MASTER SEBASTIAN

Chapter 28

ELEANOR

_

Flowers bloomed on the outside of his cottage. It was quaint and homely, the surroundings neat. A small patio greeted me once I made my way up the strong wooden steps. From here I could see the castle at a distance. My eyes narrowed on seeing a familiar balcony... Was that my wing?

I wondered if he'd sat here and seen me looking out. Heat bloomed in my stomach when I realized a part of me wished he had. I looked around the rolling hills. "It's a bit lonely up here."

"I believe the word is private."

He opened up the entrance and we both walked in. The inside was just as neat and comfy as the outside.

He traced to the hearth and bent to start a fire. He had discarded his jacket and I slowly grew mesmerized by the strong movement of his back muscles. An urge gripped me. What would it feel like...to feel those corded muscles beneath my fingers?

He chose at that moment to turn around. The glow from the hearth outlined the bold planes of his face. Locks of midnight black hair fell over those stony obsidian eyes. For a tensed moment, he held my gaze and I had the galling suspicion that he knew where my mind had gone to.

His quiet baritone broke the silence. "Make yourself comfortable."

At length I gathered the skirts of my dress and lowered myself before a cream sofa. "Your home is beautiful."

"Thank you."

"It's a bit different from your other house," I remarked distractedly, watching him trace into a kitchen.

"How so?"

"Well." I looked around thoughtfully. "It doesn't feel so... emotionless."

He put together a tray of fruits I suspected he had gotten from the nearby garden. When next he reappeared, I suddenly asked, "Tell me one thing you haven't told anyone, Sebastian."

If he was taken aback by my question, he didn't show it. Instead he placed my meal before me and proceeded to seat opposite me. This close I felt a telltale burn start to heat my stomach.

"I've told you more about myself than I've told anyone," he said.

I blinked, something occurring. A few moments passed before I spoke. "Are you talking about your exile?"

"Yes."

He dealt the cards and placed them aside, assembling the board and its pieces, which were a series of little coloured boxes. I watched his masculine fingers work deftly, the heat blooming. I lifted my eyes to his face and kept it there. "What if I asked you to tell me why you were exiled?"

"Until you do, I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that."

"Why were you?"

I was aware of him, every little movement his body made. A brawny arm reached up to rake his hair away from his face while his eyes assessed the board. He answered, his tone plain, "It's nothing dire or melodramatic. I was merely nothing more than one of these pieces."

He assembled them now. "Power plays saw I and my father moved out of the kingdom."

"Why?"