Chapter 28 Marfil #2
I hopped down from the counter, my legs still shaky, and faced him. “I need to know. This has gone beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined. Do you think I’m an idiot? That I didn’t see the way Marcus behaved this morning?”
“That’s exactly it, Marfil. They’re dangerous people, and it’s better you don’t get involved.”
“Do you include my father in that category?”
Sebastian shot me a questioning glance. “He’s your father; you tell me.”
Of course my father wasn’t dangerous. He was demanding, authoritarian, complicated, but not dangerous! Not at least to the degree Sebastian was insinuating.
“He’s my father, yes, and I love him, even if he’s gotten himself into trouble. But I don’t think I need to be afraid of him.”
Sebastian rested his hands on the kitchen counter and looked at me for a few seconds without saying a word.
“I guess it makes sense for you to trust him. He’s your father.”
I didn’t like his tone.
“Don’t be condescending with me,” I said, stepping back and leaning against the opposite counter.
He came over to me and cradled my face in his hands. “I’m not,” he said in a calming tone. “I’m being totally serious.”
I avoided his gaze and stared at the wall behind him. “There’s a difference between being dangerous and being involved in dangerous dealings,” I said.
His brown eyes glistened. “I agree with you there.”
We looked at each other for a few seconds, and then he took my bandaged hand and kissed it.
“Everything’s going to be all right,” he said, transmitting a calm that I now know he didn’t feel.
“I don’t want to see him ever again, Sebastian,” I said in a trembling voice. “I don’t want him to touch me or even look at me ever again. The way he spoke to me…”
Sebastian took a deep breath to steady his emotions and hugged me like he knew I needed him to. “Don’t worry,” he said, smoothing my hair, “everything’s going to be all right.”
We spent the rest of the day at home. I tried to get ahead on schoolwork while taking breaks to play with Rico.
Sebastian seemed more somber than usual, which I could understand, but I was happy about our moment of closeness, feeling like we’d turned a corner with our relationship.
I still felt an unfamiliar mixture of disgust and fear every time I thought about Marcus, but at least Sebastian was there to give me a hug and make me feel better every single time.
That night, I knocked on his door. He told me to come in, and I found him punching his punching bag, without gloves, shirtless, seemingly so full of rage that I wondered if seeking him out had been a good idea…
But when he saw me, he picked up a towel and wiped it across his face without taking his eyes off me, coming to a halt where I stood.
Without warning, he bent down and kissed me, while his hands gripped my waist and pressed my back against the wall.
He was furious, and I didn’t understand what could have happened, apart from the events that morning, to make him feel that way.
I could feel how aroused he was as he lifted the back of my dress and slipped it over my head, leaving me naked except for the little black bra and panties I was wearing. My breathing picked up as his hands were on my skin.
“What happened?” I asked, almost breathless, as he kissed my neck and jaw. “Sebastian,” I whispered as he brushed his free hand over my soaking-wet underwear.
“Don’t talk, Marfil,” he said quietly, shutting me up with a deep kiss.
I ran my hands up his back and chest, until I reached his neck, then pulled him to me and enjoyed the warmth of his lips, the caress of his tongue… so intimate that I melted in his arms.
He lifted me and carried me over to the couch, positioning me on top of him, and continued kissing me, although at a calmer pace. He seemed to gain control of himself as his caresses became gentler.
I wasn’t sure I liked the change in intensity.
“Can I talk now?” I whispered in his ear, kissing his lobe.
He grunted as I stuck my tongue in his ear, taking in the salty taste of his skin.
“I’ll let you do whatever you want today, Elephant.” He sighed, burying his hand in my long dark hair and pulling it back gently to meet my gaze. “You know I’d do this all day if I could, right?” he said, sitting up until the tips of my hard nipples brushed against his incredible pecs.
“You have my permission,” I said, marveling at his handsomeness, his strength and masculinity. God, I was so attracted to him, it drove me crazy…
He leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, as I admired his square jawline and his Adam’s apple. I wanted to kiss him again and never stop.
“How is your hand feeling?” he asked after letting out a deep sigh.
I looked down and started fiddling with the splint.
