Viola couldn’t argue with Sebastian about stopping for the night, nor could she argue with him during the payment he made at the front desk. He had paid for a room and she had wanted to pay for her own, but he pulled her away from the counter by the hand he still held in his after helping her out of the car, not giving her the chance to get a word in with the receptionist.

The hotel room was nothing like the High Tower but it was decent enough, with one large bed centered against the wall. It was made to perfection with warm yellow sheets. The room had two huge windows and warm lighting.

Viola set her backpack down and looked around the room, then looked at the single bed, then looked at Sebastian, who was standing near the window with his arms folded against his chest, the warm breeze coming in from the open window ruffling his silver hair.

"There is only one bed," she stated. "I thought there would be twin beds, like it was written on the signboard in the reception area."

"Unfortunately, there are no twin beds in this room," he replied without looking at her.

"Then can you pay for another room?" she questioned.

"This is the last available room in the hotel. We are not the only travelers. Every other room is occupied for the night," he said, finally turning from the window to look at her with that infuriatingly calm expression of his that sometimes unnerved her. "Unless you would prefer to sleep on the floor, a single bed is what we have here."

"I would prefer to sleep in peace, just like I have been sleeping in peace for the past five days without you in Silver," Viola said, gritting her teeth. Because no matter what she told herself, or how many times she had reminded herself not to care, she was still quietly, stubbornly angry that he had stayed away for five full days without so much as coming to see her while she was awake, not even as his wife, but as the friends they were.

Yeah, she was trying to stay away from him to protect herself, but he didn’t know that and should have come. But he hadn’t, because he was probably enjoying himself with his other mate and now he wants to share a bed with her.

Sebastian’s amusement faded slowly as he caught the flash of real anger on her face. Knowing her and her temper as well as he was beginning to, he recognized it was wiser to let the teasing go for tonight.

"You can sleep in peace. I will stay on my side." He said calmly.

"Your side." She repeated flatly. "You mean the side that is directly connected to my side because it is one bed."

"Viola."

"Sebastian."

He stared at her. She stared back.

The silence stretched thin and taut between them, and then Sebastian gave in with a sigh, a small smile moving the corner of his lips upward.

"Are you always this difficult, or do you reserve this specifically for me?" he asked, his tone softer this time around than it had been before. "I feel like you always try to argue with me. We haven’t agreed on a lot of things."

Viola blinked, and then despite the anger that lived inside her, the distance she had been carefully trying to maintain, and the walls she had been quietly rebuilding brick by brick, she felt the reluctant pull of a smile threatening the corner of her own mouth.

"I reserve nothing for you because you always end up annoying me regardless," she said, but it came out with considerably less bite than she had intended it to carry.

Sebastian watched her fight the smile, and something in his chest loosened in a way it hadn’t in days. He moved away from the window and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning his elbows on his knees and looking across the room at her.

"Will you sit down? You are making me tired just watching you stand there wanting to argue with me. I don’t want to argue with you tonight. I want us to sleep and rest peacefully tonight; we still have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow."

Viola didn’t want to argue either. In fact, she didn’t have the energy, nor did she want her jealousy to push her further into ruining the fragile, friendly mood between them. Hence, she sat down on the opposite edge of the bed with as much dignity as she could pull together and folded her hands in her lap.

The silence came back.

It was still Viola who broke the silence, because the way he was looking at her from across the bed was making her deeply self conscious, his eyes moving over her like he was studying her and trying to quietly figure her out, and she couldn’t sit still under that gaze for long.

"I should take a shower." She said quietly, getting up from the bed, and before he could say a single thing she disappeared into the adjoining bathroom with her backpack in hand and pulled the door shut behind her.

By the time Viola came back out, Sebastian was lying on the bed, flat on his back with his eyes closed, his arms bent and one hand supporting the back of his head. His shirt was unbuttoned, and he looked so relaxed that she stopped to gawk at the tattooed chest exposed before her and the long pant-clad legs that stretched across the bed down to his bare feet, where his shoes had been removed and neatly set at the side.

She had noticed how he was a meticulous person who liked to set his shoes at the right angle and leave everything in order, and even the way he was lying there, relaxed like a cat basking in the sun, she couldn’t help but be mesmerized. It always amazed her how he looked like a perfect sculpture, especially with the intricate snake tattoo scales decorating his skin.

Viola felt her throat go dry as the urge to put her hand against his visible abs consumed her, reminding her of the oil massage she had once given him. He looked so gorgeous that it was hard to believe a real man was lying there. But as if sensing her gaze, he opened his closed eyes and turned to look in her direction.

Viola became visibly flustered, and she quickly looked away from him in embarrassment at being caught staring. She hurriedly moved her feet to walk forward, clearing her throat as she did so.

Sebastian’s eyes glimmered quietly as he watched his wife cross the room dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and matching pants as her sleepwear, her black hair thick and loose around her face.

He had been aware of her looking at him and had kept his eyes closed, letting her look her fill. He belonged to her anyway, and very soon he hoped she would have the wolf to sense every torture she always put him through, even without her trying. Her scent alone was torture, and he had to fight with immense strength to resist the urge of wanting to claim her every time.

He and his wolf had already agreed a very long time ago that he would allow Viola into his life without giving her a permanent mark, and that was why he had ever allowed her to participate in the competition. But now even he was suffering from the constant battle of restraining himself from claiming her completely.

Viola pursed her lips under the weight of his gaze burning into her. "Why do you keep staring at me like that?" She whispered self-consciously, not used to anyone looking at her in such a sustained way. Was there something on her face? She thought with a small scowl, resisting the urge to touch her cheek.

Sebastian replied quietly, "Nothing. I just like looking at you. And if I told you the real reason I stare, you wouldn’t believe me anyway." He mused, his eyes not leaving her face.

She wouldn’t believe she was beautiful. Wouldn’t believe there was something genuinely fascinating to look at in the particular way her face was put together, the color of her eyes and the perfect set of her lips. Those lips that he had already tasted more than once and hadn’t stopped thinking about since. Her kissable lips.

Viola didn’t like where this topic was heading and moved quickly to change it. "If we are going to be around each other for the next few days, let’s make things more comfortable between us and argue less." She said, setting her backpack down beside the bed.

Sebastian shrugged. "Fine with me. I don’t have a problem with that."

"Then let’s start by actually getting to know each other properly." She said, walking around to sit on the other side of the bed with his eyes following her the entire way.

"What is it you don’t know about me?" Sebastian asked, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth at the fact that she was finally talking to him without looking for a fight in every word.

"Many things. Small things about you."

Sebastian turned his head to look at the side of her face. "What kind of small things? You have to be specific, Viola."

She shrugged one shoulder, still not quite looking at him even while his intense gaze burned steadily against the side of her face. "The kind of things that people who share a last name should probably know about each other."

He was quiet for a moment, and then he said, "Ask then."