Somewhere Weaknesses Are Strength

Sebastian was shaken from sleep, forced awake by a feminine hand against her shoulder. Groaning, she kept her eyes squeezed shut and swatted blindly at the hand. Her efforts were rewarded. The hand retreated, and didn't pursue a second attack. Sebastian smiled in victory and cuddled further into the pillow under her head. Someone shuffled around the bed chamber, mumbling to herself. Sebastian didn't attempt to decipher the words being said under the person's breath, instead, attempted to drift back to her destroyed dream world. The mumbling stopped, the new silence making it easier for her to re-find sleep. She was on the cusp of reality and the land where surrealism took over.

And mass amounts of weight landed on her waist.

Her eyelids shot open, her mind groggily leaving the world it so desired to be in. The scorching red haired pirate was the first thing her eyes focused on, straddling her waist fully clothed with a smile.

"Morning, sweetheart," Hayley said.

"I'm tired," Sebastian returned, nearly whining the statement.

"Well, you need to wake up."

"Why?"

"So I can kiss you before going to work."

"In your study?"

"Not today."

The answer shook sleep from her mind. Hayley was leaving her for the day? That wasn't acceptable. Sebastian was not okay with the prospect of being separated from the captain for long periods of time. She needed her at the mansion.

"Where are you going?"

"The vineyard."

A pout graced Sebastian's features. That was far away. An hour's travel, if she recalled correctly. She wanted Hayley to stay home with her. After the night they experienced, she wanted to cuddle against Hayley all day. Just cuddle. Didn't Hayley have that Pete guy working as manager? He could take care of things so Hayley could stay home.

But then Hayley would have to make up for time missed somehow.

Hayley's duties were to her business. They weren't completely centered on making Sebastian happy. Sebastian couldn't hold her back from the things she needed to get done.

Didn't mean she wouldn't try.

"You get to stay home, so stop pouting," Hayley said.

"You should stay home."

"I would if I could."

"But you can."

"No, I can't."

"Yes, you can. Get undressed, slip back under the comforter, and casually forget that you were supposed to go in today."

"I can't do that."

This tactic wasn't working. Hayley was supposed to see how easy it was to not go to work and decide that staying home was a better option. She wasn't seeing that beyond her need to take care of her responsibilities.

Damn her one track mind.

Sebastian had another trick in her arsenal, her last planned effort to get Hayley to crawl back in bed. That one track mind of hers would jump of the work rails soon.

Captain still seated on her waist, Sebastian sat up. The comforter pooled around her waist, her breasts exposed to Hayley's eyes. Sure enough, Hayley focused intently on her chest.

Their bodies were close, nearly touching. Sebastian could feel the energy radiating off of Hayley, could feel her want to touch her.

The pirate's reactions weren't hard to predict.

Sebastian ran both hands up her sides and over her breasts. One hand ended its journey on her neck, the other raised in the air. She arched her back in a stretch. Her nipples brushed Hayley's clothing. Hayley bit her lower lip, eyes still glued to the younger female's breasts, and fidgeted forward slightly on her waist.

This was going surprisingly well.

Her mock stretch complete, she let her arms fall behind her, propping her body up and pushing her chest out.

"Are you sure you can't stay?"

Her voice dripped with sexual need and seduction. She forced her face to match, pouting slightly, eyes staring intently at Hayley. To ensure she would pull the act off without flaw, she filled her mind with thoughts of the night before.

Hayley pulled her eyes away from Sebastian's perky breasts to look at her face, the smoothness of her tone catching her attention.

"You're doing this on purpose aren't you?" Hayley asked.

"Maybe. Is it working?"

She ran her tongue over her lips and glanced down at the younger female's breasts. "You don't know how well."

"Does that mean you'll stay?"

The question brought Hayley's mind back to the reason she was trying to wake the princess up in the first place. Sebastian's seduction ploy had been successful until that moment.

Hayley would have to remember the princess knew where to hit in order to distract her.

