A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for catching up on the new chapter. I'm so happy with all the positive feedback I've gotten over the last week or so. Haven't had time to reply to some of you yet because my life's been pretty crazy in the last few days but what I'm doing isn't important. It's what's next up for Cassandra and Sebastian who have gotten caught up in this whirlwind romance neither of them had planned on in the beginning.

This might be a chapter some of you have really been waiting for. *Wink!

Please vote and comment! It means a lot to me to know what you think. =)

***

"What? Why are you looking at me with such a disapproving frown?" I demanded as came down the stairs where Sebastian was waiting.

"That dress is too... enticing," he answered, rubbing his chin. "Find something else to wear."

I glanced down at the lemon yellow sundress I was wearing—the same one I was wearing when I first arrived at Cove Manor—and looked back up at him in disbelief. "It's an old sundress with nothing inappropriate about it."

"I don't want that college boy to be ogling you while we're at the bookstore, okay?" he muttered in exasperation. "I would hate to have to throw him out of his own store but that's what I'm going to do if his eyes linger on you for far too long."

I burst out laughing. "Sebastian Vice, you will do no such thing! You're a grown up, civilized man—most of the time."

A grin tugged at his lips from my teasing. "Yup, today may be one of those few, rare days when I let my neanderthal show."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the car he had parked out by the entrance while I was getting dressed. "Don't be silly. Let's go. I want to start book shopping!"

We took a black Range Rover to the shopping center this time—it was the least conspicuous car in the garage—aware that he was supposed to still lay low.

He was wearing khaki shorts, a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, dark aviator sunglasses and a black baseball cap. It was enough to make him look vague but I took care not to walk too close to him in case he was recognized but that plan flew out of the window when he grabbed my hand and entwined his fingers with mine, keeping me close to his side as we walked past the stores.

Dover's was at a corner of a busy intersection with an old-fashioned, wood-framed glass facade, its name written in gold script across the brick-red metal awning that hovered over the sidewalk.

The chimes sounded when we came in and from the elevated platform across the store where the till was located, a tall woman with short blond hair turned and smiled at me.

I smiled and waved at Francine, Ty's mother, and pulled Sebastian to the used books section.

"You don't have to buy used ones, you know?" he said as he followed me down the aisle.

"Oh, but I love old books!" I gushed, lifting a couple from the shelves. "Besides, I'm not letting you buy more than the seventy bucks I spent on food so this way, I get more for my money."

He just sighed and rolled his eyes.

I wandered around the aisles for a few minutes, leaving Sebastian to peruse an old, hardbound volume that caught his interest. I left him the basket full of books I've already selected as I hunted for a couple last ones.

I walked past two tall blondes discussing lunch and headed for the classics section.

"Cassie."

I turned and saw Ty standing behind me in track pants and a gray Georgetown shirt, his blond hair falling over his forehead, his lips curved into a charming smile.

"Ty!"

"My mother said you were in," he said, glancing at the books I had tucked in my arms. "I was in the back sorting through the shipment. What are you looking for? Maybe I can help."

"Thanks but I'm almost done here actually," I told him, returning his smile. "How have you been?"

He shrugged. "Busy here, as usual. How have you been? I haven't seen or heard from you since that night of the concert. Was it that bad?"

I flushed at his question, remembering the kiss we shared by the gates.

"No, of course not!" I protested. "It's just..."

"I'm sorry if I took you by surprise that night," he went on with a wince. "You just looked so beautiful in the moonlight and I really like—"

"Are you ready, Cassandra?"

We both jumped at Sebastian's low growl of a question and turned to see him standing at the end of the aisle, glaring at Ty.

"Almost," I chirped, smiling nervously.

I knew I wasn't doing anything wrong with Ty but the menace in Sebastian's eyes was enough to make me squirm.

"Give me five minutes," I told him with a pleading expression turned away from Ty. "I'll meet you at the till."

He glanced at me and then back at Ty before folding his arms across his chest. "I think I'll wait right here."

