Page 13 of Snapdragon

“Yes!” She looks relieved, the poor thing. “Umm… well… the label asked me to take a photo of you for your socials. In the car I mean.”

She looks between us both. “They’ve given me instructions on how it should look, too.”

Sebastian makes no attempt to move, or even acknowledge poor Matilda. So I stand up as much as I can and brush myself off.

“I presume you want us together?” I ask her.

“Yes, please. If you wouldn’t mind sitting next to Sebastian.” I move closer and sit next to him. We’re not touching, but I can feel the heat emanating from him.

“If you could lounge back, Sebastian. Drape your arm across the seat behind Flora.” She instructs, and he does as he is told, surprisingly. I want to lean into his warmth and it’s taking everything I have not to.

“Perfect. Now, Flora, could you scooch a little closer?” I do so, pressing my side against him fully. I can feel him everywhere, even in the places we’re not touching.

“Turn in to face him fully,” I angle myself more towards him. “That’s it. And now put your hand on his cheek.”

Matilda moves to guide me into place, and Sebastian’s head whips around to glare at her, a short rumble in his chest. Her hand freezes mid way, before she pulls it away altogether. What the fuck? All I can gather from that is that he doesn’t want her to touch me? What, did he think that being Human was contagious?

I barely remember my instruction and move my hand up to rest on the side of his face. My thumb brushes against the patch of scales there, the texture smoother than I expected. They are more so firm and soft rather than hard or rough.

“Stretch your arm out, as if you’re taking the photo.” She instructs Sebastian once my hand is in place. I realize now that they want it to look like he’s taking a selfie while I’m nearly draped over his lap.

His whole presence is firm, and hot, and big. I can feel my nipples hardening and I am so grateful for the thick panels of this corset.

“Can you both look at each other please?”

I shift my view up, trying to avoid his eyes. My hand looks so small against his cheek. I may try, but they can’t be avoided forever. One small glance and my eyes are locked onto his. I didn’t get to look at his eyes properly the first time we met. Now I have the chance to study them in detail. I hear Matilda working away with her photo taking, but I hardly notice. His eyes glow, but the bright green isn’t as one dimensional as I first thought. There are flecks of so many shades of green in there too. His slit pupils don’t throw me off kilter this time either, and I can appreciate the beauty in them now.

Matilda sighs, “Can you smile, Flora?”

I instantly plaster an open-mouthed smile on my face, like I’m laughing at something funny Sebastian said. I follow directions pretty easily, sometimes I just do it without thinking. This was one of those times.

“Perfect! That’s it. I’m going to send that to you now, Sebastian, and you can post it to your socials.” I’m kicked right out of my daydream, straight into reality as Sebastian pulls away from me.

“Keep that up on the red carpet, you two.”

The car pulls to a stop and I can hear the uproar of a crowd outside. I blink slowly, trying to regain my composure. I don’t get that chance though. Sebastian rises, and the door is opened.

I’m surprised at how his demeanor changes. He gives me a charming smile, holding out his hand to me. I let him guide me out of the car and am shocked further when his hand caresses my lower back.

“Don’t forget to smile, Sunshine.” His deep voice carries to me on a whisper. I need to hold in a whimper at the sound, my thighs clenching together as I put on my best smile.

The camera flashes are overwhelming as I try to look up at him like I actually want to be here. Everyone else arriving has been abandoned by the press, who’s only focus is now on Sebastian and I. It’s overwhelming. Admittedly, the only thing grounding me in this moment is Sebastian’s hand on my back, guiding me forward and to the event.

The staff don’t know what to do with us.

I had been so nervous and overwhelmed since this was sprung on me earlier today, that I hadn’t really thought about the logistics. It seems the label hadn’t either. In fact, I don’t think anyone at the event knew that we would be arriving together.

This isn’t done. Monsters and Humans don’t mix like this. There’s a standard set of rules for when events like these occur. Those rules include two different red carpets, one for the Humans and one for the Monsters.

The staff for the event are still looking at us with confusion as we make our way through the paparazzi.

“We can go to the Monster side,” I suggest to Sebastian. We’ve lost Matilda in the commotion already.

“No.” He grunts. “I will go with you to the Humans. It’s much safer.”

That’s all he says to me as he guides me forward. He instructs the staff in clipped tones and they all bend over themselves to help us.

We are directed to stand in line now, a brief reprieve from the press ensuing. Red carpets still surprise me. I used to see the photos in magazines and online, and think that it looked so glamorous and fun. In reality? It was just a lot of famous people, all lined up together like cattle, waiting to get their picture taken to be allowed inside.