Page 34 of Hung Up

that she keeps talking about.

After spending the rest of the day showing Pierce Phoenix and its inhabitants, we were finally back in my air conditioned condo. We settled in my bed after a very long shower, and now Pierce held me against his chest, his heart beating under my palms.

I was still trying to calm my own after he’d so thoroughly ravished me. I probably needed to invest in some serious soundproofing.

“Today was . . . perfect,” I whispered, snuggling deeper into his hold. One of many to come, I’d hoped.

“Today was incredible.” His voice was resolute.

I reached over and switched off the bedside light and smiled to myself and the darkness.

Pierce wrapped me back into his embrace, nuzzling his face into my neck.

“Did you hear me?” I whispered.

“I think the whole complex heard you, love.”

I snickered and he joined in easily.

“No, I mean, that night I fucked you.” My cheeks warmed and I was sure, even in the dark, he’d be able to spot my embarrassment. “That last night you were a phone . . .”

Pierce didn’t answer, so I waited, hooking my leg over his waist. But his silence didn’t feel awkward, it felt careful. Like he was trying to figure out the words and how to say them.

“I don’t know when I became conscious,” he began, tenor contemplative. “All I know is there was this voice of an angel who beckoned me closer. And with each call, each conversation . . . I felt like I belonged with you. And then there was this sadness, this . . . despair. I remember I wished I could just do something as simple as hold you.”

A knot was lodged in my throat, each word pounding in my chest as he spoke. For a man who used to be a phone, he sure knew which words to pick.

“Then I woke up, and I was here. Literally.” He pointed in the darkness to where he was laying. “I woke up right here. I don’t know how or why, but I didn’t question it. And I just . . . stared at you for probably half an hour before I touched your hair. Your bangs were a mess in front of your face.” His hand brushed another piece back and it tickled my nose the same way it woke me up that morning.

My nose scrunched and he chuffed a laugh.

“And I was a goner.”

I sobered, the reality of our situation sinking back in. If Pierce was fully human now . . . how was it fair to make him stay with me? There were seven billion people he could choose from as his partner. If he really had a future, or if we were going to at least act like he had a future, why would he choose me?

“Hey, what’s wrong? What did I say?” A finger under my chin lifted my face towards his.

Tears burned my eyes as thoughts of Pierce leaving me ran rampant.

I swiped a hand under my cheek and I smiled wobbly. “You deserve the world, Pierce. I used you for years.” My vulnerability was like an open wound. “You deserve better than me.”

Pierce crushed me further into his chest so swiftly that my breath whooshed from my lungs. “No, love. No.” His words were hushed but calming. “You were the first voice I ever remember knowing,” he whispered. “And I want to hear it every day for the rest of my—hopefully—very long existence.”

My breath caught, stuck in my throat as I struggled to process his words. He wanted me . . . forever? I don’t know why this took my by surprise; it wasn’t as if that wasn’t exactly what I hoped for. Had he ever given me any reason to doubt his words?

No, he hadn’t.

“You want me . . . in your future? We don’t even know . . .” I trailed off, fear choking the words from me.

“For whatever future I have, I want it with you. I came here for you.”

“Even with . . . what I do for work?” My stomach was in knots, the fear of rejection clenching tightly in my belly.

“Harper, love . . . This has been the hottest sex I’ve ever had. Well, to be fair, it’s the only sex I’ve ever had,” he said around a laugh, “but I find it—and you—so incredibly hot. And did you forget? I was there for every call. For every whispered word. I can be just as naughty as you can, love.” His words were hushed, but their comfort coiled around me. The knot deep in my belly eased, a beacon of light spurning hope in my peripherals.

“Are you sure?” I asked, needing to know for certain. This was the quickest I’d ever fallen for anyone, and—

Holy fuck. I fell for him. I was in love with Pierce.

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