Black Horse (John Seed x Reader)

chapter sixteen

John woke up that morning confused. His tired eyes fluttered open, an annoyed grunt escaping his throat when bright sunlight streamed into his bedroom. He always closed the curtains before going to bed so that he could sleep later in the morning.

As he started to get out of bed to close the shades, a tired groan sounded beside him. His squinted eyes immediately shot open in surprise, peering at the pillow to his left. As soon as his gaze landed on you, the memories of last night came rushing back into his head.

John's jaw hung open in shock, remembering your intense anger towards him the day before. You pushed that aside to help him with his stupid and childish nightmares, and the unfamiliar feeling of gratitude surged through his heart.

The man laid back down by your side, completely forgetting about the annoying sunlight that woke him from his beauty rest. His rough fingers gently brushed the hair out of your face, tucking it loosely behind your ear. Your eyelids fluttered ever so slightly, and he assumed you were probably in your third dream by now.

He contemplated kissing you for a moment, but the fear of waking you up stopped him. But, with your lips pursed and your cheeks flushed from sleep... you were irresistible to John. His fingertips brushed your earlobe as he gazed at you for a moment, whispering softly, "Angel."

It was never something he would call you (or even think about calling you) while you were awake due to his overwhelming pride (and how ironic it would be to call the biggest sinner of Hope County an angel). However, John always believed that it was best to tell people things when they were asleep. It was like a practice round. A chance to let something off of your chest without upsetting the person.

When he was a child, John would sit beside Jacob's bed and tell him that he loved him. He feared that if those certain words were muttered too loud, it would surely result with a fist to the stomach. He learned from an early age that the world had no place for softies... John became a man too young, too soon.

The Baptist shook his head, shoving the memories out of his thoughts. Carefully lifting the covers off of him, John got out of bed to go and take a shower. He knew he smelled like sweat, but he also didn't want to wash your scent from last night off of his body...

***

You awoke to the sound of running water, your mouth opening wide for a long yawn. You stretched your arms out in the middle of the bed, relishing the subtle musk of John radiating off of the sheets.

Your eyes fluttered open when the noise of the water stopped. Your eyes scanned the room and found a door that you assumed led to the bathroom. The door opened to reveal John surrounded by steam, his skin tinged pink from the hot water of his shower.

A towel was wrapped around his waist, leaving his torso completely exposed. John pushed his wet hair back and away from his face, showing you a genuine smile as he strolled out of the bathroom. "Hey," he spoke in a calm and gentle tone, making a smile of your own appear on your lips.

"Hi," you muttered, your mind too occupied on John's body to even comprehend what was going on. You blamed the heat from the steamy shower for the sudden sweat forming on your palms and your slight light-headedness.

"Did I wake you?" John raised an innocent eyebrow, opening his closet to reveal multiple identical dress shirts lined in rows. You shook your head slowly, your eyes running down the indentions of his back when he turned around to pick out an outfit.

Suddenly, John unravels the towel tied to his hips and drops it to the floor. Your eyes go wide as you tried to avert your eyes away from him, gasping in shock, "John!" The man simply chuckles as you hide your bright red face in the covers, "What? It's not like you haven't seen it before."

"You're disgusting!" You shrieked, grabbing one of the pillows from his bed and chucking it towards the Baptist. He tilted his head back in laughter, showing you a mischievous grin, "That's not what you were saying two nights ago."

You gasped at his words, appalled. "You take that back," you tried to hide your smile, grabbing yet another pillow and tossing it his way. John blocked your throw with one hand while trying to buckle his belt around his jeans with the other. The Baptist shook his head, flicking his tongue out at you for a quick second, "Make me."

"Oh, I'll make you alright," you snarled playfully, jumping out of bed to chase the man around the room. He chuckled in delight as he threw his wet towel at you, laughing hysterically when it hit your face. You lunged at him, pushing John backwards and making him lose his balance.

The Baptist fell on to the bed, grabbing your wrist at the last minute and pulling you down with him. You landed on top of him, hovering over the man as you two giggled. You then noticed that his bare chest was still burning hot from the shower with a few water droplets occupying some patches of his skin.

You weren't laughing anymore. Instead, the two of you were practically panting on top of one another from your abrupt sprinting. You noticed John's gaze flicker down to your lips, his hand reaching up and twirling a strand of your hair between his fingers.

You contemplated closing the small gap between the two of you, but your fingertips skimmed across the tattoo of SLOTH on his chest before you could make a decision. It made you think about your own sins that were etched on to your body, and the haunting memory of the commercial came flooding back to you.

You scrambled off of the man, the anger you felt before settling back into your bones. John sighed deeply, digging his fingers painfully into his hair before standing up from the bed.

He seemed to understand your sudden resentment towards him, realizing that the precious moments of last night were over. John now had to face the consequences of his actions from yesterday. It was now time to make things right.

Holding out a hand to you, John tried to show you a smile, "Come on." You glanced behind your shoulder, furrowing your brow at his gesture. The man shrugged, motioning to the bright sunlight outside of his bedroom window.

"You could use some fresh air."

oh my. people, prepare yourselves for the next few chapters. they are some of my faves and i cant wait for you to see them. tell me your predictions and i may let you know if you're on to something ;)