Page 55 of Black Hearts
I shot him a smile, and he rolled his eyes at me, but I could tell he was in a much better mood than he’d been in at Oliver’s house. Don’t know about you, but I’d call that a win. A less grumpy Markus was always a better Markus, I’d learned from experience.
Later that day, Will was waiting for me in my room. I’d just taken a shower, and I had walked across the hall wearing nothing but a towel. The moment I saw him, my feet stopped. He was lounging on my bed, staring at the ceiling, but when he heard me walk in, he sat up and gave me a dimpled grin.
I decided to shut the door behind me; my way of telling Will that we could be alone. Lately he’d been… I wouldn’t exactly say on his best behavior, because every so often his jealousy did peek through in the form of a snarky comment, but he was doing what he could, and I appreciated that. He wasn’t pushy. I think, after everything, he was waiting for me to make the move, something I definitely wasn’t used to.
Neither was he, though, because I’d noticed any time I stood or sat near him, he got visibly antsy.
“You’d never guess what Markus did while you were in the shower,” Will started, watching as I walked toward the bed to sit with him. His hazel gaze did dip low, taking in the fact that only a towel was currently wrapped around my body, something that could so easily be, say, torn off.
“What?”
“He thanked us for going after you,” Will said, and I could tell just by how he said it he was still in shock. “He admitted that if it wasn’t for us, you’d be dead right now, and he even went so far as to say as long as you wanted us, he’d put up with sharing you.” He let out a chuckle. “Who knew that all it would take to bring Markus to his knees was a girl like you?”
I couldn’t even linger on the fact that Markus had said all those things; my mind was too laser-focused on the last thing Will had said. “A girl like me?”
“Yeah, you know. Sweet. Innocent. You were Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole, blind, and he was the big bad waiting for you. We all were, I guess.” The smirk fell off Will’s face when he whispered, “When I first saw you, I never imagined we’d be here.”
I reached a hand out to him, running my fingers down along the side of his face. Markus wasn’t the only one trying. He was too, and I wanted him to know that I saw it, that I saw him. “Me, either,” I admitted.
Will took my outstretched hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing it gently. “If we’re going with that analogy, I think I’m the Cheshire Cat.”
“How so?”
“I was the one who led you to this path. Remember our secret date?” Will didn’t let go of my hand. When he lowered it to the bed, his fingers intertwined with mine, and he simply held onto it. “For so long, I tried to be normal, to be who everyone else wanted me to be. Now that I think about it, that’s exactly what I did ten years ago—which, obviously, didn’t work out well for anyone.”
I could feel the truth behind his words, and I squeezed his hand tight. “I just want you to be you.” His smile grew, and he stared at me for a long moment. I had to ask: “What?”
“You. You’re just… I don’t know how to explain it. I used to think Markus and this family gave me purpose, but the purpose they give me is nothing compared to what I feel when I’m with you.” He paused, swallowing. He drew our intertwined hands off the bed, and in the same motion, he pulled me closer to his lap. Not quite having me sit on him, but very close, so close I could lean into him—and that’s exactly what I did. “I need you, Juliet. I need you more than I need the air I breathe.”
Again, I knew he was telling the truth. The weight of his words hit me, and I could only whisper in response, “I need you, too.”
“Even after everything I did? I never meant to—”
I brought my other hand to his lips, setting a finger against them. I knew what he was going to say. He never meant to hurt me. He’d just wanted the others, Jaxon especially, out of the way. He’d been quietly manipulative, all to get to me, to have me to himself, but I didn’t want to linger on the past. If I did that, I’d never go anywhere. Everyone here had made mistakes; life was about moving on.
“I know,” I whispered. “I forgive you, Will.” And then, before he could say anything more, the finger on his lips fell away, replaced by my mouth. I kissed him sweetly, slowly, as if that kiss was a declaration of love itself. And, in a way, I guess it was.
Because I did. I loved Will. I loved them all. They each made me feel so alive. They completed me in ways I never dreamed of. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
He practically thrummed into the kiss, and before I knew it, the embrace turned fervent, heated. His arms wrapped around me, and I was fully pulled into his lap, our mouths never breaking away. Will held onto me like I was his lifeline, the only real thing in his life, and I embraced it, embraced him. As long as he never went behind my back again and tried to make decisions for me, I would be his, and he could be mine.
Between heated kisses, Will murmured, “I really want to take this towel off you.” We both knew he wouldn’t just stop at the towel though, and that’s why he’d resisted yanking it off the moment we got close on the bed. He was waiting for me to say the word, trying to prove to me that he could restrain himself.
You know what? If there was one thing I’d learned after being stabbed and left for dead, chained to a bed in the basement where my own mother had lost her life, it’s that you should always live in the moment, because tomorrow might never come. Who cared about restraint? Not me. Not right now.
My hands curled around his neck, and I held onto him tenderly, pulling my mouth off his to pant, “Take it off of me.” My skin flushed harder as I spoke the words, a fire igniting in my lower half. Everything in me was aflame; I could hardly see straight.
Will didn’t need me to say it twice. He didn’t hesitate as he undid the towel wrapped around my body, yanking it off and tossing it aside. The towel landed on the floor beside the bed, totally forgotten about as we returned to each other. He laid me down, my back on the bed, and his hands began to explore my body unhindered, taking in every smooth curve, every square inch. Tiny tingles of electricity followed his hands, and I couldn’t help but shiver.
These were the hands that had caused so many naughty dreams to enter my sleeping brain. These were the hands that made me come while I was blissfully unaware, too caught up in my dreams. They felt good while I was asleep, but they felt ten times as good now.
He stayed away from my stomach, careful to not get too close to the healing wound. Will’s mouth roamed to my neck, and he started sucking on the crook of it, making me moan. His hands cupped my chest, his expert touch making my nipples hard little pebbles, sensitive to each and every sensation.
“I can be good for you,” Will murmured, his lips brushing against my throat as he spoke. “I can play nice. I’ll be the man you need me to be. I’ll do anything for you. I won’t let the darkness take over again.” Promises spoken in the heat of passion, and yet I knew he wasn’t just saying them. I believed him.
And then he said something I wasn’t expecting.
“I can prove it. Let me get Jaxon.”
