Page 80 of Black Heart

To the server room.

25

LAYLA

Kaden will never stop haunting my dreams.

I’m one of those sleepers who are aware when they’re dreaming and can usually control the outcome. Like, if I’m approaching an ending I don’t like, or plopped into nightmares that have become progressively more violent now that the Scythe has infiltrated my life, I can get out of them by redirecting the narrative or simply waking myself up.

But when it comes to Kaden, my lucid dreaming power fails me.

Tonight, he came up behind me in Pulse’s server room, blacking out the lights and clamping a hand around my mouth, pulling me into his infernal depths. The server room’s emergency lights bathe everything in a red glow. The hum of machinery fills my ears.

I realize I’m suspended in the air, my body stretched out in a way that makes my muscles scream in protest. Fiber optic cables, usually so delicate in my hands, now bite into my skin like steel wires, arms and legs spread wide.

I’m maybe three feet off the ground, held up by thickerbundles looped under my arms and across my back. They must be anchored to the server racks on either side of me—I can feel the strain when I try to move. Thinner cables wrap around my wrists and ankles, spreading my limbs wide and leaving me horribly exposed.

And naked.

My underwear, dress, and smartwatch have been removed.

Below, I can see a haphazard pile of computer parts. Sharp edges of heat sinks and metal casings glint menacingly. If I loosen myself enough to fall, it’s going to hurt. A lot.

The Scythe circles me like a hunter toying with his next kill, drawing my head up.

“Look at you,” he purrs through his mask, his deep, modulated voice acting like a vibrator against my core. “The brilliant Layla Verona, caught in a web of the very technology she adores. Poetic, isn’t it?”

I should be terrified, but a traitorous heat blossoms low in my belly. Kaden is the twisted hero of my deepest, most shameful desires. But in this dreamscape, I can indulge my darkest fantasies without consequence.

Kaden slinks closer, running a gloved finger down my trembling body. I shudder at his touch, a whimper escaping my lips as he traces the curves of my breasts, waist and hips. His fingers dance over my inner thighs, teasing but not quite touching where I ache for him most.

“So responsive.” He chuckles darkly. “Even when you’re at my mercy, helpless and exposed, your body sings for me, doesn’t it?”

I want to deny it, but the evidence of my arousal glistens between my spread legs. Kaden cups my sex possessively, pressing the heel of his palm against my clit. Sparks ignite my nerve-endings and I arch into his touch with a desperate moan.

“That’s it, my little captive,” he encourages, rubbing firm circles that make my toes curl.

His fingers delve into my slick folds, two digits pumping in and out, curling to hit that magic spot inside. I try to angle my hips, to force him deeper.

My head falls back as Kaden finger-fucks me relentlessly, his thick digits stretching me wide and delving so deep. Slick, filthy sounds fill the air, blending with my needy whimpers and his sinister amusement. He adds a third finger, pumping them in and out of my clenching pussy, his thumb mercilessly circling my clit.

“Look at you, dripping all over my hand like the greedy little slut you are,” Kaden growls. “I bet you’re fantasizing about my cock right now, aren’t you? Imagining me filling up this tight cunt, fucking you so hard you forget your own name.”

My brows come together.

That isn’t right. Kaden’s never called me those things before.

Redirect the narrative.

With my forehead smoothing, I demand my dream to rewind.

“You’re nothing but a filthy whore,” he spits out viciously. “Getting off on being tied up and used like the cheap slut you are. I always knew you wanted this, wanted to be put in your place by a real man.”

His fingers twist cruelly inside me, and I cry out in pain mingled with unwanted pleasure. “Bet you’ve been gagging for my cock since the moment you laid eyes on me. Well guess what, you’re going to choke on it before the night’s through. I’m going to fuck your slutty holes until you’re a ruined, sobbing mess.”

Kaden’s venomous words slice through the haze of lust, so jarringly out of character that I freeze.

This isn’t a dream.

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