Page 67 of Captured Heart

I’ve never seen him like this, so open and unguarded. It’s as if, for the first time, he’s letting me see the man behind the hardened mask. That smile is so rare, so real, it’s heart-achingly beautiful.

And it does something to me. My chest tightens, warmth spreading through me, and I just melt.

“You smile now?” I ask.

That smile turns into a chuckle. “Maybe I finally found a reason to smile.”

“Surely, there’s an easier way to get a smile out of you. One that doesn’t involve me chained to a bed.”

“Actually, that’s the bit I liked most.”

“Hm?” I nod. “Are you going to let me go anytime soon?”

“No.” He lifts himself off me, shifting onto his knees once more. “I was in prison for four years, and when this is over, I’m probably going back for a very long time.” Using both hands, he grips my sides just below my breasts. “If this is all the time we have, I’m gonna take enough to get me through every lonely night that I can’t be with you.” His hands slowly move down to my waist. “I’m not letting you go until I have my fill of you...and I’m nowhere near done.”

The playfulness I saw just a moment ago disappears, and in one swift motion, he flips me over like a rag-doll. I land on my stomach with a thud, my wrists twisting over each other. He yanks my hips up, positioning himself behind me. He’s already hard again, and I bite into the pillow to brace myself for the impact.

With a quick jerk of his hips, he rams into me, dominating me in the most primal way. He wraps my hair around his fist while his other hand grips my hip to secure me in place. And then he goes wild, losing himself in me and this moment.

I don’t know how long I stay trapped in that bubble of euphoria. I don’t know how many times I orgasm or how many times I feverishly whisper his name. All I know is that when he finally stops, the birds are chirping outside. The sun is slowly creeping up in the sky.

When he unlocks the handcuffs, my arms are stiff, and my whole body is aching. He told me my breasts would be sore and tender. They are. He told me my muscles would be quivering from overexertion. They are. He told me I would feel raw and used, and I do.

But the thing that stands out scares me the most. I don’t know how this is going to end, but it’s very likely that I’ll never see him again. That means that I may never feel this kind of passion again, this kind of pleasure. He told me that when he’s done, every inch of me would wantonlyhim.

And it’s true.

All of it is true.

14. Aleksandras

The sound of the shower fills the room, a steady rhythm that does nothing to drown out the noise in my head. I sit on the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor like it has all the answers I’ll never find. The room feels too quiet, even with the faint hum of the water. Too still. It gives me too much space to think, and thinking is the last thing I want to do right now.

I should’ve walked away. My brain recounts every opportunity I had to leave this all behind. Last night was my last chance, but I didn’t take it. I couldn’t. And now I’m screwed. I’ve passed the point of no return.

She’s got her claws so deep in me, and I’m not even sure she knows it. I could get up and leave right now. No one will stop me, not even Victor. He’ll just keep the rest of my cut and send me on my way. He doesn’t need me. He’s got more than enough goons to finish this job.

But I won’t leave her. I can’t.

She’s trapped in this place, and so am I. The difference is, I chose this. And I’m accustomed to making poor choices in life. I’ve been doing it for years. But not her. She’s a casualty of circumstance, another pawn in Victor’s twisted game. And last night just sealed my fate. Whatever comes next, I’ll have to accept it, because there’s no way I’m walking out of here without her.

It’s insane how fast this happened. Just two weeks ago, she was a job, a mark I had to manipulate to get what Victor wanted.That was the plan. Stick to the mission. Keep it clean. Keep it simple. No feelings. No complications.

But then she smiled at me, and something shifted. Not all at once, but slowly, like water wearing down a rock. The more I was around her, the more those cracks in my walls started to form. And she didn’t even know she was doing it. She wasn’t trying to break me down. She just...slipped through the gaps.

Like a thief.

That’s the only way I can explain it because I have enough experience to see all the similarities. She snuck in, soft and silent, slipping past every defense I’ve spent years building. She’s so unguarded that she forced me to lower mine, too. No alarm bells went off. Nothing alerted me to this intruder until it was too late.

After my mom passed, I thought I was dead inside. When they buried her, I thought they also buried every part of me that could feel something real. But then Katie looked at me with those warm, trusting brown eyes, and suddenly, I was a man with everything to lose.

I don’t know how she did it. Maybe it’s that damn sentimental streak, the way she wears her heart on her sleeve, always giving, always hoping, even when the odds are stacked against her. Or maybe it’s that unshakable strength she doesn’t even realize she has. The way she holds herself, even in the face of all this. It’s not loud or showy, but it’s there, like steel under silk.

She’s everything I didn’t know I needed. Everything I thought I’d never deserve.

And now, every time I look at her, it feels like I’m being torn in two. Because I can’t stop caring, can’t stop wanting to protect her, even if it costs me everything.

The water shuts off, pulling me from my thoughts. I hear the faint shuffle of her feet on the tiles, and my muscles tighten.She doesn’t even know what she’s done to me. But I know one thing for certain. I’d burn this entire fucking world to the ground before I let anything happen to her.

---