Shattered Heart (The Hart Series) (39 page)

“Oh, I know
him.  I know him and I, we’re far from done.”

“We ARE done. 
Alex is switching departments.  We’re moving in together.  It’s done.  There’s
nothing left to decide.  We’re together and you’re just going to have to deal
with it.  I won’t let you control us anymore.” 

She laughs,
squealing like a pig.  “You’re just like your mother, giving away your life for
a man who will one day disappoint you.  Just like all the rest.”

“You know what,
Arianna?  I feel sorry for you.  Your entire life mission has revolved around
the misery of others.  It’s pathetic really.  And, it’s true what they say. 
Misery loves company.  Unfortunately for you, you’re alone.  Your husband can’t
stand the sight of you; you have no friends, so you fall right in line with how
miserable you really are.  Trying to take everyone down with you.  You and your
wretched life, it is pathetic.  You tried with my parents and even that didn’t
work because even in death they’re still together.”

A snarl erupts
from her chest when she pushes me back against the wall.  “Coincidental,
right?  That they died knowing your father was deep inside me just days before
it happened and your twit of a mother crying and begging him to stay with her
when he was so wrapped up in me.  You say I’m pathetic?  Have you looked in the
mirror lately?  You sound just like her, weak and pathetic to the bone.” 

“You’re dead to
me!” I scream, braving past her to push the button on the control panel.  I
know I pushed the right button when the elevator propels us in motion.

“You have no
idea how true that statement is.”  Her voice is practically a whisper as she
straightens her dress and takes a look at her reflection in the metallic wall. 
“I’m not done with you.  Mark my words, in the end you’re going to wish you’d
listen to me.  When all you love is taken away from you, you’ll remember this
day.” 

My body shakes
watching her backside stride out of the elevator.  My knees buckle and sobs
destroy my once jovial mood.  I slink down, hugging my knees as the elevator
doors shut. 

What have I
done?

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Needless to say,
I’ve called out from work since Monday.  Maggie has been sympathetic and I’ve
even offered to work from home, but she insists that I rest and “get better.” 
Little does she know my ailment has no cure. 

Alex on the
other hand has been nothing but helpful and understanding, knowing this is all
coming at us so sudden, leaving me a reeling mess.  I didn’t tell him about my
elevator confrontation with Arianna.  I know, I know.  I should have.  But you
have to remember, even though Arianna is bat-shit crazy, Alex’s anger is a
whole other level of scary.  I would hate to see the two collide.

“Hey, you going
to pack or do I need to convince you to move in with me again?” Alex teases,
crawling on all fours, landing in front of me.  In light blue tattered jeans
and a plain white tee, Alex looks casual, relaxed, and ridiculously happy.  Not
to mention, that devious look in his eye can only mean one thing.  He feels
frisky.  The instant his hand touches my bare ankle, my skin flushes with
desire.

He pulls me
closer and I squeal with laughter as he pushes me back so that I’m resting on
my elbows.  My legs fall open wantonly.  His fingers roam over my thighs,
running over the thin cotton of my shorts and cami.  I love the feeling when
his stubble brushes against my sensitive belly.  I’ll wholeheartedly admit I
love playful Alex.  This is the new Alex: a person I wasn’t able to enjoy
before, but now I can’t get enough of.

I’m desperately
trying not to let Arianna get to me, but her words keep replaying over and over
again in my mind.  Even staying at Alex’s place last night made me uneasy.  I
tossed and turned, nausea taking over within hours of being there.  I used
packing as an excuse to stay at my apartment tonight.  Of course Alex insisted
on helping me, so here we are. 

“If you continue
to distract me, I’ll never get my stuff packed.”  I push against his chest. 
Alex leans back, sitting on his legs as he watches me pull my clothes back into
place.

“You’re just too
damn tempting.  I can’t help it if my hands have a mind of their own.  They
either want to be on your tits, playing with your clit or inside you.  Or on
your belly.”  My stomach clenches as his words send a warm sensation all over
my body.

“Well, you need
to learn to behave yourself.  What are you going to do when LJ is here?  We’ll
never be alone.”

