Don’t Let Me Break by Linda Verji

 

 

CHAPTER 28

 

The police were treating Leslie’s murder like it could be connected to Marley’s attack and Sebastian’s poisoning. They’d collected the company’s CCTV footage to see if the cake had been poisoned within the building, and their questioning had even extended to people like Omar who had little to do with Marley. Also, everyone in the company was undergoing a background check to see if they had a connection to Marley or Leslie. All-in-all, it looked like they were doing everything they could to keep Marley safe.

Sebastian was doing his best to keep an eye on her too. Every day, he picked Marley from home in the morning and they went to work together. In the evening, he drove her back home from work. He would’ve preferred that she stay at his home, but she’d assured him that her house was safe too and he didn’t need to worry.

“This is really weird,” Sebastian said as Marley settled in his car on Friday evening. To avoid causing rumors at work, she’d once again gone ahead to the bus-stop, and he’d picked her from there. He proposed, “Can’t we just meet in the parking lot?”

“No.” Marley shook her head. “People will see us.”

“Then we’ll just say that we’re carpooling,” he suggested while starting the car.

“No,” she resisted, “that might end up causing more questions, and I don’t feel like explaining myself.”

“Marley,” he whined.

“No.” She shook her head.

Though he was disappointed, he found himself chuckling. Though Marley came off as timid, she could be quite stubborn when she wanted. And honestly, he liked it.

Smiling, he proposed, “Stay at my house tonight.”

“I can’t.” She winced. “Kenny and I usually do our general cleaning on the first Saturday of the month. And it’s tomorrow. I don’t want her to have to do the cleaning all on her own.”

“Then I’ll drop you off in the morning,” he offered.

“Uh-uh!” Marley shook her head. “Whenever I stay at your house, I don’t want to leave. Knowing that I’m leaving just to clean will make it even harder.”

Her response left him disappointed, but he understood her. Whenever they were together, separating was hard on him too. If she stayed at his place tonight, he’d definitely have a hard time letting go tomorrow morning.

Frankly, he wanted them to spend all their time at work and off work together. That’s how addicted to her he was. Only the knowledge that they’d just started dating kept him from just going crazy and asking her to move in with him.

Half-an-hour later, he brought his car to a stop in the parking lot of Marley’s complex.

As she unstrapped her seatbelt, Marley asked, “Do you want to come up for a second?”

Of course, he wanted to come up. He grinned. “Sure.”

“My sister is up there though,” Marley said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, I don’t mind.” Actually, he preferred it. Kennedy was obviously a very important part of Marley’s life. If he wanted his and Marley’s relationship to work, then it was better to get along with her.

The Carter sisters lived on the third floor. He and Marley took the elevator up to their apartment and when they got there, Marley punched in the front door’s code.

“Marley, is that you?” A female voice yelled out as soon as the door opened.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Marley answered as she kicked off her shoes. Sebastian followed suit and got rid of his loafers. While hanging her purse on one of the hooks behind the door, Marley announced, “I brought someone with me.”

“Who?” Kenny asked as she appeared in the archway that led to the living room.

“Him!” Marley pointed to Sebastian.

“Hi, Kennedy,” he greeted with a smile.

When he’d first met Kenny, he’d been floored by her resemblance to Marley. Now that her makeup and wig were gone, and she was in casual clothes, the likeness was even more startling. If they claimed to be twin sisters, everyone would believe them.

“Hi.” Kenny smiled back, but the smile was a little wary and her gaze flew to Marley.

“He drove me from work,” Marley answered her sister’s silent question, “so I asked him to come up.”

The explanation was enough for Kenny.

“Oh, okay.” Kenny shrugged then gave him another smile. “Welcome to our home.”

She turned and strolled off, presumably to her room, because when they got to the living room she wasn’t there.

“Does she know about us?” Sebastian asked as he settled on the large couch.

“Yes, she does.” Marley grinned. “She’s fine with it.”

Sebastian exhaled in relief.

But as it turned out, he’d exhaled too soon. Marley went to her bedroom to get changed and while she was gone, her sister reappeared. Kenny had changed clothes. She was now wearing a tight, blue dress that stopped mid-thigh. Though the dress worked best for a party, he immediately assumed that she was on her way to work.

