Chapter 28 Marfil
We reached my apartment in total silence as I wiped away the stupid tears that would not stop streaming down my face, and felt the rage pounding in my ears, increasing with every second that passed.
I wanted to scream, cry, and break things.
I felt humiliated, as if I were an object that could be handed over to close a deal, someone who didn’t have an opinion or feelings.
Inside my apartment, I tried to dart past Sebastian, but before I could get three steps through the door, he gently grabbed my wrist.
“Marfil…”
“Let me go!” I shouted, totally losing it.
“You left me all alone! With him! How could you?!” I continued shouting, pushing at him over and over.
“You said that if he ever touched me again, you would kill him!” I shoved his chest so hard that it hurt my wrist, still sore from when Marcus had twisted it.
I rubbed the spot where he had dug into me with his nails, breaking the skin.
Sebastian looked down at my hand. “Did he do that to you?” he asked, brimming with latent rage, dropping his mask of self-control.
“Yes!” I shouted, moving away as he tried to touch me. “I called him an asshole and he practically broke my hand. What do you think of that?”
“Let me see.”
“No!” I shouted again.
I had just been reminded of everything I hated about men, and I had betrayed each and every one of my values by not screaming at the top of my lungs when that son of a bitch hurt me.
Why hadn’t I slapped him in the face as soon as those horrible things came out of his mouth?
Why hadn’t I done anything? Out of fear!
I was cowardly; I was weak. I wished I were strong enough to deal with him myself, but I wasn’t. That’s why I had a fucking bodyguard!
“Why did you leave?” I shouted hoarsely, pushing him again.
This time he wrapped his arms around me and held me against his chest, his arms squeezing me tight as his breath came fast in my ear. I knew I could’ve kept hitting him for hours and he wouldn’t have complained, but I stopped because my hand hurt.
“I couldn’t do anything else,” he then said against my head. “I work for him now, understand?”
I froze.
“Do you think I wouldn’t kill him with my bare hands if I didn’t know that standing up to him would mean losing my job and not being able to protect you?”
I took a deep breath, trying to slow my racing heart.
“Do you think I wasn’t repressing the urge to storm into that restaurant and kill him every second I had to stand outside?
” His mouth was in the space between my neck and my ear.
“Tell me exactly what happened,” he demanded, brushing his lips across the most sensitive part of my neck as he noticed that my rage was giving way.
I took another deep breath, trying to find the words. “He bought me, that’s what happened.”
He tensed. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
I felt my body give out, collapsing into his arms. Sebastian held me close as the last of the adrenaline drained from my body, leaving me exhausted.
“My father made a deal with him in order to settle some debts…”
“Did he explain the deal?”
I shook my head. “Marcus just said he was going to help my family because our fathers had been friends for so many years and he just wanted one thing in return: for me to give him another chance.”
Sebastian remained silent.
“This is all so surreal. Now he’s paying my rent, my college tuition, my expenses. It’s as if…”
“You belong to him,” Sebastian practically growled.
I wiggled my way out of his embrace and glared at him, angered by his words. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
Sebastian brushed the hair off my forehead in a gesture that felt like a soothing balm. “Of course not,” he said, looking me in the eye. “Will you let me get a look at those scratches, please?”
I nodded.
He took me into the kitchen and sat me at the island as he looked for the first aid kit. I winced when he lifted my hand and inspected it very carefully, seeming to know what he was doing.
“It’s probably just a minor sprain,” he said, rummaging in the silverware drawer until he found a small wooden spoon, the kind that comes with ice cream. “I can take you to the hospital or I can make a splint for you myself. I’ve done it more than once.”
I nodded, feeling helpless, mistreated, and lower than I’d ever felt in my entire life.
Rico remained seated beside Sebastian during the entire process, never taking his eyes off me.
It was as if he knew something horrible had happened and he needed to be close to protect me or make sure that I was all right.
When Sebastian finished, he brought me a glass of water and a painkiller.
“Drink this,” he ordered, standing behind me, “it’ll help with the pain.”
I nodded and silently swallowed the pill.
Sebastian then examined my cuts and scrapes from the car accident, almost fully healed. He seemed to be fighting a battle inside himself.
When our eyes met, it was as if he understood me completely, as if he could see how destroyed I was.
