HERO (The Complete Series)

by Bella Love-Wins

  She wondered what Sebastian would think of her like this. Would he recognize the mix of Lexxi and Alex? The playful tomboy who wasn’t always self-assured, who sometimes wanted to hide away from the world? Would he get the part of her that did love the spotlight? Alone in her room, she could admit to being a coward. It was easier to keep things the way they were with Bash. She did not have to worry about his feelings—or her own. Friendships were simpler. Relationships were clumsy.

  Her chest rose and fell as she took in a deep breath. She noticed the gentle slope of her breasts underneath the sheer dark blue silk top, trimmed with lace. Her waist tapered in from narrow hips, and beneath the hem of the top, her thighs were slender and muscular from regular jogging. That was something she could not wait to get back to—her private gym.

  She rifled her hands through her hair, which was longer now, falling around her face. Turning her face side to side, she imagined how he would see her. She moved away from the mirror to the window, drawn to him across the space between their houses. Earlier, she wanted to tell Bash she would miss him. She did not say it, to spare his feelings. Now, it was clear she was just protecting herself from being hurt again.

  She gazed out the window. It was settled. This was the countdown—the countdown to goodbye, the countdown to telling him who she really was. She would tell him in the morning.

  “No sense in waiting to the last minute.”

  She pushed her hair back and crawled into bed. It was late. Rosa had already left. The nurse had arrived, and Dad had received his meds. He was sleeping. She was the only one up, and she needed to get her rest too, because she had something important to do in the morning.

  I’m going to be honest with Bash.

  I’m going to tell him I’m Lexxi Rock.

  Chapter 25

  ALEXANDRA let out a soft moan from deep in her throat.

  Sebastian whispered in her ear, “Alex, you’re so sexy. I want to pleasure you at night, and bring a smile to your face every morning. Tell me what you want, Alexandra.”

  Alexandra felt his hot breath on her neck, and the kiss he pressed just below her earlobe. She could barely think.

  “Mmmm. Oh God, Bash. Just take me,” she said, gasping as he licked and caressed her neck. “Take me, then hold me. I need you, Sebastian.”

  He did not wait a second longer. He took her neck and ravaged her collarbone, sucking and gently kissing her with his lips and tongue and breath. She ran her hand through his hair, gripping him tightly at the base of his neck. She moaned when he pressed his hand firmly on her back. He lowered his head down between her breasts, caressing and teasing her as he made his way to her stomach. She ran her hands down his back, loving the contact between their bodies.

  Sebastian moved lower still, devouring the tender skin below her belly button. Her stomach pulsed as he kissed her. She felt his hands slide up and down her sides, caressing her rib line and down to her hips, trailing across her sensitive skin. He tilted his neck to look in her eyes. Alexandra met his gaze, and her lips parted. Her hips began to move under him, drawing him in closer.

  “Close your eyes Alexandra. I’ll take good care of you.”

  She did.

  She felt him move his hands down to the tops of her inner thighs, massaging her as he went. She parted her legs at the feel of his tongue at her pelvic bone. He ignited her to the core. His hot skin against hers aroused her, filling her with abandon and need and pleasure all at the same time, sending her to another world.

  He slowly moved between her legs, kissing a path down her lower stomach to her inner thighs. Her hips rocked without her permission, her center begging to be touched and entered without saying the words. She wanted him—needed him. She was going crazy with desire, but reminded herself they had all night, and she would love every minute of waiting.

  He made his way down her legs, kissing every spot, teasing and tempting her all the way down to her toes. She gasped and hissed, and tilted her hips, already close to the edge from only his touch. She was losing control of her need. She had to have him. Her body craved him. She was panting and squirming under his touch; almost gone from her mind. Her whimpers became pleas.

  “I need you, Bash,” she cried.

  He moved back up her legs, slowly, deliberately, whispering that he would give her pleasure to last all night, and take her to her heights over and over again. She surrendered to him now.

