Page 86 of Bleeding Hearts
There’s a noise, and we break apart, a wrangler appearing before us.
Lally uses her body to shield me. “Laila Stewart, you won, but you broke the rules, therefore you are disqualified.” He turns away, and she turns to me, pushing my wet hair out of my face.
“You gave up your chance to win,” I whisper when she doesn’t respond, just watches me. “Don’t you regret it?”
“Regret what? I don’t need money. You are the best thing in my life. I would regret not choosing you every day. It wasn’t even a choice, Alice. It’s always you. Fuck winning, I don’t need it. I just need you, okay?” she replies, and I slump in her embrace.
Looking around, I see others outside of the pool, wet and shocked. When I glance at the water, the wranglers are retrieving three bodies, but it’s over.
It was the last game.
Risk has its winner.
It’s finally done.
Lally rubs my arms and back, her jacket wrapped around me as we wait to leave.
“Risk-takers, we thank you for participating. The money for the winner will be wired into their account. For those who lost, we thank you for your dedication to the game.” The wranglers line up before us. “For those who feel angry or . . . slighted, we remind you that Risk is a secret game. Anyone caught breaking this vital rule will face the consequences. We have eyes everywhere. Please find the exit behind you. Thank you for playing. We will see you again.”
I want to scream that they won’t, but Lally tugs me to the exit, reaching up slightly as we pass the door. I frown, but she justsmiles at me, and once we’re back on the main campus, she takes my hand as we walk to her dorm.
When we get to her room, we’re still quiet, lost in thoughts about what happened. She runs a shower and helps me remove my clothes, and I climb in, cranking up the water to the hottest setting to warm up. I try to shake off the shock of what happened tonight as arms wrap around me from behind, and I lift my head to meet her gaze over my shoulder.
She was going to die with me, and that idea should terrify me, but all it does is remind me why I love her.
Turning in her arms, I cradle her cheek in my palm and kiss her. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she whispers.
“You came back for me,” I murmur, barely able to believe it. I accepted death in the water, knowing she was okay. I want to tell her off, to make her promise to never do it again, but I’m grateful.
I was so scared. I wasn’t ready to die, and she saved me.
“Always,” she says as she turns her head and kisses my hands on her shoulders. Her fingers trail down my back before she tugs me closer, and we stand pressed together in the wet spray.
After a few minutes, she starts to wash me softly. I nearly died again tonight. I’m so glad it’s over, but as the shock disappears, pain and tears arrive. She washes every inch of me before wiping my tears away, and then Lally turns the shower off and wraps a towel around me, but I don’t need her gentleness.
I need her.
I press my lips to hers, and at first, she pulls away. “Alice—” I cover her mouth with my finger, knowing what she’s going to say.
“I need you. I need you,” I tell her, and then her lips are on mine as we back from the bathroom and into her bedroom.
We stumble to the bed and fall into a heap on it, our lips locked together until I pull away for a breath, my lungs and throat still aching. “It was you. I heard you. That’s why I came back. I’ll always come back for you,” I vow.
She groans and kisses me harder, sliding her hands over every inch of me as if to assure herself I’m alive before she slows down, loving me as she touches me. “You’re never going anywhere again. You’ll stay right here with me where I can look after you, and I’ll show you exactly how much I love you.”
“I love you,” I rasp, my voice still raw as I reach for her.
“I love you too. I’ll show you just how much.”
She makes love to me, proving it over and over again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I glance back to see Alice asleep. Her bare back is exposed where she’s cuddled into my pillow. It might be the last time I see her, so I drink in the sight of her before forcing myself to move. Standing, I tug the blankets up, covering her before I lean in and steal a kiss.
“I love you so much. I’m doing this for you, and I hope you’ll forgive me.” I slip from my dorm room. A note is on the desk, ready for when she wakes up, but it will be too late.