“Stop, don’t mess with it,” he scolded me. “And put this on.” He handed me his T-shirt.
“First you get me naked and now you want to put clothes on me?” I said as he slid the shirt over my head, ignoring my weak attempts to push him away.
“I lost my head. I’m sorry,” he said, helping me into the sleeves.
I observed him, feeling something very different from the desire I felt only minutes ago. My God, I loved him. I loved him, and I couldn’t do anything to protect myself from that feeling.
“Can I ask you something?”
Sebastian let out a breath, then nodded.
“How old were you when you married Samara?”
My question took him by surprise; it took me by surprise, too, to be honest. But I needed to understand his past and what had compelled Sebastian to get married. I needed to know whether he’d truly gotten over her, what the hell had happened…
“I was twenty and she was eighteen,” he answered.
Wow… he’d been my age.
“Why didn’t it work out?”
Sebastian ran a hand over his face, frustrated. “Apart from the fact that we were so young?” he asked but did not wait for a response. “I don’t know, Marfil, I did things… I made decisions that affected us both, and everything just went to hell…”
I thought for a few seconds about his response.
“Why does she think you’re dangerous?”
Sebastian fixed his eyes on me. “I already told you I was raised in foster care, and Samara was, too, so we’ve both been through things…
” He paused for a second, then went on, “You could say there was a time when we moved in environments that weren’t suitable for kids…
That leaves its marks… It can affect your character and judgment,” he continued, distractedly caressing my leg.
“The way you see me now, I had to do a lot of work on myself to gain this level of self-control…”
“It’s hard to imagine you any different,” I said as he fell silent. “The Sebastian I know is obsessed with self-control…”
“The military helped me tame that part of myself, although I’d be lying if I said I never lose control and go back to…”
I recalled the scene he’d made in the car and understood what he was talking about. “Being scary?”
Our eyes met.
“Do I scare you?” he asked worriedly.
I shook my head, even though deep down I knew I was lying; he had scared me that time in the car.
“Although… knowing you could kill someone with only one hand is kind of terrifying,” I said jokingly.
He smiled.
“You could teach me,” I added immediately.
The smile faded from his face. “I still question whether teaching you self-defense was a good idea.”
“What if someone tries something like this again?” I said, lifting my hand with a frown.
Sebastian clenched his jaw. “Go for their eyes,” he said simply, before adding, “Jab your thumbs into their eye sockets until you perforate their brain.”
I shuddered.
“Too much for you?”
“Man…” I began, and he smiled again.
“You should go to bed, it’s late.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be a party pooper,” I replied. “Should we watch a movie?”
Sebastian looked as if he was wondering how we’d gotten here. Something as simple as sitting on the couch to watch TV meant an enormous shift in our relationship.
“And then you’ll go straight to bed?”
I thought about it. “Only if you let me pick the movie.”
I climbed off his lap reluctantly and reached for his laptop, which was lying on the table.
His hand flew out and picked it up before I got the chance. “Give me a second.” He closed the tabs so quickly that I wasn’t able to see anything, except for one name: Lucas Miranda. “What do you want to watch?”
I took his laptop, smiling, and searched for the movie.
“You’re going to love it…”
We settled onto the couch. I set the laptop on the coffee table, making sure we could both see, then wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his chest. He didn’t seem perturbed by the way I curled up next to him, invading his personal space.
The music began, and I instantly got goose bumps.
“Seriously, Marfil?” he asked, and I couldn’t help but smile. “The Bodyguard?”
“You can’t tell me it’s not funny…” I said, holding back laughter. “It’s one of my favorite movies.”
The movie started, and Sebastian began to run his fingers through my hair, from the roots all the way down to the tips. I closed my eyes, feeling every caress in the center of my soul.
What would happen with us? Could we maintain this thing we had, whatever it was? I didn’t like that it was Marcus’s angry face and not my father’s that appeared in my mind when I imagined starting a relationship with Sebastian.
Fucking Marcus. I hated him for what he’d done to me, for the way he’d spoken to me, for the way he’d forced himself on me and hurt me, but most of all, I hated him because my fear of him was threatening to invade all the most important aspects of my life.