Page 17 of Repossess My Heart

I stare at him, half in annoyance with him… and myself. Quickly using the sheet to cover the evidence of my arousal threatening to leak down my inner thighs. The offbeat but steadybump, bump, bumpI’ve heard off and on since I woke up here filtering over the sound of my own quickened breathing. That air of awareness slithering over my skin, leaving it chilled in a way that has nothing to do with the room.

“Someone is coming.” I breathe out, my eyes widening on him as he watches me.

If he finds out- He’s what, Reverie? Going to turn you in for possessing illegal tech? He’s here to kill you. Get a grip.

He frowns, his head snapping towards the door, “Duck.”

My heart lurches into my throat as I hit the floor barely hidden by him and the various equipment to his side.

“The fuck? Shit, Nine people are looking everywhere for you.”

“Not very hard, apparently.”

The other man shifts to the left, his heavy boots splattered with blood and gore. Nine shifts too, taking a step closer to me. Hiding me.

Protecting me again, despite all his nasty threats.

“Don’t think I’ve ever seen the Officials this pissed before, not without ordering a hit at least. You finally get the girl?”

Nine huffs, “She got away, again.”

The other man forces a laugh. It’s a weird nasally sound, “You’re off your game better get it together soon. Not even infamousNumber Nineis untouchable.” The way he says his name sounds more like a sneer than anything.

He could be killed for this? Holy hell, then why, why do all this?

What if they kill him?

Fuck me, what if they kill him before he kills me?

That ruins everything.

My chest tightens in that painful, alarming way it does when I lose my grip. When the numbness gives way to severe and unrelenting blips of panic. The anger is gone and if I’m being honest, I was pretending that last half. My breath fights to leave me in pants as I cover my mouth with my hands, begging to stay silent.

What if he doesn’t kill me?

No, he has to.

A faint alarm sounds from inside Nine’s helmet, and his feet shift again, just barely as the man steps forward.

“You’re monitoring one?” The man asks, stepping closer.

Monitoring?

“Work doesn’t stop just because one got away Five. Now get out of my room.”

The man scoffs, “Maybe she wouldn’t have gotten away if you were more of a team player. We’re all just cogs in their machine Nine, life is easier when we work together.”

“That was inspirational. Truly life changing, now fuck off.”

What a dick.

My chest tightens further as I dig my fingers into my cheeks, tossed between breathing through the pain and not breathing at all because getting caught is worse than heart failure. Although I’m sure that’d make for an ironic wrench in whatever Nine’s plan is. The man’s boots thump away, growing so faint we can barely hear them before either of us move.

“Breathe sweetling. It really fucks shit up for me if you die like this.”

I gasp, resting my damp forehead on the cool tile floor. “Sounds to me like it’d fix every problem you have.”

“You have no clue what problems I have.” He responds as I drag air through my lungs. I don’t flinch or move away when his bare hand knots gently in my hair, forcing my eyes to his. “Breathe deeper, slower.”

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