“That’s what
babysitters are for,” Alex smirks, again trying to move closer.

“Uh-huh.”  I put
my foot against his chest stopping him from getting closer.  I realize how bad
that idea is when Alex grabs hold of my ankle and pulls me into his lap.

Wrapping his
arms around me, he mutters against my neck, “Are you deliriously happy yet?” 

“Yes,” I murmur
before tilting my head up to pull his down for a kiss.  I love the taste of
him.  I love how he knows just how much pressure to apply and how he sucks on
my bottom lip.  I love the feel of his hands fisted in my hair as he ravages
me. 

We roll around
on the floor like two love struck teenagers for awhile before I remind him that
the packing is never going to get done at this rate.  Apparently, he really
wants us in the same space because at that moment he immediately releases me
and resumes packing my books. 

After a few
minutes, the silence intrigues me.  When I peak over at Alex, I confirm my
suspicions.  I don’t know how long he’s been at it, but when I notice the cover
of one of my romance novels, I know he’s been contemplating his next sentence
wisely.  I watch him, surveying each cover before placing them inside the box.  Finally,
he looks up and I can’t help my giggle.

“Should we mark
this box as porn?” he jokes, allowing me to playfully hit him in his stomach.

“It’s not porn,
Alex!” I squeal.  “It’s romantic,” I say sweetly as he holds up a book with a
shirtless man, his chest glistening with sweat.

“Romantic huh?” 
Alex flashes his dimpled smirk at me.  “God, I must be pretty damn romantic
then.”

I laugh. 
“No…you are barbaric.” 

“Barbaric?  I
can show you barbaric if you want, sweetheart.”  He inches closer, his hand roaming
over my ass. 

“Alex…pack.”  I
slap his hand away.  “Be good.”  I pretend to reprimand him, when in reality if
he continued to touch me, I’d have to halt all packing progress and pull down
his pants and torture him the way he tortured me.

He feigns
pouting as he goes back to my books.  “Well, it sure as hell looked like porn
when you were reading it the other night.  I believe I saw the word cock used
at least eight times within two paragraphs.  That’s excessive.”

“Cock,” I purr
seductively, crawling towards him, climbing over his legs.  “Cock,” I repeat as
I lift his shirt, kissing the top of his happy trail.  “Cock,” I say again,
right when Alex sits up to allow me to pull his shirt over his head.  “Cock,” I
whisper in his ear a final time before running my tongue over his bottom lip. 
I can feel the rumble from deep inside his chest.  “Was that excessive, Mr.
James?”

“Fuck. Me.” Alex
moans.  “That word coming from your sweet mouth is sexy as hell.”  Alex pulls
me closer so I’m straddling him; his arousal rubbing against my core as he
grinds me against him.  Alex is gifted when it comes to knowing a woman’s
body.  He immediately knows where to touch me, how I’ll respond and
instinctually builds me up to the brink of insanity before giving me what I need.

As his tongue
begins to torture the sweet spot behind my ear, a maddening voice in my head
begins to repeat words from earlier in the week. 
There’s no part of his
body that I haven’t touched, licked, kissed.
  Distractedly, I try to push
the thoughts from my head.  Not so distractedly, however, that I can’t feel
Alex pulling down the neck of my cami to expose my nipple.  I close my eyes
tightly, trying to focus on his mouth instead of the string of thoughts in my
head.  I hate that my mind can’t shut it out. 

Alex must sense
my hesitation because he pulls away.  “Elyssa, what’s wrong?”  His fingers run
over my face, tucking strands of hair behind my ears.

“Just have a lot
on the mind,” I lie.  Well, technically it isn’t a lie.  But, we all know being
evasive is just as bad.

He rights my
shirt and pulls me closer.  Thankfully, he’s smart enough to know that play
time is officially over.  “You want to talk about it?” 

“It’s just my
silly hormones.  I’ll get over it.”  I try to push away from him and go back to
packing, but Alex quickly dismisses that idea and keeps me close.

“Hey, I don’t
want you just getting over things.  Talk to me,” he pleads, wrapping his arms
around me.