“Hi,” she greeted again as she moved to the seat adjacent to his.

“Hi.” He sat up straighter.

“Marley told me that you guys work together.” Though she smiled as she spoke, the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “That must be really convenient.”

“It is,” he agreed. “But it’s a little inconvenient too since we have to keep our relationship a secret.”

Kenny’s eyes narrowed. “You haven’t told people at the office?”

“No. Not yet.” Sebastian gave a sheepish smile. “I would’ve liked to tell everyone, but Marley doesn’t like the attention an announcement like that would bring. So we decided to keep it between us to avoid being gossip fodder.”

“Oh!” Kenny nodded slowly even as her observant gaze stayed firmly on him. “I can understand that.”

What followed were questions about his job, his family, where he lived and more. An idiot would’ve assumed that Kenny was just asking out of curiosity or out of a need to make empty conversation while her sister was gone. But Sebastian wasn’t an idiot. He saw her questions for what they were. She was evaluating him so she could decide if he’d be good for her sister or not. He didn’t mind being evaluated so he answered as honestly as he could.

By the time Marley came back into the living room having changed into shorts and a t-shirt, Kenny’s smile was genuine and he got the feeling that she liked him.

“What are you guys talking about?” Marley asked as she sat next to Sebastian.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.” Kenny leapt to her feet. “I need to finish getting ready. I’m late for work.”

Her brow furrowed, Marley watched her sister go then turned to Sebastian. “What were you guys talking about?”

“You heard your sister.” He grinned. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Marley pouted. “You don’t want to tell me?”

That pout drew his attention to her lips and before he could help himself, he leaned closer and set his lips on hers. He’d been aching to kiss her the whole day, so it took only one taste of her for his need to flare up dangerously.

In seconds, what was supposed to be a soft peck turned into desperation. He fastened his lips on her, deepening the kiss, as his tongue lashed against hers furiously. The more he took from her, the more he wanted.

Maybe if she’d met him with some reticence, he would’ve had an easier time reining himself in. But she kissed him just as furiously and with just as much passion. Only the knowledge that they were not alone in the house kept him from turning the kiss into something more. Reluctantly, he tore his lips from hers.

Obviously, he wasn’t the only one affected by the kiss. Marley was panting when they stopped and her brown eyes were shadowed with desire. Her lips were half-parted and swollen, which only made him want to kiss her again. But he couldn’t kiss her again because there was no way he’d be able to stop this time. He pulled her into his arms and buried her head in his chest so he wouldn’t be tempted by her lush lips.

It was safe to say that they’d both completely forgotten what they were talking about before the kiss.

The embrace lasted for quite a while. When Marley pulled back, they were both breathing evenly and the wildness had dissipated.

“You’re staying for dinner, right?” Marley asked.

Given how close he was to the edge, staying wasn’t a good idea. But he found himself nodding. “If you’ll have me.”

“Great.” Marley stood up with a smile.

Their kitchen was an open one so Sebastian only had to move to the dining area for them to be able to talk while she cooked. Kenny appeared some minutes later, now completely made-up, with a purse.

“I’m gone. The house is all yours, kids,” she called out cheerfully as she headed to the door. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Seconds later, she peeked from the hallway to cheekily to add, “And by the way, there’s very little I wouldn’t do.”

With that, she was gone, leaving Sebastian and Marley laughing in the wake of her mischievous exit.

Dinner was baked pork chops, roasted potatoes and a side of apple salad. Sebastian thought he was a decent cook, but Marley was way, way better. She was punching at professional-chef level.

“I can’t believe you just let me feed you that pig slop,” he said with obvious awe, “when this is how you eat in your house.”

She laughed shyly. “Your food isn’t bad.”

“You’re just saying that so I won’t feel bad.” He cut into the pork then put a slice in his mouth. It melted on his tongue and its flavors left his senses buzzing with delight. “This is amazing.”

He couldn’t stop complimenting her and by the time he cleared his plate, he was in a great mood. However, Marley seemed preoccupied throughout dinner. He also noticed that she only ate half of the food on her plate before taking their plates to the sink.

Still seated at the dining table, he asked, “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She came back to the table. “Why do you ask?”

“You seem a little anxious.” He noted, “You didn’t even finish your food.”

