Black Heart

by Jenny Lynn

  We danced through the evening, sipped on champagne and stepped out into the fresh air to cool off. I leaned against Nicholas, wrapped in his arms and sighed contentedly. I could not picture a more magical evening, in a city I was falling in love with. I gazed up at his face and smiled.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked. I turned to face him and ran my fingers along his bowtie.

  “I’m just admiring how handsome you look in a tuxedo,” I said.

  “My tux is nothing compared to the dress you picked, I can’t take my eyes off you all evening. You’re the most beautiful woman here.”

  I blushed and Nicholas lifted my chin to press his lips against mine. We clung to each other, I sank against him in surrender kissing him back in earnest and running my hands along his chest. Nicholas pulled back, his hands on my waist, his gaze becoming more intense.

  “If you keep kissing me like that, I’m going to have to take you straight back to the hotel,” he warned me.

  I gripped his jacket in my hands and pulled him towards me, pressing my body against his. “That’s not exactly an incentive for me to stop,” I teased. Before he could say another word I kissed him again, moving my tongue lightly against his own, then nipped his lip gently.

  Nicholas scooped me up in his arms and I gave a little yelp, then he carried me to the entrance where we got into a hired car. As soon as we were seated and he instructed the driver to the hotel, he turned and pulled me against him. Nicholas cradled my head and kissed me with barely restrained force, the building desire in him was apparent. He ran his fingers from my shoulders down my arms, tracing exposed skin. I squirmed against him, wanting to shed our clothes and collapse into bed together.

  The car pulled to a stop and Nicholas paid the driver. He then led me by the hand, rushing together through the lobby. In the elevator he pressed me against the wall, his arms pinning me in as he moved his mouth over mine possessively. He ran his hands over the luxurious fabric of my ballgown, exploring my curves hidden beneath the fabric draping me. The doors opened and he pulled back, confidently taking me by the hand towards our suite.

  Once the door closed behind us I watched Nicholas as he looked at me, fire in his eyes as he pulled his bow tie loose then shrugged out of his jacket letting it drop to the floor. I watched him as he walked towards me taking slow, deliberate steps. He started to unbutton his dress shirt, letting it fall open then pulled it off as well. I backed against a wall and he stepped closer, pressing against me and running his thumb over my lips. I closed my eyes, my heart racing, then he turned me around swiftly. I pressed my hands against the wall as he slowly unzipped my dress, inch by inch, dipping his head down to kiss the trail of exposed skin. The fabric fell aside and pooled around my feet and I faced Nicholas, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him. I reached around my neck to remove the necklace but he caught my wrist and stopped me.

  “Keep it on,” he said with a smile.

  Picking me up, I wrapped my legs around his waist and he continued to explore my mouth as he carried me over to the bedroom, placing me down on the bed and pinning me under him. I ran my fingers along the strong lines of his arms, arching up against him as our lips moved together.

  Reaching beneath me Nicholas unhooked my strapless bra, kissing his way down my throat over my exposed breasts. He ran his hands over me, kneading my sensitive skin and rolling my nipples between his expert fingers. I moaned softly closing my eyes and grabbing the sheets, the fabric twisting in my fists. I felt the bed shift and my eyes opened, as Nicholas stood up and walked to the closet. He opened the doors and removed something, walking back towards me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

  “Sit up,” he told me, his voice low. I did as I was told and noticed the tie in his hands. He wrapped the silk fabric around my eyes, tying it snugly behind my head. My view was completely obstructed, everything went dark. I gasped as Nicholas shoved me back down on the bed, trailing his fingertips over my neck then down, delectably slow. All of my other senses were heightened and I bit my lip as his fingers hooked the silk fabric of my underwear.

  I felt his hot mouth and wet tongue against my chest, making a trail down to my stomach, nipping and teasing along my hips. I reached forward and felt the smooth, hard skin of his strong shoulders, gliding down his arms. He pulled my underwear down my legs, then his mouth went lower and he kissed my sensitive tissues moving his lips over me. I gasped, then moaned as he parted me with a finger, teasing me while he ran his tongue over my bud. I ran my hands through his hair, melting beneath him. Over and over, his tongue glided delectably between my legs and I sighed in surrender.

