Page 77 of Holy Hearts
Fuck…if he keeps looking at her like that…
The kiss is brief, fleeting, but the way Kai lingers makes my throat tighten. I run my hand over Sophie’s jaw, grounding myself in the familiar feel of her skin, reminding myself who she belongs to.
“I can order pizza?” I offer, feeling slightly awkward.
“Pizza sounds amazing,” Sophie says, and it comes out as a satisfied sigh.
I nod and usher her out of the bedroom, and when I turn, I see Kai’s eyes follow her.
There’s something unsettling about how easy this feels, like we’ve stumbled into dangerous territory, but none of us are willing to acknowledge it yet.
I can’t decide if I like it or hate it.
“Are you coming?” I ask, trying to keep my voice light.
Kai exhales slowly, his shoulders dropping as if a weight has been lifted, and I notice the faintest hint of relief in his eyes. For a moment, the tension that had been knotted between us seems to loosen, like we’re all taking one step closer to something… more. Something none of us fully understands yet. But for now, it’s enough.
I mean, if the scene we just did was any indication, we’re long past whatever the fuck we expected to happen tonight.
“Yeah,” he says, his voice softer than before, almost like he’s giving in to the idea—letting himself believe this could work.
Whateverthisis.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE ALPHA
Malakai
As I lift the barbell off the rack, the cold steel presses into my palms, grounding me in the moment. The plates clink faintly as I steady myself, and as I push through each rep, the burn spreads through my chest and arms, sharp and steady. It’s a good kind of pain, the kind that silences the voice in my head and reminds me of why I’ve been hiding out at the gym instead of acknowledging what happened last night.
I’m not even sure what happened, how it went from a fun night with Sophie to somehow involving Julian. As I push my body past the limits I’ve set for myself, my jaw clenches tighter. The taste of his cum on Sophie’s lips… the salty, bitter taste… it was the first time I’d ever tasted it, and I wanted more.
Andfuck…being with Sophie was addicting. The way she was so responsive, the way she fought back, only to submit beautifully… it made me feel as if I’d earned her submission. I wanted to do it again, and not just the physical things, either.
I anticipated that being with Sophie would feel transactional. That afterward, they’d be eager to go home and talk amongst the two of them. And I’d be left by myself—plus Willy, of course.
But that’s not what happened at all.
After we’d all come down from the scene, the pizza arrived, and we sat around in my living room watchingHalloween. It felt… normal. Julian and I complained about the carelessness of the characters while Sophie laughed—that half snort she tried to hide—and the way her eyes lit up when she glanced at me felt like we were sharing some secret. Julian sat steady and confident next to her, his quiet intensity filling the room as always.
When he smirked at me, I felt an indescribable ripple of… something. Like an unseen electrical current.
I didn’t expect to feel this way about Julian.
That easy connection we had, the quiet respect that simmered into something heavier, something that kept me awake most of last night after they’d left, was impossible to ignore.
I couldn’t help but watch the two of them, and how they fit together seamlessly, like two halves of a whole. Julian’s hand resting casually on her knee, the way he looked at her like she was everything, and yet, somehow, it didn’t shut me out. If anything, it pulled me closer.
I felt included.
Like I’d somehow slipped into their lives in a way that felt effortless, but wasn’t supposed to happen. And I hated that I wanted more—of both of them, in every possible way.
Wanting them was a disaster waiting to happen, but it’s too late now.
I am so very fucked.
Setting the barbell back on the rack, I run a hand through my sweat-soaked hair. My arms are shaking, so I need to call it quits before I’m rendered useless tomorrow.
