Page 35 of Black Hearts

Alex slowed his movements, and then he came, jerking deep inside me, filling me with hot stripes of cum.

We lay together afterwards, bodies entwined on the narrow bed. Now that the pleasure was fading, my shoulders were aching. My nerve pain had returned in full force.

“You still seem tense, even after all that,” Alex said as I squirmed around, trying to find a more comfortable position. “You’ve been like this all week. Are you okay?”

“It’s my back,” I said, sitting up and rubbing it in vain.

He frowned and sat up too. “It’s hurting again?”

I nodded miserably. “It came back a few days ago.”

He got up and rummaged around in one of his bags for some painkillers. “Here,” he said, handing me two. “You should’ve told me.”

“I know. I just thought it would go away again.” I swallowed the pills.

Alex nodded slowly and picked up the exfoliating brush. Then he stroked it over my back and shoulders, and I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply at the immediate relief from the scratchy bristles. It was almost as good as the orgasms. “Thank you,” I murmured.

“No need to thank me,” he said. “Tell me what’s on your mind. Something must be really stressing you.”

“It’s just….” I opened my eyes. “We’re only four days away from the party now. The closer we get, the more it bothers me. There’s just so many things that could go wrong. So much of our plan is based on ‘what ifs’ because there are so many things we can’t account for until we’re actually there.”

“That explains it.” Alex scrubbed me harder. “You’re scared.”

“Yes. Petrified,” I murmured. I was ashamed to admit it, and my cheeks flushed hot.

“I understand. I’d be more worried if you weren’t, to be honest.” He paused for a moment, then went on. “You know I’ve never liked the idea of you being the first one in the house. So I’m open to changing the details if you want to.”

I shook my head and turned to look at him. “But it has to be me who gets in there first. I can blend in for a while; you can’t.”

“Are you saying I look old?” He arched a playful brow at me.

“You can’t exactly pass for a young housemaid, can you?” I said with a faint smile at his tension-breaking quip. Already, I was starting to feel more relaxed. As rough and dominant as he was, Alex had a softer side too. He always knew how to make me smile when I needed it, as if he could see right inside my mind and know exactly what I craved. “It makes sense for me to be the one to go in. Besides, we need you outside dealing with the guards before you come in. You’re way better at that than me.”

“Are you sure? If you want me to handle it all on my own, I can try to come up with another idea. You could stay here, and that would be fine. I don’t want you doing anything you don’t want to do.” There was a taut little twist at the edge of his mouth as he awaited my reply. He was worried about me.

I looked down at the duvet as I thought it over. Our plan to destroy the Circle and save the imprisoned kids and maids most likely wouldn’t work if it was just Alex there on the night of the party; we had way more of a shot at success if I was there and entered the house first.

I wanted to be brave like him and flippantly say that I was fine with going deep into the belly of the beast all alone, but instead I was filled with cold terror at the thought of doing anything without him right by my side.

I took a deep, shuddering breath and thought about all the times he’d helped me and rescued me. All the things he’d sacrificed just to keep me safe. He’d made one thing abundantly clear to me: he would die for me.

The amount of love and passion he had to have to put my life in front of his with no half measures struck at me hard, reverberating through me. The sheer blazing intensity of his courage gave me the strength to want to do the same; to want to take all my remaining days and breaths and put them in his hands, trusting that he would always be there to catch me if and when I fell.

I owed him that trust.

“No. I want to help you.” I set my jaw resolutely and looked into his eyes. “And we have the best chance of succeeding if I go in first. Alone.”

Pride glimmered in Alex’s eyes, and he stroked my cheek. “You won’t really be alone. I’ll always be with you in one way or another. I’ll know where you are at all times from the little camera we got for you, and we’ll be able to speak to each other when we can with the Bluetooth things. Any hint of trouble and I’ll be in there. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

“I know.”

He squeezed my hand and frowned. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked. “I won’t be angry if you can’t go through with it all. Most people couldn’t handle it.”

“I can.”

“Okay. I’m proud of you, angel.”

“Why?” I asked softly.

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