Sebastian is the audience member who I'm effortlessly pleasing, and he is returning the favor.

I take a step toward him now. He watches me carefully, with that hawk-like expression of his, waiting with a gentle amusement to see what I do next. "Yes," I whisper hoarsely. My eyes lock with his, and the connection I feel makes my heart speed up. "Yes, it worked."

Sebastian's eyes are on fire all of a sudden, burning into my skin. His gaze makes me feel so hot, inside and out, and suddenly all I want is to press against him again and more. I watch his lips come closer to me, feel the hardness between his thighs pressing against me. "Then do it," he growls, his eyes searching mine. "Take it off."

And holy hell, I don't need to be told twice.

I don't take my eyes off of him as I slowly slip off my dress. Quick and easy. Check. Then, ever so slowly, I unhook my bra. He watches me with such intensity it makes me want him even more as I unhook the first strap, then the second, and then, to his delight, the bra falls away, hitting the ground with a soft pat. I reach for my panties next, but instead he says, "Allow me."

Everything freezes in that instant. Everything slows. The space between us is totally gone, and it's like all of the air is sucked out of the room as Sebastian reaches his hand for my panties, tracing his finger along the soft skin on my inner thigh, tingles racing through me. I gasp and feel my back arch back, stopping and staring at him, wanting nothing more than for his fingers to inch up further and further. He touches my hot, tingling skin slowly, softly, like he's petting a bird's feather. His fingers move to my panties, and the next thing I know, they're slipped off. My panties hit the floor softly, but not once do I take my eyes off of Sebastian, and he doesn't take his off of me. We just stand there, staring. I'm totally naked now and I don't even care. My whole body is hot and tingly and humming with energy, and I'm full aware of the need coursing through me, the intensity between us. We stand there, not breathing, not moving, for what feels like eternity. Sebastian shifts his body closer to me. I can see he's as aroused as I am, can feel it in the electricity in the air. It's like we aren't even here anymore, like we've been taken into another dimension, one full of heat and desire and no air to breathe.

Finally, Sebastian takes off his clothes. He strips of his pants and tux before I can even blink. His undershirt is the next to go, and I find myself infatuated with the muscle rippling across his abs and chest, with the perfect arch of his body. Then, finally, he slips off his boxers. I gasp as soon as my eyes lock on his erection. It's not that I've never seen it before, but it never fails to turn me on. My belly feels hotter and hotter all of a sudden, like a deep and carnal tension waiting to be released.

He presses up against me then, his naked body against mine, his erection against my legs, so raw and real and vulnerable it makes everything else wash away. The wind continues to howl and I know it's totally freezing outside but in here, in this little room, in this safe zone with Sebastian, it's a furnace. Everything feels on fire. Everything feels so intense it's like I will die if I can't have him.

"Can I have you, angel?" he says fiercely, eyes burning into mine.

My heart rate picks up speed. "I'm all yours," I whisper, my body aching for him to touch me. And then he kisses me. Hard and passionate and real. I kiss him back, my lips numb and on fire all at once. I kiss him with such ferocity it's like kissing him is breathing, and I need to keep his lips and his body on mine if I want to keep myself from crumbling. My body buzzes with energy and desire, and his lips are hot and heavy against mine. His tongue tickles at my lips at first, then slips slowly into my mouth and I try to close my eyes and let everything else but this kiss slip away, but I can't stop staring into Sebastian's deep eyes. They're full of need. Hunger. So much it makes me work to keep from him touching me more.

And then, all of a sudden, he pulls back. I gasp for breath, but he doesn't even seem fazed. His eyes stay fixed on mine, watching me intently, and then he's pressed against me again.

His kiss starts at my chin, then move slowly down my neck, my collarbone, until he stops at my breast. My body tingles and aches all at once as he kisses teasingly around my breast--slowly, softly. His lips move in a circle, moving closer and closer, nipping at my breast until he's fully kissing it. Then, he opens his mouth, and tongues my nipple so gently I have to suppress a moan.

"Sebastian," I gasp out, but he already knows what to do. His lips move from breast to my stomach, his hands clutching my side. He trails his kisses down the center of my stomach, and all I want is for him to move lower, lower, lower. I have to force myself to continue breathing as his lips reach my belly button, then the end of my stomach, and then he kisses slower and slower, teasing me, as he reaches my inner thigh. My head sinks back a little, already starting to roll back into my bed, and I wait for it to happen, for him to touch me there, but nothing comes.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Nothing. happens.

He's stopped kissing me now. His lips and tongue stay frozen in place, locked on my inner thigh, and he looks like he's in the middle of intense inner conflict.

"Make me come, Sebastian," I gasp. My skin is hot and tingling, and I can't take the ache anymore. I just need him to be inside of me, that's all I know. I need him to make it all better.

He doesn't say anything. Doesn't move. For a long while, his lips stay there, tickling at my soft skin, waiting for something I can't place. I try to keep breathing, focusing on anything but how close he is to finishing this whole thing and how much I want him to.

But then he pulls back, and my whole world comes crashing down.

"No," he says, more to himself than to me. He looks weird, really weird. Almost unsettled. And if Sebastian is anything, it's most certainly not easily unsettled.

"I can't have you there," he says at least, glancing up at me. His eyes look almost pleading. "Not yet."

My hand trembles. I need him to touch me. "Please, Sebastian. Give it to me."

He smiles distantly. "I wish I could. But I can't. Rule #1, my beautiful, my beautiful angel," he coos. "Remember?"

He stands up, but I just keep shaking my head. This can't be happening. Can't. be. happening. "Why not?" I say. "Because you don't love me?"

That takes him aback. He frowns at first, and then the rage starts spreading across his face. "No," he says harshly, his eyes flaring. "Never. I want you, angel. I want you everywhere. I want you so fucking much I can't even understand. But I can't have you. I can't, trust me."

My body starts shaking, and I can't think to do anything but look away. "Then why not?" I whisper, eyes searching the white walls as if they'll give me a solution to all of this.

He doesn't move for a long time. Just watches me, carefully, like he's testing to see if a frozen lake will hold his weight. "I just can't," he says after a while.

And then I don't even know what I'm doing, but the next thing I know I'm throwing on clothes and running to the door. My heart hammers in the chest. I have to leave. I have to leave. I have to leave.

I reach the knob in a few seconds, turn it, and am about to slip out of the room when Sebastian grabs my arm and pulls me back. He spins me around to face him, his eyes a fiery blue, passionate in a way nothing else is.