  All her need was expressed and on display, beckoning him. There was no more waiting, no more tempting; there was just the two of them, ready to satisfy each other, ready to hit the heights of pleasure. He grasped behind her knees and pulled her gently into position underneath him.

  His skin was scorching hot against her. He held her hips firmly. She was so close, so ready to be set free. She threw her head back as they joined together, each moving with the other, rocking in synchrony, matching each other’s rhythm, becoming one. They found their heights together, their voices connecting as much as their bodies, each one shaking through the waves that rolled through them. He held her afterwards, wrapping her in his warmth, protecting her from the outside world.

  “I love you, Alexandra,” he said in a whisper. “Why did you leave without telling me who you really were?”

  Alexandra opened her eyes and sat up with a jolt. Bash was not there. She had been dreaming. She collapsed back into the bed. She wished she had just told him last night. Even her guilt had invaded her dreams.

  * * *

  Alexandra was hot. It felt like she was back in the humid rainforest set where she had filmed her last music video. The air was suffocating, stifling her ability to breathe. The place was beautiful, but all that beauty hid something terrible. She could not put her finger on what was wrong. She choked back a cough, and swatted at oversized leaves as she tried to make her way forward.

  “Where are we supposed to go?” she heard her father’s voice.

  It was close but also far away. She searched for him, but could not find him. She reached out, and their hands touched, but he was pulled away. Someone was chasing her. There was nowhere to escape. She had to get her father out, so she kept reaching, searching in the darkness, coughing, stifling in the humid, thick air. No matter which way she turned, she felt as though she had already been there. She was prolonging the inevitable.

  “Dad! Come this way!” she screamed.

  As she heard the sound of her own scream, she knew she was dreaming, except this dream was washed in red and orange, like bright sunlight was piercing through the canopy of leaves overhead, sending down heat and steam and humidity that made her clothes stick to her wet skin.

  “Daddy, please, we have to get out of here!”

  Suddenly, she heard the roar of thousands of hands clapping. She was whisked away to a huge stage in the middle of a black arena. The audience went wild with applause. The noise was deafening. Terrifying. The scene was familiar, yet touched with danger. She whipped her hair around, but her knee-length hair was replaced by short curls close to her head.

  “No, I’m Alex.”

  The blinding spotlight pointed to her. It was hot enough to make her break a sweat. She looked around in alarm, still trying to find her father.

  “No, this is wrong. I’m not supposed to be here.”

  “You’re on fire, Lexxi!” Rick exclaimed from behind the curtain. He flashed her a thumbs up.

  “It’s too hot, Rick. I can’t stay here. Get me out!”

  “Lexxi! Lexxi! Lexxi!” The crowd chanted maniacally.

  “No.” She shook her head again, backing away.

  A loud crash made her jump and the microphone in her hand fell to the floor with a thud and whistle of static. Pyrotechnics exploded behind her. Rick kept repeating, “You’re on fire, baby!”

  “Fire,” she murmured. “Fire.”

  “Alex!”

  Her eyes fluttered open and she was overwhelmed by a blast of smoke to the face.

  “Fire!” she screamed, awake now and back in her bedr
oom. It was as hot as an oven. Her panicked eyes quickly scanned the bedroom, but there weren’t any flames—just smoke pouring in from beneath the crack of her door.

  “Oh my god!” she screamed. “The house is on fire!”

  Chapter 26

  SEBASTIAN woke up in the middle of the night, and saw the tell-tale orange flicker through the window of his bedroom. He sat up and looked out the window.

  Max’s house is on fire!

  Alexandra!

  He immediately envisioned Max and Alexandra stuck in a burning house, unable to get out. The panic hit him like a brick.

  I have to get them out.

  He raced out of his room, down the stairs and out the front door to get over to his neighbor’s house. Thankfully, their front door was unlocked. He hurried inside and got to Max first, almost lifting him out of the hospital bed. He hustled to the foot of the stairs with Max at his side, an arm looped across his shoulder.

  “Alex!” he shouted up the stairwell. Sebastian had to get Max out first, but refused to leave her behind. “Alex, if you can hear me, get down on the floor and crawl! I’ll come back for you!”