  The bed shifted and I heard the rustle of clothing, then Nicholas was between my legs once again. This time, I felt the firm head of his manhood pressed against my opening. Slowly, forcefully, he pushed into me. I arched my back as he filled me inch by hard inch. I stretched to accommodate his impressive length and moaned as he delved deep in until he was up to the base. I relished the sensation of him inside me, feeling so close and connected.

  Nicholas reached behind my head and tugged at the silk tie, removing it from my eyes. I blinked and looked up at him, enthralled by the expression on his face as he gazed down at me. I was his, and he was mine. I had never felt so sure of my place in the world as I was when I was with him. Nicholas continued to move in and out of me, reaching down to stroke me with his finger. I felt my body nearing the edge and held my breath, a familiar tightness building in my core. Watching me, Nicholas started to move faster, thrusting deeply into me. As he continued to touch me, I went over the edge and cried out. Nicholas reached for my hands, wrapping my fingers with his own as he found his release.

  Pressing his forehead against mine, the only sound in the room was our rapid breathing. I placed my hand against his chest and felt his heart beating quickly. I nuzzled against his neck, breathing in his familiar scent, and closed my eyes. In an uncertain world, Nicholas was my safe space. In minutes, still in his arms, I fell fast asleep.

  10

  While Nicholas slept in, I crept from the bed and pulled on his dress shirt. I made my way out to the terrace to get some research done in preparation for my second meeting with Randy Wilkes on Monday. I still couldn’t believe I was on the other side of the world away from my everyday life until Monday. This had been a wonderful surprise. I opened my laptop and took out a notebook. Doctor Shaffer had sent me Randy’s file and psychological evaluation. I read through the information and started to see what concerned Shaffer. There were inconsistencies, subtle, but enough to reveal cracks in his carefully crafted persona. He insists there were no other victims, but once mentioned the name Sarah while discussing the women he had attacked. When questioned about this new name he insisted he misspoke, that the voices in his head simply liked that name. He never mentioned it again, even though Doctor Shaffer tried repeatedly to bring this Sarah up.

  Randy would not admit that he dressed the women he abducted the way he did for a reason, but control was clearly important to him. Photos of the women were included with the file. Even though the morning sun was warming my skin, I shivered as I looked at pictures of their faces.

  The supposed voices he said he heard seemed to develop only once he was in custody, there had been no mention of them in his earlier medical files. The only victim of his who survived didn’t remember him hearing voices. She thought he was frightening in his single-minded determination and instructions for her. I read page after page of her testimony, then something stood out. After she changed into the clothes he provided, he drew an S in marker on her wrist. I flipped back through the other case files, there were no letters written on the wrists of the other women. Why did he do this, and what did it mean?

  A hand on my shoulder caused me to gasp and jump in my seat. “Who is Sarah?” asked Nicholas, looking down at my notepad.

  “I’m not sure to be honest, but I think she’s the key to understanding Randy Wilkes,” I told him.

  “You’re really focus
ed on this,” Nicholas remarked.

  “Doctor Shaffer gave me an amazing opportunity, I want to learn everything I can and make him proud.”

  Glancing at my screen Nicholas froze, then leaned in closer. “She sort of looks like you,” he said slowly.

  “Yeah,” I admitted as I closed my laptop. “All of his victims have the same physical profile.”

  “Is that why Shaffer brought you? To bait that psychopath?” I could hear an edge to his voice.

  “We’re trying to get a reaction out of him, and it’s working. When Doctor Shaffer met me and realized I fit the profile he wanted to see if it would have any impact. And it did.”

  “Isn’t that irresponsible of him?” Nicholas asserted.