I glared at him and turned back to Ty with a sweet smile. "I'm sorry, Ty. I can't stay long to chat but I'm glad to see you. Don't worry about that, uh, that night of the concert. I'm not mad at you or anything. I've been busy too and I came down with a flu."

Ty's narrowed gaze moved from Sebastian and back to me. "Are you better now?"

I nodded. "Yes, definitely. Anyway, I really need to—"

"Are you with him, Cass?" he blurted out in a hushed voice.

I glanced nervously over my shoulder and saw that Sebastian was still standing there waiting although he was now distracted by the two tall, slim blondes I saw earlier. They were in tank tops and denim cut offs, beaming and batting their lashes at him while twirling their hair.

Irritation slashed through me and my fists unconsciously clenched.

"Cass?" Ty prodded, drawing my attention back to him.

I pressed my lips together into a tight smile. "It's complicated, Ty."

He studied me for a moment. "He's a little too old for you."

I never told Ty my age but I grew a little wary at the conclusions he could arrive at.

The truth was, Sebastian did look older—in a way that a man in his prime would.

The wisdom in his eyes was that of an old soul who'd seen too much, too early but lately, he seemed younger—smiling and laughing often, as sweet and tender as any young guy could be.

I'd often forget we had quite a few years between us.

"Were you somehow forced into this?"

"What? No!" I stared at him in shock. "What kind of question is that?"

"A necessary one considering the guy you're involved with," he muttered, glancing at Sebastian's direction again. "The last time I saw him, he wasn't very nice to you."

I shrugged. "He was just, uh... a little jealous at that time."

"I guess he would be too now except that he's too busy with those Swede models." Ty's voice dripped with sarcasm. "You should probably go, Cassie."

I bit my lip and stared helplessly at his unhappy expression.

I reached out and touched his arm and he glanced at it for a second before meeting my gaze.

"I'm sorry, Ty," I said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

He sighed and patted my hand before moving his arm away. "It's alright, Cassie. I just want you to be happy. If he's the key to that, then by all means. But if he makes you cry, I'll break his face."

I grinned. "Ah, but you'd pity him once I'm done hurting him back."

Ty's face broke into a grin. "I almost believe you. I'll see you around, Cassie. Better take your man out of here before all our female customers start slobbering all over his feet."

I waved at him as he turned to leave before pivoting around to march for Sebastian who was still talking with the two female blondes.

Gad, they do look like Swede models.

"Hey," I said with a thin smile, raising a brow at the two girls who towered over me. In fact, between the four of us, I felt like an elf.

"Hey," Sebastian greeted with a smile. "I was just helping Erika and Inga here with some English translations. They wanted to ask the owner about some travel books they're looking for. They're from Sweden and they said they don't know much English."

I pursed my lips sardonically. "Really? Sorry, I was certain I heard them talk about lunch earlier in perfectly good English but then I must've been so distracted fucking around with Ty in the back aisle that I must be mistaken."

Sebastian visibly flinched, his skin paling under his tan.

Even the two blondes gasped, leaving no doubt that they understood me perfectly.

I wasn't really sure what made me say that but I was just so angry.

"Cassandra," Sebastian warned, his voice low and dangerous.

I flashed him a sweet smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure you were too busy translating for these two lovely ladies to notice. Shall we go or should I go ahead and leave you here to further their much-needed English education with your expert mouth and hands?"

"Pardon us, ladies," Sebastian said with a forced smile at our audience. "I'm afraid my girlfriend is getting a little uncomfortable with the heat in here."

One of the blondes gave me a snide look before reaching out to press a palm on Sebastian's chest.

"Get your hands off him," was my quiet but deadly warning, delivering the girl the full impact of my possibly murderous glare. "If you don't, I will break every bone in them. Understood?"

The two blondes glanced at each other and backed away, muttering yes.

Once they were gone, Sebastian turned to me with a dark scowl.

"What?" I demanded, itching for a fight. "Did I go too far? Are you the only one allowed to be jealous?"

