Piece by Piece

Chapter 38

Aliena

Sebastian surprises me by taking me straight to the last room on the second floor. His room. He does the whole thing so nonchalantly that it hardly seems like a big deal but I know that no one is allowed in here. Ever.

Still, he opens that door for me and tells me to go in. Sadly, I don't get much of a look at the whole interior since the lights are off and he's leading me into the adjoint bathroom with a hand on my lower back the next second.

He turns on the lights then and I get a good look at the massive room. It's elegant and dark grey themed. LED strips are embedded along the edge of the ceiling and there's a big walk-in shower. What really is the biggest attention grabber is the big bathtub though.

Grey steps that match the floor lead up to it and there won't be any awkward climb out since another small step aligns the wall where you'd have to get out on the inside of the tub. It's magnificent. Not so big that it would feel like a pool but big enough to easily fit two people.

I shoot him a knowing look over my shoulder. "Interesting," I tell him. He laughs and shakes his head.

"Incredible where your head is headed again. Believe it or not, I never had anyone in here," he tells me, which satisfies me to the most.

"Thank you. Really. Any of your guest bathrooms would have done, though, just so you know."

"That would have been a shame. I'm a shower person anyway so I barely use the tub. You're free to use it whenever you want." The way he speaks- As if I had agreed to move in. As if it was decided and set in stone.

I cock an eyebrow, feeling my lips twitch. "You're giving me unlimited access?"

"Oh yeah. Make sure to take me up on that offer especially when I'm taking a shower. I'm always happy to put on a show," he teases me. Then he starts rummaging through his cabinets. In the meantime, I look at the glass door of the spacious shower.

Speaking of temptation.

"Aha! Here we go. I hope you like lavender," he says, handing me a small glass bottle filled with a dark blue liquid. "Use as much as you want, I have more of them. My mom gives me one for every birthday and I don't have the heart to tell her that I don't actually use it."

I take that bottle and thank him. "That's really sweet of her. When's your birthday?" I ask. That's the only way I can ration the remaining bottles so there are enough until his next birthday.

"January 19th," he tells me.

"Oh, that's soon," I remark as I walk over to the tub. There, I hesitate.

"Uhm, what am I looking at?" I ask, studying the different buttons and levers. He steps up to me from behind, placing one hand on my back to stabilize himself as he leans over the tub to explain all the different functions it possesses.

By the time he's done, I remember only about half of it. Mostly because I was more aware of his hand on my back than anything else. I just repeat the most important things to make sure I got that right.

"Yeah, that's it. You'll be fine, right?" he asks, smiling softly.

I nod. "Yes, thanks." Before he turns and leaves, his eyes focus on something slightly over the top of my head and he reaches out to pull out a twig from my strands. I laugh softly. "And thanks for that," I add.

"No biggie. Why don't you turn around so I can get the rest of them? That way I won't have a whole forest in my tub tomorrow morning," he proposes. Instead of resisting, I silently turn around. It's not like I mind his hands on me. No, not at all.

For the next few minutes, Sebastian works on freeing the small twigs from my wild strands with utmost care. Then, there's a hairbrush in his hand and he starts brushing out the tangles from the lower half of my hair, slowly working his way up. I relax into it, surprised by how pleasant this is.

No one has ever brushed my hair, not to mention taken such care of me. It does something weird and fuzzy to my chest.

"You're really good at this," I tell him, keeping my eyes closed. It's all I can do not to start purring or moaning where I stand like a weirdo. Sebastian laughs softly.

"My mother taught me. She said it was important for a man to know how to properly treat a woman. I'm pretty sure she just used that as an excuse to get me to do her hair."

"Smart woman," I remark, leaning back against him slightly. I could fall asleep right here.

Maybe Sebastian can read my mind because one of his arms comes around my waist to hold me while his other gently caresses the side of my face. I'm practically fully leaning against him now but he doesn't make a sound of protest.

"Maybe the bath should wait until tomorrow morning? We wouldn't want you falling asleep and drowning in there," he says. I softly shake my head against his chest but don't move.

"It has to be tonight. I have to work tomorrow and I'll have to swing by my apartment to change first." God even the thought of it exhausts me. Sebastian's hold on me tightens.

"But tomorrow is Saturday," he tries to argue.

I chuckle. "Well, we can't very well tell the seniors they're on their own on the weekends. I'm lucky though. I have a day off on Sunday." Only that I don't, do I? I'll have to visit my parents then. "Well, I don't have to go to the nursing home. I guess I'll still be taking care of people."

I don't know if he understands that I mean my parents or not but the next thing I know, he's pressing a soft kiss to the side of my head.

"You're tired, baby. Let's get you to sleep. The bath isn't going anywhere." He tries to pull me back toward the door, but I try to resist.

"I can't sleep anyway," I protest. "I never can. There's too much to think about and tonight will only be worse. With what happened with Lily, I don't think I'll be able to get any rest."

That gives the man behind me a pause and he changes tactics, stepping in front of me. "You want to spend the night with me? I can talk you to sleep to keep your mind off things. Or I'll come with you to your room and leave after you fell asleep. Whatever you prefer."

There it is again, that warm feeling in my chest, just much stronger now that I'm looking into his eyes.

"Well, if you put it that way. I'm sure your bed feels like heaven." He smiles and nods.

"Yeah, it does."

There's just one more suspicion to clear up. "How many women have you taken in there?" I ask.

He rolls his eyes. "None." My heart does a flip.

"You're sure you don't mind?"

"I wouldn't have proposed it if I did. Come on, I can give you something to wear if you want. And I have spare toothbrushes. Then it's time to sleep for you." With that, he walks back into his bedroom to get me his clothes to sleep in.

God, despite everything, I think I'm blushing.

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I'm working on this at six am, and I haven't slept yet lmao. If you like the story so far, don't be shy to lmk with a vote

Have a fabulous day<3