“It’s just.  I
was thinking…I’m moving into your house, and...”

He interrupts, “Which
will be our home.”  I nod, reluctantly.  I really am trying not to overreact
with the thought of so many women being in
our
home, but it may be a
losing battle. 

“I’ve been
wondering…just…well, how many other women have been there.  I know I’m being
ridiculous, but it’s hard to think of it as
our
home when you’ve had so
many other women there.”

Alex stills and
I know his answer before he speaks.  I hate this is bothering me.  I hate I
can’t shake the jealousy which has been running through my head since Arianna
planted that damn bomb.  Unfortunately for me, this bomb is my own personal IUD
and has been continuously exploding since Monday.

I shake my head
and pull away from him.  I stand and head into the kitchen to pack up the rest
of my plates and glasses.  I don’t even realize how frustrated I’ve become
until I drop a plate from my shaking hands.  My frustration isn’t with Alex.  I
want to throw something; preferably at Arianna.  I want to scream and claw my
way out of this damn prison she has me trapped in.  But really, how do you
escape your own head?

Alex rushes over
to pick up the pieces.  I kneel down to help him, but he stills my hands and
lifts me to sit on top of the counter.  “I’ll get it.  Stay up here until I
sweep.”

He grabs the
broom and dust pan and starts cleaning up, his face showing every worrisome
thought that must be scrambling around in that beautiful mind of his.  “Is that
why you didn’t want to stay at my house tonight?  Why you seemed so
uncomfortable last night?”

No words are necessary
as I watch him sweep up the ceramic fragments scattered across the tiled
floor.  He knows. 

“Well, there’s
only one thing to do then.”  It only takes him another minute, so when he
finishes up, he settles between my thighs.  I know he can see the anxiety
weighing on my face, but it takes him another minute to speak again.  I guess
waiting to make sure I’m fully paying attention.  “We’ll have to buy a
different house.”

Is he joking? 
He may think he’s doing me a favor, but he hasn’t thought about it long enough
to make that kind of commitment.  What does he expect to do with Nana?  The
home they share is the one she knows.  With her condition, it would be hard to
introduce her to new surroundings.  And what about Delores? 

“Alex, that’s a
lot of money to dish out just to deal with your girlfriend’s insecurities.”  I
wrap my arms around his neck and run my fingers through his hair, silently
loving he thought of this.  And that he doesn’t think I’m crazy.

“No, it’s an
investment for my future.  Our future.” 

What did I do to
deserve this kind of love?  I pull him in, deepening the kiss on the first
plunge.  My body reacts to the feel of his hands on the small of my back, his
mouth sucking on my bottom lip.  I love that I didn’t have to ask, that he offered
even though I know it’s such a hefty price to quell the storm inside my mind.

“Thank you,” I
breathe, resting my forehead against his.  “You are amazing.”  My tummy begins
to rumble and we both look at my naval and laugh.

He kneels down
so he’s face to face with my belly.  “I guess I need to get use to the baby
interrupting us.” 

“Alex, it isn’t
the baby…it’s me.  I’m always hungry now.”  I bite my bottom lip and run my
fingers through his messy hair.  That statement is true on so many levels.  I crave
him and pecan praline ice cream equally these days and I’m still in my first
trimester.  I can’t imagine how I’ll be later on in the pregnancy.

“Well that’s
good considering you told me you couldn’t keep anything down.  I need to run
home and grab a few things anyways, so I’ll pick up something for you and LJ.” 
He smiles as he stands, his large hands grasping the side of my head.  “Craving
anything?”

“Besides you?” I
tease.  Alex groans and tilts his head back as I place a chaste kiss against
his chest.  “Pecan Praline ice cream and anything else you want to get.” 

Alex pulls me
forward so I’m tight against him.  Instinctually, I wrap my legs around his
waist when he brings his mouth to mine.  I love kissing him.  The feel of his
tongue exploring my mouth and the noises he makes as he rubs against me drives
me crazy.  I sigh when he breaks away, placing a final sweet kiss against the
nape of my neck before he grabs his wallet and keys from the kitchen counter.