His lips twitched. "You're jealous."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, I don't know, genius. Maybe I just enjoy handing out threats of bodily harm to random females who are eye-fucking you."

"Twice you've said the dirty word," he said with a wince although he now wore a slightly amused expression. "You must be really pissed. I was just talking to them. It helped distract me from wanting to rip off your college boy's arms after you touchedhim."

I reddened at that and puffed my chest. "I hurt him. I was just telling him I was sorry."

"While he's eye-fucking you."

"That's it, I'm leaving," I blustered, angrily shoving him out of the way. "Go after your blond babes. Maybe they can have you for lunch."

"Not so fast, sweet," he said, catching my elbow and pulling me back to him. "I don't care about the blondes. I've had models for lunch and I'm not interested in the same dish."

"You are disgusting," I hissed, punching his arm when he wouldn't let me go.

"But you love me," he said softly, grinning down at me. "And you were jealous."

I shot him a taunting look. "You called me your girlfriend."

He shrugged. "It wasn't the most accurate term but it was close enough to make my point."

I blew the hair out of my face and sagged in his arms. "Those two girls looked like they didn't believe you. I'll just poke their eyes out next time without a courtesy warning."

He laughed and rubbed his nose against my cheek. "Ah, you really are bloodthirsty, my darling. You looked like a fiery warrior princess earlier, thrusting your chin up and daring those two girls to fight you."

I couldn't help a smile. "I felt badass."

He just laughed more and kissed me hungrily, his arms wrapped around my waist.

We broke off at someone clearing his throat and we saw an elderly gentleman glaring at us from the aisle across.

I giggled and grabbed the basket of books, shoving a grinning Sebastian towards the till.

He paid for the books, chatted quickly with Francine about business and carried out our two bags of purchases.

We deposited the books in the car and went to a local bistro and had some gourmet pizza for lunch. Afterwards, we went for a stroll around the shops where I had to protest several times to keep him from buying me stuff.

The only thing I accepted was a small bouquet of pink and yellow daisies he bought from a sidewalk vendor.

He handed the flowers to me with a small, hardbound book he had apparently purchased from Dover's when I wasn't looking. It looked to be the same one he'd been reading while waiting for me.

It was The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was one of my favorite books.

"What's the book for?" I asked, looking up to him in surprise.

He smiled and opened the book to a page.

"The little prince went off to see the roses again.

'You're not at all like my rose; you're nothing special yet,' he told them. 'Nobody has tamed you and you haven't tamed anyone. My fox used to be like you. He was just a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I made him my friend, and now he's absolutely unique.'

And the roses felt very uncomfortable.

'You are beautiful, but you are empty,' he added. 'Nobody would die for you. Of course, any ordinary person walking past my rose would think that she was just like you. But she is much more important than all of you put together, because she's the one I watered. She's the one I sheltered under a glass dome, she's the one I protected with the screen. She's the one whose caterpillars I killed (except for the two or three for the butterflies). She's the one I listened to complaining, or boasting, or even sometimes being silent. Because she's my rose.'"

I smiled softly, my eyes prickling, as Sebastian closed the book and lowered it.

"Are you saying you've tamed me and I've tamed you?" I asked teasingly as he cupped my face and brushed a thumb across my cheek.

"None of the other roses matter to me, Cassandra," he murmured, lightly pressing his lips against mine. "None of them will ever mean to me as much as you do. Because you're my rose—well, my daisy in this case."

I laughed and kissed him more as my insecurities melted like ice in the summer sun.

There will always be women who'd want him but he was assuring me that I was the one he wanted.

What did that mean?

Was he giving me his heart?

Was he saying he loved me?

And if he did, was there anything for us once summer was over?

***

The day before my birthday was pretty tense.

I spent it out on the garden working on the plants while Sebastian cloistered himself in his office for most of the day.

As much as I'd missed his company, I was glad he wasn't there when I got the email reply from the university about my application for financial aid.