“I’m sorry,” he said, very serious. “I need you to forgive me.”
I looked down at my hands without a word.
“I never imagined he’d touch you in a public place, and your father came out to—”
“It doesn’t matter,” I cut him off, staring down at my knees.
“Yes, it does matter,” he insisted, gently lifting my chin so he could look me in the eye. “It won’t happen again, Marfil. I promise you.”
I nodded, drawn in by his intense stare, as if he desperately wanted to share all the secrets his eyes held. I caught a glimmer of something unexpected in his gaze, and in a second, his lips were on mine.
His kiss started out gentle, comforting, if only for a moment…
Before I knew it, my hands were moving of their own accord, tugging him closer, demanding more. Everything had changed. This wasn’t like every other kiss. We were devouring each other, completely lost in the moment. And for the first time, Sebastian had kissed me without having to be persuaded.
Seconds later, his tongue slid inside my mouth, causing us both to involuntarily gasp with pleasure. He tugged at my lower lip with his teeth, his hands rubbing my knees, then moving toward my thighs. And when I slipped my hand inside his shirt, he let out a moan that set my entire body on fire.
“I want to kill him,” he said against my lips.
I felt tears sliding down my cheeks, and he wiped them away with his kisses.
“Please don’t cry,” he begged me, gripping the back of my neck as if I were his anchor.
Our mouths met once again, our bodies perfectly in sync, as if we were made to kiss each other for the rest of our lives.
He understood what I was asking of him. I didn’t even need to open my mouth.
His fingers dug into my thigh, and I began to pant.
I needed him to keep going, to continue down that path.
He nuzzled into my neck and left a trail of wet kisses on my shoulder, then started over again.
I began to quiver as his hands slipped under my dress, caressing me.
“This is the way you deserve to be touched, Marfil. As the priceless work of art that you fucking are,” he said, slowly applying pressure against the most sensitive part of my body.
I needed him. I needed him like I needed air to breathe. I let out a moan choked with emotion as my pleasure mounted, and my hips began to grind against his fingers.
“Why are you so quiet?” he asked, kissing along my jawline, his fingers picking up speed against my clit.
“You can do the talking… for once…” I said, panting.
“I should be giving you this pleasure every fucking day,” he said, pulling back and looking me in the eye.
I was soaking wet, about to come, and I closed my eyes in anticipation.
“Look at me,” he demanded, gripping me firmly by the chin with his free hand, slowly sliding a finger inside me.
“More,” I begged.
Sebastian smirked, then did as I asked, inserting another finger. His movements were slow and deliberate at first, teasing. He was taking his time, while I was seeing stars, so close to orgasm. But then he stopped and brought his fingers to his lips.
“You have no idea how delicious you taste.”
“Please, I need you inside me.”
He used one hand to level his body over mine as he whispered, “As you wish.”
Before I had time to even blink, his fingers were back inside me, only this time, he used his thumb to rub my clit as his fingers penetrated me.
“Don’t stop,” I groaned. “Just like that.”
“Open your eyes.”
I did as he said, and all it took was one look from him to make me come. He squeezed my arm as I let out a scream that I’d been holding in for far too long. The waves of pleasure lasted a few infinite seconds until I collapsed against his shoulder, exhausted and panting, relishing in my orgasm.
He nuzzled my neck, and I knew why he’d taken things further.
He wanted to make it up to me, to make up for everything: for rejecting me, for not giving me what I’d been begging him to give me all this time.
But most of all, I knew he was being devoured by guilt over not having gotten me out of that restaurant before Marcus had hurt me.
“This is the point when you usually reject me,” I whispered once we’d both caught our breath.
“I don’t reject you.”
I leaned back to look him in the eye.
“It’s complicated, Marfil,” he then said, his attitude shifting, although still rubbing my back.
Yes, it was.
If it was true that Sebastian now worked for Marcus, being fired would be the least of his problems when that asshole found out there was something between us. It scared me to think what could happen to him. Marcus was dangerous, I now understood, and my father…
“What kind of business is my father involved in with Marcus, Sebastian?”
His fingers stopped moving and his eyes went dark. “I’m not going to answer that.” He removed his hand from my back, and I instantly felt cold, missing his touch.