Page 8 of Drawn Together

Sebastian took off his suit jacket and hung it on the coat rack beside the door. It was then I noticed he had a gun in a holster, like a cop.

“Just act like I’m not here.”

Piece of cake! Except he practically took up the entire room.

“Look, I don’t know anything about you, but if you’re going to live here, hovering around me twenty-four hours a day, there are some things I need to know.”

“You can ask me anything that has to do with you and your safety.”

“How old are you?”

Seriously, Marfil?

Sebastian frowned, looking confused. “That has nothing to do with your safety.”

“You’re not going to answer?”

“No.”

I pursed my lips, annoyed. “I don’t like having a bodyguard. I should warn you that it’s going to be hard for me to get used to you.”

“You will.”

I took off my sunglasses, realizing I still had them on. I looked into his brown eyes, bordered by thick black lashes. I had the urge to look away, intimidated, but I remained firm. “So I should just pretend like you’re not here?”

“Exactly. Just let me know if you’re going to go out.”

Great.

“I don’t know if you saw the guest room, or…”

“I didn’t touch your dance studio, don’t worry.”

“I spend a lot of time in there. I know the other bedroom is a lot smaller, but I’d like to keep practicing in my studio, as I’ve been doing.”

“It’s your room. I don’t care how you use it.”

That was a relief. I’d been afraid my father had sent someoneto clean out my dance studio and that Sebastian would’ve already set up his bedroom in there. I was aware that he was doing me a favor, since the other room was much smaller and less comfortable, but I didn’t want to give up my favorite part of the house. It was my apartment, after all.

“Well… I’m going to my room,” I said, and then turned around and walked away without waiting for him to respond. He made me too nervous.

My bedroom was a mess, just as I’d left it. For some inexplicable reason, I decided to clean up, entering into an almost manic fit of organizing. I don’t know if I did it because I felt so anxious or because I couldn’t just go out into the living room and lie on the couch like I usually would. I felt like I was losing my mind, but I kept cleaning until the room was spotless.

Satisfied over what I had accomplished, I finally allowed myself to take a look at my phone. I had a text from Liam, letting me know he would be here in an hour. At least that would give me an excuse to take back the living room.

After my shower, I changed into my favorite blue jeans and a white comfy shirt, then stood in front of the mirror examining myself carefully. What did Sebastian see when he looked at me?

For as long as I could remember, everyone around me had always complimented me on my looks. The other girls at boarding school either hated me or envied me. It took me a long time to gain the acceptance of my classmates and the nuns, who had once been brutal, always saying I was a walking sin. I didn’t fully understand what they’d meant until I met Liam and he finally explained it to me.

“Do you have any idea what a babe you are?” he’d asked me once, lying in my bed—me in nothing but a long-sleeve T-shirt and underwear, and him in sweatpants, shirtless—the night we did more than just kissing for the first time.

“I know that whatever it is you see has nothing to do with what I am,” I’d answered, without feeling flattered.

Sure, I was pretty, but when being pretty meant that people never looked beyond your appearance, beauty could become your worst enemy, especially with a rebellious personality like mine. It wasn’t until later that I discovered the power I had over others and learned how to take advantage of it. If men were going to treat me like an object, not like a sentient being with a brain, I would treat them no differently.

I walked out of my bedroom feeling like an intruder in my own home. I had stayed in there for longer than my restless personality could bear.

The living room was empty, but when I looked down the long hallway, I saw a dim light under his bedroom door. I imagined he’d spend most of his time in there.