  “It’s just a tactic to probe Randy’s psychology, I’m perfectly safe. I promise,” I tilted my head up and rubbed my hand along Nicholas’ arm. The expression on his face told me he wasn’t entirely convinced. I changed the topic in hopes of lightening his mood. “What would you like to do today?”

  “Well, I thought I would take you to the spa. We could get massages and relax in the thermal waters. From there we could grab a bite to eat and I was going to get us tickets to a symphony.”

  “That sounds like an absolutely perfect day,” I smiled up at him. “I’ll start getting ready.” I gathered up my things and headed back inside. After a quick shower I pulled my hair into a twist then dressed in a light green dress. I walked into the bedroom as Nicholas was pulling a white shirt over his head, I admired the glimpse of his chest. I would never get tired of the sight of him. He caught me looking at him and walked over, tilting my chin up and kissing me.

  “Let’s go,” he said, taking my hand. We headed downstairs and out into the street, where we got into a car on our way to the spa. I watched the city speed by, holding Nicholas’ hand.

  When we arrived at the building, we walked through an archway past a fountain. The air was scented with essential oils and soft music drifted over the speaker system. I immediately felt calm. We walked to the reception desk where a woman smiled at us.

  “Welcome,” she told us.

  “I’ve booked treatments, Nicholas Blackstone.”

  She checked the schedule and nodded, handing us a locker key. “Enter through the door on the left, robes are in the changeroom. You can enjoy the waters and sauna; in an hour we will come to get you for your massage.”

  Nicholas guided me through the doors and into a room, fresh flowers and candles scattered throughout. Suddenly I stopped in my tracks. “Nicholas, I didn’t bring a bathing suit,” I realized. He chuckled as he started to undress.

  “Then I guess you’re going in naked,” he shrugged.

  I stood my ground, fixing him with a stare. “I am not parading naked in front of other people,” I stressed.

  “It’s a private pool, you’ll just be parading in front of me,” Nicholas said with a wink. I was flooded with relief. I undressed and wrapped myself in the white cotton robe. An attendant was waiting for us outside the door and we followed her along a corridor to a set of double doors. She opened them and ushered us inside: it was our own private oasis and the view took my breath away. There was a small, green-tiled pool in the centre of the room, a wooden sauna off to the side and lush vines tangled along the stone walls. Shrugging off his bathrobe and hanging it on a hook, Nicholas headed for the pool and I admired him from behind, walking into the water.

  When he was waist deep he turned and gestured for me to follow him. I untied my bathrobe, sliding it off my shoulders. Nicholas watched me, his eyes moving over my body, as I walked towards the water and placed my foot on the top step. The water was room temperature and felt heavenly. I continued to move down the steps until I was standing beside Nicholas, he placed a hand on my hip and kissed me, then dipped down and reclined under the water. I did the same, leaning against the edge of the tiled pool and splashing my feet in the water. It felt wonderful against my bare skin, even though I was slightly self-conscious about being naked in such a large space.

  “We should probably decide where we’d like to go for our honeymoon,” Nicholas said.

  “Mmmm… let’s just come back here, it’s glorious,” I sighed as I ran my hands over the surface of the water.

  “I thought I would rent us a villa on the water somewhere warm, like the Maldives. We could go scuba diving.”

  “Are there sharks in the Maldives?” I asked cautiously, knowing full well how Nicholas had been shark diving before and enjoyed it.

  “A few species, but you’ll be perfectly safe,” Nicholas assured me.

  I shook my head. “How about I watch you swim with vicious predators from the safety of the dock.”

  Nicholas pulled me close and touched his nose against mine. “I bet I can convince you,” he whispered, a hint of challenge in his voice.

  “How do you always manage to talk me into these sorts of things,” I laughed.

  “Because secretly you like the thrill of it,” he told me as he kissed my neck.

  I held onto his shoulders as we relaxed in the waters. From there we moved on to the sauna, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wooden beams. The heat on our skin felt wonderful, all of the tension left my body and I sighed. I’m not sure how long we were in the sauna before there was a knock at the door. It was time for our massages. We got out and quickly rinsed the perspiration from our bodies at the shower in the corner. We then slid onto our own massage tables, situated side-by-side.

