Chapter 48: Belong
I awoke with the sun’s rays piercing my eyes. The sound of water splashing from the adjacent room made it clear that Rebecca was in the bath. Last night had been quite... unexpected. Truth be told, I felt no moral or conscientious guilt about being with her. She wasn’t my stepsister, she was Leonardo’s. And we both wanted it.
But now, as I think about it, if I’m living in Leonardo’s body, am I Leonardo now? What is the self, really? Is it our living organism, the body, or does the soul truly exist?
If I uploaded all my memories into another person, would that person become me, or would they transform into someone entirely different?
I suppose I’m thinking too much for someone who’s just slept with his stepsister...
Stretching every bone in my body, I rose from the bed. I’d always wondered how other men started conversations with a woman they’d unexpectedly been intimate with.
With Annabel, it was easy. After all, I outranked her in the hierarchy, and I could slap her ass and say, "Morning, sleepyhead."
In Rebecca’s case, I’m not sure if I could do that... Yet somehow, right now, I felt an overwhelming urge to try.
I didn’t hold back and slipped into the bathroom with silent steps. Rebecca stood beside the tub prepared for her, applying some kind of natural soap to her hair while standing.
Her back was turned to me, giving me a clear view of her buttocks. Oh God... god truly existed. Otherwise, these beautiful, full, and soft cheeks couldn’t be explained by the evolution of life.
I approached stealthily from behind, my heart pounding faster with each step as my feet touched the cool marble floor.
The lavender scent rising from Rebecca’s hair filled the humid air of the room; the foam from the natural soap trickled down from her shoulders to her back. In that moment, the embers of last night’s fire still smoldered within me.
I reached out, and when my fingertips brushed the soft curve of her buttocks, Rebecca flinched slightly. But she didn’t turn immediately. Instead, she paused for a moment, lowering her foamy hands from her hair.
"Leo?" she murmured, her voice blending with the trickle of water. There was no fear in her tone; rather, it sounded like an invitation. Just like last night. Unexpected, but inevitable.
"Good morning," I said, my voice coming out hoarse. I didn’t pull my hand away; instead, I pressed my palm against her buttock, squeezing lightly.
When she turned to look at me, I saw the reflection of last night in her eyes: wet lashes, slightly flushed cheeks, and a mischievous smile on her lips.
"You... have you always been this bold?" she asked, setting the soap aside.
She took a step toward the tub but didn’t turn away completely; her back still seemed to lean toward me. The water had risen to her ankles now, amid a veil of steamy mist.
Rebecca’s question hung in the air, dissolving amid the lavender scent and steam. The mischievous smile in her eyes seemed to hide a secret; blended with the fire of last night, but now transformed into something else in the cool morning light. I couldn’t quite decipher what it was, but the uncertainty thrilled me.
"Nah.." I replied, a hint of mockery in my voice, but more like I was weighing myself. "I think I’m just... curious."
I didn’t remove my hand from her hip; my fingers still wandered over that soft curve. Rebecca’s skin was warm despite the morning chill, as if last night’s fire still burned within her.
Rebecca turned toward me, leaning against the tub’s edge, the gentle ripples of water creating small eddies around our feet. Her eyes sparkled with the reflection of the morning light; that mischievous smile curled the corners of her lips, as if inviting me to a game.
"Curious, huh?" said Rebecca, a light tease in her voice, but something deeper in her eyes, as if she were trying to unravel me. "You were just as curious last night, weren’t you?" Her words hung in the air for a moment, mingling with the trickle of water.
I slowly slid my hand from her hip, my fingers tracing the smoothness of her skin upward to her back. Rebecca’s eyes deepened in that silence; as if words were insufficient, and our bodies spoke their own language.
"I was curious. But now... now I’m even more curious about something else, Reb. What happened last night wasn’t some mistake or misunderstanding... Was it?"
Rebecca’s lips parted slightly; she took a breath, deep and trembling. Then her smile widened, the mischief giving way to a soft invitation. As the warm tub water enveloped our feet, she stepped closer, her chest nearly brushing mine. Water droplets from her hair trickled down her shoulders, wetting our skin; the pleasant scent mingled with the room’s humid air, becoming a dizzying aphrodisiac.