  “Sebastian, go get my daughter!”

  Max tried to shout at him with what strength he had left. Sebastian dragged him toward the front door. Max coughed and sputtered. The smoke was too thick for him in his weakened state. Sebastian needed to pull him outside, away from the overpowering smoke. He looked at Max, struggling to catch his breath, and each time his chest rose to suck in some air, a wracking coughs kicked in in.

  “My oxygen,” Max forced out, between a fit of wheezing.

  “I’ll get it. I’ll get Alexandra. Please, just stay right here!”

  Sebastian set him down on the pavement at the other side of the street. It did not look good. With one or more oxygen tanks stored in the burning house, the place could blow anytime. He could not tell where the fire had started or how much of the house was engulfed. He had no idea how much time he had before the fire would reach the dining room, but he had to get both the oxygen tank and Alex out. The smoke had already begun to creep across the ceiling and billow outside. As he ran back through the open front door, a crushing uncertainty about which to do first overcame him.

  What if the fire started in her room?

  Panic clutched his chest.

  “Alex!” he shouted, and raked shaking fingers through his hair.

  He ignored the pain in his injured leg, taking the stairs two at a time. His injury and his anxiety made the trek harder than normal. The second floor was where the fire was hottest and most treacherous. He rushed across the landing and jogged up to the third floor for Alexandra.

  “Bash!” She burst through the bedroom door, barely visible in the thick clouds of smoke.

  Sebastian bent forward, ducking his head to get clearer air. Up here, with all the smoke, they could both end up passing out. He needed to get them out fast.

  “Get down on the floor, Alex! Get as low as you can and come to me. We don’t have much time!”

  Alexandra wrapped her robe tighter around her waist and dropped to the floor. She crawled to him and they started down the stairs together, as fast as they could go.

  “Where’s my dad?” she asked in her panicked state.

  Sebastian did not mention her slip-up. He was too busy trying to get them out. “He’s outside. Move, move! We have to get out of here!”

  At this point, crawling didn’t even matter. They ran down the stairs, with the fire chasing behind them. Sebastian only had one shot of getting this right.

  “Alex, you get outside!” he told her when they made it down to the main floor. “Get to Max. I have to get his oxygen tank, or it can explode. Take him inside my house. My front door is open. When you get in, I need you to call 911 again. Now go!”

  She ran to the front door, and Sebastian slid across the hardwood floor of the foyer into the dining room, scooping up the oxygen tank. He yanked the hose, but it was stuck. It was entangled in the rails of the bed. The noise of the fire was so familiar, but tonight, he was more terrified than he had ever felt. He was not wearing protective gear, his busted knee kept shooting pain up his leg, and the people he cared about were in danger.

  “Come on. Come on!” he shouted, feeling the sweat and soot on his skin as he fought to untangle the hose. The sound of flames was louder. Smoke poured into the room. It was thick and black, and the smell was acrid. He sneezed, blinking back stars. Finally, his fingers felt where it was caught on the railing. He slid the hose across and down the metal bar, and it came free. Just as flames began to run along the ceiling, he made a mad dash out the front door, ducking away from the scorching heat.

  When he got outside with the tank, people from the neighborhood were already gathered around in the middle of the street. Sirens wailed in the distance. Someone beat Alexandra to calling for help. The huge sigh of relief that rushed from his lungs, was filled with a clean burst of fresh air.

  Alexandra is safe.

  Max is safe.

  The place didn’t blow up.

  Thank God.

  “Good job, Sebastian.” Someone from the neighborhood patted him on the back.

  “Where’s Alex?”

  He pushed past the onlookers, searching for Max and Alex. A firetruck came to a stop by the curb. His coworkers spilled out. Sebastian approached them to let them know what to expect.

  “Hey, guys,” he shouted. “There’s medical equipment in there, and there may be another oxygen tank in the dining room. Be careful.”

  His old crew started to hook up hoses. A separate team of firefighters got to work on pushing the crowd back. The house could still blow, but all he was interested in now was finding Alexandra.

