmer of the dress.

"You look beautiful." He finally says, a sly smirk on his face. "That's it. I don't want to go. No one else is allowed to look at you, and I want to take all night undressing you again."

I scoff at him and plop a seat in his lap. "Finish lacing me, we need to leave in five minutes."

"Yes ma'am." He says, clearly liking being bossed around. He gently runs his hands down my waist, and ties off the remainder of the dress' cinching. He runs his hands up my spine to my exposed shoulders, leaning forward to place a delicate kiss at the base of my neck.

As I stand, his hand takes a quick pat of my bottom. He's about to stand too but I spin around and place my foot directly into his chest. "These too."

He's taken aback with a surprised smile. A tongue darts across his lip as he slips my foot into the shoe and then delicately laces the heels into a secure knot.