Her hand touched my chest, her fingers lingering as if feeling my heartbeat; each touch intensified the storm within me.
"A mistake?" Rebecca murmured, her voice blending with the soft waves of water, but there was a sparkle in her eyes. It was as if she said the word with amusement. "No, Leo. Last night... it wasn’t a mistake for me. What about you? Was it a mistake for you?"
I wrapped my hands around her waist, pulling her even closer; the water churned lightly around us, forming small waves, the steam veil isolating us from the world. When our lips touched, time stood still.
The kiss started slow, exploratory, but quickly turned passionate. As her tongue danced between my lips, memories of last night flooded my mind: names whispered in the dark, skins merging, a symphony of heartbeats.
When Rebecca’s lips parted from mine, her eyes were still half-closed, her breath a warm breeze against my face.
"I think that meant no," she said, a hint of happiness hidden in her voice, and the underlying sincerity melted me inside. Her hand was still on my chest, her fingers tracing the rhythm of my heartbeat; as if that rhythm was a secret song between us.
I smiled, my hands not leaving her waist, pulling her closer in the water. "No. That definitely meant no."
Rebecca’s words dissolved into the steamy air of the tub, the sincere sparkle in her eyes reigniting something within me.
"Letting things flow last night was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time," I repeated, my voice barely more than a whisper.
My hands slowly slid from her waist, my fingers tracing the curve of her back upward; each touch seemed to rekindle the ashes of last night’s fire.
In that moment, the bathroom felt like a sanctuary: the noise of the outside world a distant memory, only the soft trickle of water, the lavender scent, and the rhythm of our heartbeats remained. Rebecca’s skin had taken on a pinkish glow from the warm water; droplets trickled from her neck down to her chest, each one glistening like an invitation in the morning light.
"So what about now?" Rebecca asked, a slight challenge in her voice, but deep desire in her eyes.
Her hand left my chest, slowly sliding downward, wandering over my abdominal muscles; her fingertips electrified my skin.
"Is your curiosity still going, Leo? Or... was last night enough?"
I smiled, but this time not mischievously, with a deeper expression. "Enough? Never."
As I gave my answer, I gently pushed her toward the tub, the water foaming and rising around us. She laughed in response, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me to her. Our lips met again, this time more fiery, more demanding. The kiss rivaled the water’s warmth; as our tongues intertwined, our bodies synced to the same rhythm.
Rebecca’s wet hair strands brushed my face, the lavender scent making my head spin. My hands descended from her back, grasping her buttocks, lifting her slightly in the water and pressing her against me. She wrapped her legs around my waist, surrendering her weight to me; the water rippled around us, creating small storms.
"God, Leo," she murmured as her lips left mine, her breath ragged. "You... you were like a dream last night. But now, you’re real. And this is even better than the dream."
I looked at her half-closed eyes; droplets from her lashes left trails on her cheeks.
"Just last night? What about after this? Reb, we... what are we now?"
Rebecca fell silent for a moment. It was as if my words had emerged from the steam and touched her heart. The mischief on her lips faded, replaced by a fragile seriousness. Her legs were still wrapped around my waist, her arms around my neck; but the look in her eyes was different.
"I don’t know, Leo. All I know is that when I think of you, what stirs inside me is far beyond sibling affection."
The water lapped at our shoulders, the bubbles vanishing between us. But her voice silenced everything.
"When I felt you beside me last night... for the first time, I wanted to live with someone until the end of my life. For the first time, I fell in love. And for the first time, I wanted to belong to a man."
The last sentence spilling from Rebecca’s lips shattered all my defenses. "Belong..." Those two words echoed in my mind as her heart pounded like it would break through ribcage.
I held her tightly, as if getting any closer would fuse our bones, making us one body. As water droplets from her hair slid down my neck, a strange mix of peace and fear swelled within me. Because this feeling was far deeper than last night’s lust... this was binding. A bond I couldn’t escape, nor did I want to.
"Rebecca..." I said in a whisper, my lips touching her forehead. Her eyes were misty, not from the steam, but from the intensity of her emotions. "I promise, I’ll make sure you never regret this."