  “Bash!”

  He heard her call his name. It was like no one else was around them. The buzz and clamor died down, and he zeroed in on her scared face, standing out from the rest. She was at the back of the ambulance where paramedics were working on Mr. Storme. He ran to her.

  “Alex! Is he alright? Are you alright?”

  He dragged her into his arms, hugging her, squeezing her tight. He did not care who was watching or what anyone thought. He did not care if she was worried about what they thought either. When she wriggled away, he pulled her back in. He tucked her head under his chin and ran his hand through her hair. The smoke smell clung to them both. None of that mattered. She was alive. She was safe.

  “I’m fine,” Alex answered, pulling away to turn to Max. “Daddy inhaled some smoke. With his pneumonia, it can’t be good.”

  “Oh, no. I wish I had made it inside fast enough.”

  “They’re taking him to the hospital. I have to phone Rosa and tell her what’s going on, and I want to go with him.” She looked down at the terrycloth robe and flip flops she had on. “I can’t go like this!”

  Alexandra moved to her father’s side. She stared down at him, sooty tears rolling down her gray cheeks. The gains he had made over the past two weeks were wiped away by the fire. A fresh oxygen mask was now in place, pumping air into his body. Still, Max’s face was pale. He looked weak. His eyes continued to flutter and close. He was depleted by the ordeal.

  “We have to go now, Mr. Roberts,” the paramedic said.

  Alexandra looked over at Sebastian, desperation on her face.

  “I’ll get you to the hospital, Alex,” he told her. “We can stop over at my place and find you something to wear. You can use my phone to call Rosa on the way over.”

  She nodded gratefully. Only then did she hop down from the ambulance. She followed him back through the crowd to get to his place. Sebastian heard the fire chief call him over. Already, there was reluctance on Alexandra’s face. She wanted to follow her dad to the hospital as soon as possible.

  “I can’t talk right now, Chief,” he shouted over to him. “I need to get my neighbor’s nephew to the hospital.”

  “Hey, Bash! Alex!” Nate waved and jogged over to them. “Are you two all right?”


  “Yes,” he said for both of them.

  “Glad to hear it. There weren’t any more oxygen tanks inside,” Nate told them. “So there’s no risk of explosion. We got the worst of the fire out. You know the drill. We can’t give an official cause without the fire chief’s confirmation, but it looks electrical. Probably old wiring, and definitely from the second floor. We see that a lot in old houses like this, right Bash?”

  “For sure. Thanks for the update, Nate. Alex and I have to get to the hospital now. Call me on my cell when this is all over, okay?”

  “Will do.”

  Sebastian was still fighting through the pain that made his knee tight and inflexible. He pushed open his front door and went over to the entryway table, grabbing his keys and pocketing his wallet and phone. “Come on, Alex. My clothes will all be too big for you, but it’s better than a robe.”

  He hobbled to the laundry room and grabbed a clean set of clothes from the dryer. He was not going to make it all the way up the stairs after overworking his knee. It hurt like hell as he crouched down and pulled out some shorts and a t-shirt. “Try this,” he told her, and pointed to the main floor bathroom. Alexandra hurriedly went in, and came out in shorts that hung almost to her calves, cinched at the waist with a drawstring. The t-shirt was also oversized, but it got the job done.

  “Let’s go,” she ordered.

  He tossed her the phone and locked up before walking to the Jeep. He would have to maneuver through the crowded street and probably break the speed limit to get to the hospital. There was no way they would catch up to the ambulance.

  Alexandra wheezed beside him. “There was so much smoke,” she whispered, seeming to relive what had just happened. She was shaking. He reached across the center console and squeezed her hand gently.

  “You’re alright. You made it out. Max made it out. Everything’s going to be okay. Go on. Call Rosa.”

  “You saved us.”

  “I did what anyone would do, Alex. Nothing more.” He sped up, and quickly looked her way before returning his attention to the road. Tears rolled down her face. “You’re one of my best friends,” he said honestly. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”