“Actually-” She took the seat adjacent to his. “-There’s- there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

Sebastian immediately became more serious. “What do you need to talk about?”

“Um- um-” Marley’s tongue flicked out to lick her bottom lip. Obviously, she was nervous. “I- I don’t really know how to bring this up.”

“Take your time.” He set his palm on the back of her hand and squeezed. “I can wait.”

“I just- I just-” She took a deep breath. “I just want to confirm- confirm that you like me for the right- for the right reasons.” Lowering her eyes so that she was staring at the table, she asked, “You’re not with me because you miss your dad, right?”

“I miss my dad sometimes, I’ll admit that,” he confessed. “But when I do, I just call him. Being with you has nothing to do with him.”

“Are you sure?” She looked up. In her eyes, he saw concern and fear. “Maybe you like me because you like the feeling of taking care of someone and not because you actually like me.”

If she’d brought this up a week ago, he might’ve been offended at the need to defend his attraction to her over and over again. However, after dealing with Hazel and her unfiltered accusations, he was very glad that Marley had brought it up herself. Obviously, it was something that really bothered her. Her talking to him about it meant that she truly trusted him and wasn’t afraid to show him her inner thoughts.

All this he thought in silence.

His prolonged silence upped Marley’s nervousness. She stuttered, “I’m sorry. I- I didn’t mean t- to sound like- like that. It’s just…”

“You don’t have to apologize.” He smiled, more to reassure her that he wasn’t angry rather than because he actually felt like smiling. “It’s something you’re concerned about so we should talk about it.” His fingers closed around her wrist and he pulled her off her chair. “Come here.”

Marley came willingly, and soon she was seated sideways on his lap. Her sudden closeness had the obvious effect. His heart began to beat a little faster and his dick woke up. But he ignored it all and set his arm around her waist.

“Marley, trust me on this,” he said, “I like you despite your illness not because of it.”

Though she didn’t say anything, her eyes screamed, Are you sure?

“I know how it looks. Guy leaves city after having taken care of his schizophrenic father his whole life, comes to new city and promptly hooks up with a girl who has a mental disorder too. Conclusion; he’s just looking for someone to take care of. Honestly, I would be worried too if I were in your shoes,” he admitted. “But my case is different. If this was really about me looking for girls with ‘issues’, then all my exes should have issues. But they don’t.”

Sebastian wasn’t really a fan of talking about exes, but in this situation, there was no way to make his case without talking about them.

“I’ve been in three long-term relationships. All the women were… how do I put this?” He thought about it for a second then said, “They were ‘normal’ according to the world’s standards. No diagnosed mental disorders. Apart from that, they had their lives in order. They were fine even without me, and our relationships weren’t based on them needing me to take care of them.”

Though Marley was staring at him in silence, he could see that he was convincing her.

Sebastian continued, “Even you... you’re fine. Yeah, you have your DID but you’re not some helpless Sleeping Beauty who is waiting for Prince Charming to come and kiss you awake. You’re already awake. You’re doing okay in life. Sure, Hazel appears here and there, but you’re okay just as you are even without me. If we broke up right now, you wouldn’t collapse so obviously you don’t need me. You just want me, right?”

Marley nodded.

“I’m not here because you need me,” he assured her. “I’m here because I want you and you want me too. Okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded and smiled.

That smile was enough to draw a smile from him too. Still smiling, he touched his lips to hers. “If you ever feel like I’m treating you like you’re helpless and can’t make decisions for yourself, just let me know and I’ll stop. Okay?”

“’Kay.” This time she was the one who leaned closer and set her lips on his.

The kiss started out tender. It was just their lips slowly moving against each other, but as soon as her tongue slid into his mouth, things changed. In a second, warmth turned to burning. Having her on his lap and so close didn’t help at all. His body reacted instinctively, and before he knew it, he was squeezing her thighs and shifting her closer so she could rub against his now erect cock.

When he realized what he was doing, he tore his mouth from hers. His voice raspy with desire, he said, “We need to stop.”

But Marley wasn’t ready to stop. She arched back upwards and set her mouth on his again. She was delicious, and her obvious need had him pulling her even harder into his erection.

Against her lips, he said, “Marley, if we don’t stop now, then I won’t be able to stop.”

“Then- then don’t stop,” she whispered back.