Page 4 of ’Til You Break

Watching her, I can’t shake the feeling that she’s so delicate, one wrong move could break her.

“You could have brought more of your things,” I say, bathing in the alluring scent that has engulfed the room. “I have enough space for it.”

“Would’ve, but...” Her voice echoes and then trails off as she passes by the living room and goes into the dining room. Her thin, long fingers drag across the polished wooden table as she moves ever closer to the kitchen. “I didn’t have much more to bring.”

How long has she been suffering?

I collect her things off the floor and bury the thought. It’s not my place to cast judgment on her situation and, had she needed me sooner, she’d have reached out then.

“Let me show you to your room,” I say, to avoid any further discomfort.

Two wings separate the main hall from the bedrooms. Down the west wing are my room, a home office, and a library. Opposite are four guest bedrooms, one identical in size to the master bedroom and the others smaller.

I don’t have guests, but I had grand designs for friendship when I bought the place. If not friendship, then love and family. I envisaged children running around with bright smiles, getting the best childhood I could offer. I heard gleeful cries echoing down the halls, while their mother and I flicked through TV channels and laughed together.

But my private pursuits have dashed any dreams of normalcy. I’m driven by a task, and will not rest until I’ve seen it completed.

“You live alone?” Hannah asks, peering into the guest rooms as we pass by them. They are all fully furnished, but none have ever seen any visitors.

“I do.”

“No wife, girlfriend or mistress I ought to know about?” she jabs, smirking at me. “Don’t want to get in the way, y’know?”

“Until you arrived, my home was a virgin,” I say.

A light shade of pink rises on Hannah’s cheeks instantly. It doesn’t stay long, before a deep red consumes it. She snickers at me and turns away, hiding the reaction.

Neither of us speaks until we reach her room at the end of the hall. Tall windows line the walls facing the front and back gardens, exposing the sea of green grass that surrounds my home like a moat. The room itself comes equipped with a bed, a walk-in closet, an en-suite bathroom and the usual range of cupboards and shelves.

I emptied them all before her arrival, so she could store whatever she brought. Regrettably, I now realize that was unnecessary, considering the empty-handed state she’d arrived in.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Hannah’s eyes nearly burst out of her skull. “This room is bigger than my old apartment.”

“Before you get too comfortable, Hannah, we should discuss the ground rules.”

My statement snaps her out of her wonderment, and she stares at me, rigid and stiff. I’ve always believed it’s best to get the hard part out of the way as soon as you can.

“I don’t employ staff, so I’ll ask that if you make a mess, you clean it up. We’ll share the rest of the chores. Cooking, cleaning, general common-sense duties.”

She nods.

“But I’ll have to insist you stay away from my bedroom, office and laundry.”

“Your laundry?” She cocks a brow. “Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand you want privacy. But you washing your undies isn’t really new to me.”

She giggles, a sound so sweet my cock hardens instantly. So does every muscle in my body.

Christ, she’s my fucking stepsister. That should make her off-limits. We grew up together. I saw her grow into a teenager, met her boyfriends, hell, I even drove her to homecoming dances and house parties.

Now I’m entranced by her. The sway of her hips with every step she takes. I imagine her full lips pressed against my skin. Every inch of her being rouses something inside of me and taunts and tempts me to take a step closer.

“I’ll wash my stuff separately.” I don’t indulge her whimsy or the very short trip down memory lane.

I abandoned that life for a reason.

She may find it strange, but there are certain things I must remain discreet about. And whereas my undies, suits and ties are just that, there’s also another part of me that I can’t expose to her, not yet. The easiest way to avoid that is by cleaning my own clothes.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I bite the inside of my cheek to shut off the stimulating sensation it has on the parts of me that shouldn’t be aroused around her. I drag it out and scan the screen, before a smile creeps over my face.