  Every muscle in my body was given attention, from my shoulders to my feet. My masseuse finished off with a scalp massage that left me tingling. I had never felt so good in my life.

  When the massages were over, we retrieved our robes and headed back for the change rooms. I dressed, feeling like a new version of myself, and when I was ready we exited onto the street. I breathed in deeply and smiled at Nicholas.

  “That was so relaxing,” I sighed.

  “There’s a cafe around the corner, are you hungry?”

  “Famished,” I assured him. I held onto his arm as we headed around the corner, going into a white-walled cafe. We found a table and were greeted by a waiter.

  “Hello,” Nicholas told him.

  “Welcome,” the man replied. “Would you like something to drink?”

  I quickly scanned the wine list, but nothing looked familiar. “I would like a white wine, which would you suggest?”

  “The Eichinger Roter Veltliner is popular,” he told me.

  “Then I’ll have a glass of that,” I told him.

  “A pint of Edelweiss for me,” Nicholas said with a nod.

  The waiter left us to fetch our drinks. It was a small place, there were a few other tables there enjoying meals and the fragrance of spice in the air. I was having a wonderful visit in this country and quickly falling in love with this beautiful place. I could understand why Nicholas liked it so much.

  “Stephanie told me we’ve received all of our RSVPs by the way,” Nicholas informed me. “We’ll have 275 guests.”

  “She’s a godsend, I don’t know what we’d do without her. Since she started working her magic everything has come together. The flowers, the menu, my dress.”

  Nicholas’ eyes brightened. “So you finally found a dress?”

  “I did,” I said.

  “I can’t wait to see it.”

  “Well you’ll have to wait,” I told him. “It’s bad luck to see the bride’s dress before the wedding.”

  “Breanne, remember how my brother in law tried to murder us after killing my father? I think we’ve had all the bad luck we’re going to have and we came out the other side.”

  It was true. After everything we had been through things really seemed to be going so smoothly lately by comparison. I knew for certain I had enough danger to last a lifetime. The waiter returned with our drinks and we ordered our meals. I loved having Nicholas’ undivided attention, all of our obligations set aside back in Chicago and there was nothing else but each other.
After a delicious meal, we headed back to the hotel as the sun hung low in the sky. Nicholas changed into a black suit, I slipped into a black cocktail dress and Louboutin heels. I picked up my clutch and headed downstairs when suddenly my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number but it was a Chicago area code.

  “Hello?” I said.

  “Breanne Taylor? This is the University of Chicago registrar. We wanted to confirm we were able to give your assistant all the information you needed.”

  I stopped in my tracks, puzzled. “My assistant?” I searched my mind. “Do you mean my wedding planner?”

  “No, your assistant, Phillip,” said the voice. Nicholas was watching me, his expression becoming slightly concerned at the look on my face.

  “You must be mistaken,” I corrected them. “I don’t have an assistant named Phillip. Why, what type of information was he looking for?”

  “He called, he had details about you and your major. He needed to confirm your class schedule so that he could work your other appointments and obligations around your schooling.”

  The color drained from my face and Nicholas stepped forward to take the phone from my hand. “Hello, this is Breanne’s fiancée Nicholas Blackstone. What is the situation here?” His expression grew grave as the registrar repeated what had happened. “And you just gave this information out to a stranger?” Nicholas snapped. “You’ll be hearing from me when we return to Chicago.” He hung up and held me by the arms, rubbing them soothingly.

  “Who would want my school schedule?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Paparazzi, maybe? Trying to grab photos before the wedding. Or…” his voice drifted off.

  “What?” I pressed.

  Nicholas sighed. “Mark. He’s angry, he attacked you once, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

  “You don’t honestly think he would come after me, do you?” I wondered.

  “I don’t know, but your safety is my main concern. Let’s enjoy our evening, when we’re back in Chicago tomorrow I will figure this out.”