Page 25 of Black Hearts

8

Celeste

The soundof dripping water woke me. I had been dreaming, something dark and chaotic, and it took me a moment to unravel my muddy thoughts and figure out where I was. Alex wasn’t in bed next to me. I was just starting to panic when I finally remembered.

We were in a motel, and he was in a different bed. The lone cash-accepting place that was vacant when we looked last night—in a different area than where his previous motel was, just in case—only had single beds in the one available room, so that was our only option. There was no way we’d both fit in a tiny, rickety single bed, so we were sleeping separately, much to my chagrin.

I missed sleeping with him.

We could wait, though. It would be worth it, biding our time while we figured out how to get rid of the rest of the Circle so that one day, we could be safe again and free to spend every night together in our own house. In our own big bed.

I padded into the bathroom, careful not to wake Alex. He needed rest. After he’d hunted me down yesterday, killed Dwyer, cleaned himself up, and found us a new safe place to stay, he’d spent the night shopping on my behalf. I couldn’t be seen, for obvious reasons, so he needed to buy me new clothes and things to disguise me the way he’d disguised himself when he needed to. A wig, makeup, colored contact lenses, fake glasses—all that jazz.

He also had to get us food and other supplies, and by the time he was done, I could tell how drained he was. I knew he hadn’t slept until he found me, and then he’d gone and done all that too.

He was always working so hard, doing everything he could to help and support me. All he’d ever asked of me was to listen to him and follow all the rules which kept me safe and protected. Until now, I’d failed him pretty miserably.

I still felt sick with regret at every second I’d spent doubting him in the past. I’d fought him at every turn, but he was a patient man, and he’d been there to clean up all my messes and save me again and again.

Now, he was getting exactly what he waited for all this time. I’d surrendered to him wholly, relinquished all control, finally let him take care of me and everything in my life. I was his forever, and I would follow him into the darkness no matter when and where it might be.

I showered, then wrapped myself in a towel and set about experimenting with my new disguise. The honey-blonde wig was annoying to fix on my head at first, but once I was used to it, I had to admit it looked quite decent. The color contrasted nicely with the hazel contact lenses, and once I’d finished brushing on some mascara, black eyeliner, bronzer and pink lipstick, I looked a lot different.

I tried not to think about my current situation as I did a twirl in front of the mirror. For a few seconds, I was someone else entirely. I wasn’t the girl who, only fourteen hours before, watched her man cut open another’s chest and tear his heart out before leaving it next to his corpse as a warning. I wasn’t the girl who was desperate to do it herself, forcing the light to fade from the eyes of everyone who ever threatened her. I wasn’t the girl who had an entire shadowy cabal after her.

No, right now I was just a girl playing dress-up.

“You look like a doll.”

I whirled around to see Alex watching me from the bathroom doorway. He was finally awake, and judging by the bulge in his pants, it wasn’t just his mind that had woken.

“Do you like me as a blonde?” I said coquettishly, teasing him. I took a step back so he could get a better view of my new look.

“I like you as anything,” he growled, stepping over to me and pulling me closer to him in one hard movement. He wrenched my towel away at the same time. “Especially like this,” he added, big hands coasting over my naked body. “Get in the shower, little doll. Show me who owns you.”

Goosebumps peppered my bare skin. The motel had central heating, but it was still cold with nothing on. “I already showered. And I don’t want to ruin the makeup. I only just did it.”

As I spoke, I dodged away from Alex and tried to pick up the towel to cover myself, but he stopped me, trapping my arm in his strong grip.

“You’ve liked having some power and control recently. I know that,” he said, his eyes dark and gleaming with lust. He moved closer again, backing me up against the sliding glass shower door. “But I also know you, and I know you like it better when you give it all to me.”

I shivered as he spoke. He was right. As much as I liked teasing him, displaying the power my body had over his, I liked it more when he grabbed me and took everything from me without asking. Like he owned me.

I suppose he did own me, in a way. I’d given myself to him, hadn’t I?

He gave himself to me just as much. Just as hard.

“Get in the shower,” he went on in a warning tone. “Don’t make me tell you again.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied breathlessly, my hands trembling.

I did as he commanded, stepping into the cubicle and turning the hot water on again. Alex’s breath hitched as he took his clothes off and joined me, eyes never leaving the curve of my breasts as the water cascaded over my skin, making me pink and warm.

He backed me right up against the tiled wall and kneed my legs apart, grinding his erection against me. Then his mouth crushed mine, and once more I was lost in the power of his embrace. He kissed me like it might be the last time, even though our life together had only just begun.

He pulled away a moment later, leaving me gasping against the wall, my lips and tongue tingling. “Who do you belong to, fuck-doll?” he grunted against the shell of my ear. “Who can do whatever he wants to this body?”

He swiveled his hips against my pussy as he spoke. I moaned, my fingernails digging into his back as I clung to him. My body was all tightly-strung tension, and if Alex kept roughly grinding himself against me like this, I could come from that friction alone. But I knew it wouldn’t be enough to satisfy me. It wouldn’t be enough for Alex either. We both burned desperately for more, more, more....

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