Page 74 of Black Hearts
“You.”
I sighed. “Yeah, obviously, but what’s so funny about me?”
“You’re always so grumpy. I think it’s your way of keeping everyone out, pushing the world away. You don’t have to do that, Bennet.” She was too insightful for her own good. It’s part of the reason she was able to dig herself so deeply underneath my skin that I could never hope to get her out.
I moved my stare to the pool. The patio was so quiet now, save for the sounds of Will and Jaxon cleaning up. I watched the water for a while. “Everything is easier that way. At least, I thought it was.” A sigh left me. “It was easier until you.”
Juliet didn’t say anything to that, not right away. That was fine, because even I didn’t know where the conversation could go from here. The truth was, everything was easier before Juliet had stumbled into my life, but I didn’t want to go back.
I turned my head away from the pool, staring past Juliet, at the expansive grounds beyond the manicured area of the property. The wood line was a ways away, and thoughts of chasing Juliet in them, the darkness surrounding us, filled my head.
“What are you thinking about?” Juliet’s soft voice broke into my thoughts.
“I’m thinking about how badly I want to hunt you in the woods.”
My answer must not have been what she’d expected, because even in the dying light, I could see her cheeks darken with a blush. “Bennet—” All she could say was my name.
“What? I enjoyed chasing you all those nights, when it was just you and me. I want to do it again.” My eyes fell to her stomach. “But only when you’re ready.” It was no fun when your prey was weak and injured. Only when they could put up their best fight was the hunt worthwhile. This was no different.
“Bennet, I—”
“How about this?” I got up and leaned over her chair, over her, lowering my body as much as I could while still standing. I took her throat in my hands, feeling her gasp ever so slightly in response, and I gazed deep into those beautiful eyes. “You come to me when you’re ready to be hunted again. Doesn’t matter when. I’ll wait however long it takes.” My stare fell to her lips, and I licked mine in anticipation. “You’re the only one I want to chase now.”
I lowered my mouth to hers, kissing her hard, tasting her sweetness. She moaned a little into the kiss, melting against me, my hand still wrapped around her throat.
Even though it was one of the hardest things ever, I managed to pull my mouth off hers. Just by looking at her, I knew I’d left a mark, and I also knew she’d take me up on the offer. She liked being hunted just as much as I enjoyed doing it.
I didn’t know how long I’d have to wait to play cat and mouse with her, but I’d wait an eternity if I had to.
Turned out, I didn’t have to wait an eternity. Just two weeks. Two weeks. Fourteen fucking days, and then the want had turned into a need. Everyone had settled in the house, everyone back to their normal routines, only Juliet didn’t have much to do… and that left her with plenty of time to imagine me chasing her through the woods in the back.
Juliet woke me in the middle of the night. She came to me, sat on my bed, and leaned over me while I was asleep. She was lucky it was her voice that had pulled me out of a dream, otherwise I’d have reacted much differently to being woken up.
“Bennet,” she whispered my name with an urgency I recognized, one that made certain parts of me twitch in anticipation.
My entire body thrummed. “Juliet.”
“Come on.” She tugged down my sheets and grabbed my hand, pulled me out of bed. She let me throw on a shirt, and then I grabbed my switchblade beneath my pillow, tucking it into the pocket of my shorts. She didn’t have to say where she led me; I knew. I knew the moment I woke up why she’d appeared, why she’d tugged me from a dream. Hand in hand, we walked through the house, its halls quiet, not another soul to be seen.
It was only as we exited the house and walked onto the patio that I asked her, “Are you sure?” Markus would kill me if I hurt her. Hell, I’d kill myself.
Not that pain wasn’t fun to mix with pleasure every once in a while, but aggravating her stomach injury was something different. The wound was closed, she could move without pain, but you never knew. Sometimes ghostly sensations lingered in spite of everything.
She nodded, and together we walked across the patio, out into the gardens. Past that, to the grassy area. And then, finally, the outskirts of the wooded acres in the back of the property. It’s where I liked to go to be alone sometimes, although I hadn’t felt the need lately, maybe because of the girl whose hand I clutched.
As we stood there together, gazing out at the dark woods, the only light from the moon high above us, I couldn’t help but think about how everything had changed. Because it had. I’d fought against it tooth and nail, but it didn’t bring me anywhere, didn’t stop it from happening. It was like Juliet was an immovable force, brought here against her will to change us all.
Fuck. That sounded cheesy as shit, didn’t it? Fuck me. Fuck all that cheesy shit. It was time to do a little hunting.
I slid my hand out of hers, slow to turn to face her. She matched my body’s movements, and neither one of us said anything for a while. We simply stared at each other through the darkness. The moon was more behind me, so its silver light illuminated her face much more than it did mine, letting me see its reflection in the blue hue of her eyes.
The wind was chilly, and I watched Juliet shiver a bit. Being cold wouldn’t be a problem soon enough. We’d get the blood pumping, the heart racing, very soon.
“I’ll give you a head start, just like old times,” I whispered, barely able to hold myself back from her. The way she stared at me made me feel all sorts of things—mostly, I wanted to rip off her clothes and have at her in the moonlight, make her squirm against me, moaning all the while, like I knew she did. Maybe bring out my knife and fuck her with it.
Fuck, yes, I could go for that. I could always go for that, honestly.
Juliet didn’t hesitate. She didn’t stand there and question me, ask me what the hell I was talking about, not like she did in the past. Tonight, she’d come to me for this, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t daydreamed about chasing her again. There was no better hunt than the one for Juliet, no prize sweeter than the space between her legs. My cock got hard just thinking about it.