I was declined due to the family's substantial income which was based from a year ago, just after my aunt and uncle died and Timothy was yet to squander the money. I wasn't surprised but my heart grew heavy. The only other applications I'd applied for were for privately funded scholarships and bursaries. They based acceptance on academic merit and I had good grades and recommendations. I crossed my fingers that there weren't too many geniuses ahead of me.

I tried to push the matter out of my mind and focused instead on my plans tomorrow.

Sebastian had mentioned taking me out for dinner so I didn't worry about the food. I was intent on what was going to happen after dinner.

I didn't have anything new or nice to wear so I went to the linen room where a sewing machine was stationed and worked on a cranberry-red dress Timothy had stuffed into my suitcase. It was an old one but didn't get worn much because of the small hole in one of the cup sleeves from Timothy's cigarette when I came home from a party once and he was staggering drunk.

I cut the sleeves and restitched the neckline until it resembled a tube top dress with a heart neckline. It was fitting on the bodice and flared into a full skirt which I shortened so it was only skimming the lower part of my thighs.

I tried it on and was satisfied.

It looked grown up, flirty and confident on me—like I was a woman ready for the next stage of her life.

I put it away and cleaned up before knocking on the library door.

He was on the phone, pacing in front of his desk. His hair was messy, his feet bare but even in a shirt and jeans, he looked devilishly handsome especially when he looked up and grinned at me.

"Stan, I'll call you right back," he murmured on the phone before setting it down and leaning against the desk.

"Come here," he said before pulling me into his arms and kissing me thoroughly.

He slowed down and trailed light, moist kisses along the curve of my neck.

"I've missed you."

I smiled and slipped my fingers through his hair. "You saw me two hours ago."

"Which is too long, don't you think?" he asked, his hands spreading flat on each side of my waist, his fingers slowly rubbing my skin through the thin cotton of the tank top I was wearing with my shorts. "I can't imagine the hell I'll be going through when you're out in Philadelphia for college and I'm stuck here."

My breath hitched as he pressed his forehead against mine, his eyes closing.

So he wanted to see this through even once summer was over. Could this paradise really extend to the real world?

"I'm sure we'll work something out," I told him, rubbing his ear gently between my fingers. "There are things like long weekends and holidays."

He looked up, frowning and pouting like an adorable six-year-old. "Those are far and few throughout the year. No, that will not suffice."

I shrugged helplessly.

"Does it have to be UPenn?" His eyes were pleading. "Maybe you could study closer to here. There's a lot of universities in this side of the country."

I sighed. "Sebastian, I just can't change major plans like that. I've already been accepted. I haven't even applied to any of the schools here in the west coast. I'm sorry."

He exhaled sharply, looking a little petulant. "It's alright. There are other ways. I can always move to Philadelphia."

My eyes widened. "What? Sebastian, no, you can't be serious."

He smiled and kissed me softly on the mouth. "But darling, I am serious about us. I can't let you go. If I have to be creative to be with you, I will be. Don't worry about it right now. I'll figure something out."

I closed my eyes and kissed him back, my heart in my throat.

This wasn't going to be a summer fling—not when passions flared this hot and feelings ran this deep.

It made me happy, actually—I was scared shitless, of course, but happy nonetheless that I wasn't going to lose him when the days shortened and the cold seeped in.

I didn't say anything but I decided right then and there that if the scholarships didn't pan out, I could transfer to another school in the west coast after the first semester.

He scooped me up and settled me on his lap after sitting down on the long, leather couch, his arm holding me in place as we continued to kiss.

"Touch me," I whispered after a quick intake of breath before leaning forward to suck on his lower lip.

He groaned, his hand lowering from my shoulder but refusing to touch anywhere else where I might catch fire.

Fueled by heat deep in my belly, I straddled his hips, pushing him back against the arm of the couch as I lifted the hem of his shirt and dragged my hands across the hard planes of his chest.

He growled low in his throat as he yanked his shirt off and closed his eyes at my onslaught of heated kisses and touches.