"Goodbye, Sebastian." He turned to leave, his face unreadable. It was in that half second before he was gone that I surrendered. My hands scrambled for his coat sleeve as I tried to pull him back inside.
"No… NO."
He turned to look at me, and I could see him smiling. "No?" he asked, his voice smooth. "No what?"
"Don't leave," I said, my voice breaking. I was undone by this man as I'd never been before. "Please-"
His hand stung my cheek as he hit me- hard. I stumbled back and he loomed over me. "You're getting soft, Sebastian," he told me cooly. "I will not tolerate weakness; you know what it does to a career with me. You will do as I have asked you to BECAUSE I asked you to, understand?"
I stood, wiping the blood from my lip. "This was never about that," I said sharply. "You know that I'll do what needs to be done."
He smiled his adder's smile and turned away from me. "Indeed it was not," he said softly, and shut the door behind him