Page 68 of Heartless Legacy

I push out a few reps, then jump to my feet. “Give me ten minutes on the stair climber and we’re done.” I duck under the rope and step into the ring, motioning for Tank to join me.

I grunt as I roll my neck and shoulder. I’ve been teasing Thea about being out of shape, but after today’s session with Tank, I’m not faring much better. I step into the shower, groaning as the hot water beats down on my aching muscles. As I relax under the spray, tension easing, I allow my thoughts to wander away from work and revenge. I connect with my body and feelings.

Thea and I talk on the phone every night. I love knowing exactly where she is and that I can see her whenever I want, but all of that does nothing to help ease the ache in my cock. I’m taking things at a glacier pace, fighting against my urges, and pretending as if we’ve just met. Pretending as if I’m not already intimately familiar with every sound she makes, every hitch of her breath. Every flutter of her pussy.

Neither of us has made a move towards restarting the physical aspect of our relationship since that first night we tried at the compound. Despite what Thea thinks she wants, her body’s not ready, which means I’ve spent a lot of time fucking my fist these last few weeks. Just like I’m about to do now.

The first glide of my hand across my dick has me inhaling. On the second, I exhale, and think of the woman that owns my heart. I think of the way her face looks when she’s aroused and how her sensitive nipples pebble from the slightest touch.

I tighten my grip as I stroke over my dick, imagining it’s her mouth on me. Those lips wrapped around it and sucking me into the back of her throat. With my other hand, I fondle my balls, gently squeezing my swollen sack. I settle into the fantasy and the feeling, my head back as I bite down on my bottom lip, stifling a groan. Then Iamgroaning, as I imagine it’s her tongue swirling around the head of my shaft. “Fuck. Your mouth feels so good.”

I tighten my grip, pulling harder on my length. “Take me deeper. I wanna feel myself in the back of your throat.”

My hand jerks free when I hear the unmistakable sound of my front door opening and closing. I leave the water running and ease out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist. From behind my bedroom door, I listen as soft footsteps pad across the floor, then I hear another door squeak open.

After tugging on a pair of sweatpants, I slip downstairs to confront the intruder. I step into the kitchen, gun raised andpointing at the intruder. Easing my finger off the trigger, I click the safety on and lower the weapon as I watch Thea rummaging around in my pantry. “Just make yourself at home.”

She startles, dropping the pack of cookies she’s holding in her hand and spins around with her knife out. “Dammit, Wolfe. Don’t sneak up on me like that. I could’ve stabbed you.” She glances over at the gun I’m holding and arches a brow. “Were you gonna shoot me?”

“I was gonna shoot theintruder.” Looking back at the front door, which I know I locked and armed, I ask, “How did you get in, anyway?”

“I picked the lock.”

“And the alarm?”

“Deactivated it.”

My grandfather will have a heart attack when I tell him that. His top of the line alarm system is not supposed to be easy to deactivate. But Thea got inside, which means there’s a vulnerability in the system. “That’s a lot of trouble to go through to steal my cookies. Why didn’t you just ring the bell?”

“Your car wasn’t in the driveway, so I figured you weren’t home.”

“It’s in the garage.” Walking over to her I ask, “Why did you let yourself in, if you thought I wasn’t home?”

She retrieves her dropped cookies and hops up onto the counter before answering. “I didn’t feel like going to my dorm or to my folk’s place, so I figured I’d hide out here for a little while.”

Did she even notice that she called the Hughes’s her folks? I won’t make it weird by pointing it out. She looks so cute with her oversized hoody on. Correction. She looks cute with one ofmyhoodies on. Her legs look bare underneath it, which means she’s wearing some indecently small shorts. I’m not all that sure that she’s wearing a bra, either.

I lost my erection, thinking I was about to get into a fight, but now it’s back. I distract myself from the urge to step between her thighs by going back upstairs to turn off the water in the shower. When I return to the kitchen, I grab ingredients out of the fridge and pans from the bottom cabinets.

“You hungry?” I ask, as I move to the counter and get to work prepping food for dinner.

“Starving.” She says, her voice sounding a little horse.

I glance up to find her staring at my chest. I clear my throat and she finally looks up at me. I bite back a smile, a groan, and the urge to fuck her where she sits. She’s not ready for that. Iknowshe’s not ready for that. But I also want her to know that when she is, then so am I. “Dinner won’t take long and if there’s anything in this kitchen that you want as an appetizer, all you have to do is ask.”

Thea

Wolfe busted me staring at his chest. I’m a little embarrassed about it, even though I know I have no reason to be. I’m allowed to look. I’m allowed to touch. Iwant to touch and I want to fall into the fun and flirty banter with him. The moment I let myself think about going there, and start imagining his hands on my skin, that feeling of uncertainty creeps in and that sense of helplessness that I felt in that place returns.

There were no soft touches. Each and every one was hard and painful, designed to make me bleed or scream. The moment Ithink about moving closer to him, my body overrides my brain and I’m left feeling as if I’m in my body and detached from it at the same time.

“LaReaux, you alright?”

I swallow over the dryness in my throat, forcing myself to speak. “Of course. What are you making?” If he’s disappointed in me not picking up on his innuendo about appetizers, he doesn’t show it.

“Steaks, roasted brussel sprouts and squash.”

“It sounds amazing.” I hop down from the counter and head for the living room. “I’m gonna go curl up on the couch. Call me when it’s done?”

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