She sighed, thoughts of work circling her head. "I wish I could."

She did wish she could stay in bed all day, fondling and cuddling her princess. That would be far more enjoyable than going to the vineyards. She did love her work, but Sebastian's body was far more enticing.

The princess let her act fall the moment the words flowed from the Hayley's lips. There was nothing more she could do to keep Hayley near her. Seduction had been her last effort, and seemed to have worked for awhile.

Corners of her mouth turned down, Sebastian ran her hands up and down Hayley's clothed arms. "I won't force you to stay then."

Taken by the want radiating from the princess, Hayley pressed a kiss to Sebastian's forehead. Her efforts to keep her there were adorable in their own right. Sure, touching her body was a tad racy in the realms of the princess' morals, Hayley knew that. But it was cute she was so desperate to keep her there.

"Keep yourself busy and you won't even know I'm gone. Time will fly by."

"When will you be back?"

"By dinner."

Sebastian nodded. She would find some way to remain entertained in the mansion. There were plenty of things she could do for the purpose of keeping her mind from counting down the seconds till Hayley returned.

And she was sure there were things that she needed to do as lady of the house. She just didn't know exactly what they were. This wasn't a role she had been fully bred for. Trained as a ruler and growing up without the presence of her mother, the duties of the lady of the house were foreign to her. She knew the elements of running a country, not household.

It couldn't be that different.

"I'll see you at dinner then," Sebastian said.

"Of course."

"Give me a kiss so you can leave."

The command brought a smile to Hayley's face. She pressed her lips to Sebastian's. Innocent passion filled their movements. Aware that she needed to leave, Hayley forced herself to pull away despite her want to stay near her princess. She opened her mouth to speak but halted at the look in Sebastian's eyes. It wasn't lust this time. This was something she hadn't seen in the younger female's eyes before.

Love.

But Sebastian hardly had her feelings in order. Hayley couldn't bring herself to believe the look was one of such passion. She simply misinterpreted the feelings mixing in her gaze.

That look was hardly one she received often.

"Should I send Holly in with breakfast?" Hayley asked.

"That would be lovely."

Sleep wouldn't come again for awhile. Hayley's kiss and Sebastian's attempted seduction had woken her. Staying awake would be fine. Judging by the light outside of the window, it was well into the late morning. She had things she needed to do during the day, she just didn't know exactly what they were yet.

She'd figure it out.

"I'll do that then. She should be up in a moment. I'll see you soon." Hayley pressed her lips to Sebastian's once more, stood from the bed, and walked across the expanse of the room. At the door, she stopped and turned around, eyes gazing over her still exposed upper half. "One more look to get me through the day."

"Go away so I can miss you, you pervert."

Chuckling, Hayley winked and slipped out of the room. A wave of loneliness swept over Sebastian. The large room felt empty without Hayley's presence. Not being near her was difficult.

Her dependence on Hayley was strange to her. It grew in such a short period of time and was stronger than anything Sebastian had felt. She wasn't sure when it happened, how it happened, but it did. She had never depended heavily on a member of her castle staff, never considered them close enough friends, let alone lovers.

Lover.

The word resonated in Sebastian's brain, bouncing around. It had been a subconscious tag ending to her thought processes, but it meant so much, especially when paired with Hayley. She felt the connection, the passion, with Hayley that she associated with lovers.

And Sebastian wholly accepted the realization. Considering Hayley as such felt right.

Her pixie-like handmaid flitted through the door, bright smile on her face, tray in her hands, disrupting Sebastian's thought processes. She walked to the bedside table and placed the tray on the surface, rattling off the contents. Sebastian didn't pay much attention, knowing, whoever the chefs were, they prepared delicious food.

Oh, she had neglected something very important. Assuming the duties of a ruler and the duties of the lady of the house collided at this point, there was something she desperately needed to.

"Is there anything you'd like to do today?" Holly asked.

"I'd like to meet the estate workers."