Broken Hearts: A Dark Captive Romance (Heartbreaker Book 2)

by Stella Hart

I looked down at my knife, remembering Alex’s last words to me before he stepped out of the kitchen. I trust your judgment. It wasn’t really about the cheese and olives. It was a test. Usually I wasn’t allowed alone with knives, but he was checking to see if he could begin to trust me again after I’d admitted to trying to get on his computer (which as far as he knew was all that happened in the study that day).

  If he could leave me alone for a few minutes without me doing anything crazy, I would start to get back on his good side. He might even begin sleeping with me again. Not that I really wanted that at this point.

  Ever since my discovery of his lies six days ago, my mind had been plagued with thoughts of what else he might’ve lied to me about. Some things may not have been lies, but they could’ve been massively exaggerated for various reasons.

  The Circle, for instance. I knew they were real, and they were a fucked up group of evil bastards who did sick things to innocent young kids. But were they really after me?

  The more I thought about it, the more I thought Alex had led me down the garden path in regard to that, and the more I disbelieved the threat and doubted his words. The doubt was like a tumor, growing every day and slowly weaving its sickly, creeping tendrils through every inch of me, threatening to choke the life out of me.

  When he explained why the Circle had allegedly kept an eye on me all these years and why they were still so dangerous for me, it made sense, given his persuasive silver tongue. But now I doubted it all. It no longer made sense to me that they would be looking for me, despite my recently-returned memories of the past.

  They were a group of men with huge amounts of money, power and resources. Maybe they’d checked up on me and my mother a few times when I was young, just to make sure I didn’t remember their dirty secret and to make sure my mother kept her mouth shut, but surely that was the end of it. I couldn’t believe that after all this time, they’d still be keeping their eyes on me, waiting and watching in case I ever happened to remember anything. Surely they had bigger things to devote their time, energy, and resources to. Surely they weren’t actually chasing after me.

  No, I had a new theory now. Alex was coating the truth with a lie, much like I’d done the other day. He took a real group who could theoretically be chasing me—but most likely weren’t—then made up a whole story about them definitely being after me in order to justify him taking me and keeping me here as his permanent captive.

  If he planted the insidious idea in my head that it was too dangerous for me to leave and that I’d practically die as soon as the Circle found me, then I’d be too afraid to try and get out of here even if I had the opportunity. And hell, it worked. I actually believed him at first and thought that if I ever got out of here, the Circle would track me down and kill me now that I’d begun to remember things about their existence.

  I hadn’t even left when I literally had the chance to with Dan the other week, and Alex knew the whole damn time that I wouldn’t. Otherwise he wouldn’t have given me the chance in the first place. But he did, because he knew he had me swallowing his lies hook, line, and sinker.

  It reminded me of a serial child snatcher from Europe who I had to write an essay about in a class last year. He used to kidnap young girls and lock them up in a room in his house, and he’d eventually terrify them into wanting to stay with him. He convinced them their parents were part of a Satanic cult and planned on sacrificing them as part of some dark ritual, and that he’d actually helped and rescued them by taking them at the last minute.

  They all ended up thinking he was their savior, and they were too scared to leave until the police raided the place, found them, and told them the truth. Even then, for years, some of the girls were petrified of their parents and genuinely believed their abductor had told them the truth. They lived in fear, wondering if he was right all along.

  Of course, he wasn’t. It was all just a cunning, fucked-up ruse to make them stay with him even if they managed to find an escape route. He was obsessed with the idea of collecting girls, and he needed a way to ensure they never left him.

  It made sense that Alex might choose a similar tactic to keep me here. He was obviously the kind of man who became obsessed with things too, and for the last few years, I’d been his obsession. He watched me, followed me, stalked me. Someone that obsessive would do anything to convince their target they belonged with them, say anything to make them stay.

  Anything.

  A big part of me wanted to believe Alex and see the best in him, but I knew that seeing the best in people sometimes meant not seeing the truth. And I wasn’t completely broken yet. Not enough to be blind. I could see that he wasn’t really helping me by keeping me here, other than the help he’d given me with my nerve pain. He’d clearly overstated the danger I was in to instill doubts within me, make me too scared to leave. But if I somehow left tomorrow and went back to my old house, I was willing to bet no one would be there waiting for me, waiting to hurt me. My life would probably just go back to normal. Well, as normal as possible, considering what I’d been through.

  Subsequently, I’d spent the last few days thinking about an escape, which filled me with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. It seemed like the millionth time I’d considered the idea in the six or seven weeks I’d been here now. But it seemed impossible. Even though it would be easier now that I wasn’t in the cell and had access to warm winter clothes and shoes, I was still stuck here unless I could get the electronic collar off.

  I wondered if I could even walk out the door if Alex took the collar off and told me to go. Something told me the answer was no, and that made me want to slap myself in the face. I wanted to hate him for what he’d done to me, hate him for keeping me here and lying to me, and yet, I wasn’t ready to feel that way about him. There was still something keeping me loyal and eager as much as I distrusted him. Something deeply-rooted and pervasive.

  It was like my brain knew one thing, but my body knew another. The logical part of me wanted to get the hell out while the rest of me still wanted to submit to Alex and give him everything he desired. I could plot and scheme to my heart’s content when he was out of the room, but when he was close to me, I held no real power over my actions.

  I knew the feelings would eventually pass—at least I hoped they would—and when that finally happened, I would have the strength to leave.

  If I ever got the opportunity, that is. It seemed unlikely.

  Alex stepped back into the kitchen and looked over at me with a hint of a smile playing on his lips, seemingly pleased that I’d done nothing other than what was asked of me while he was out of the room. I was working on the tomatoes now, slicing them into wedges, the knife coming down on the chopping board in short, hard movements.

  “You’re really giving it to those poor tomatoes,” Alex joked as he butterflied the chicken breasts for the piccata. I didn’t laugh. I kept slicing, wondering what would happen if I flew across the room and plunged the knife into his chest.

  It would probably be easy enough to get in one good jab before he realized what was happening, but I knew I couldn’t. For one, the part of me that was still attached to Alex wouldn’t let me hurt him, even if the rest of me so desperately wanted to. Also, there were the ramifications if I failed. I might stab the wrong spot and barely do any real damage, and he might grab me and smash my head against the counter corner in retribution. He hadn’t shown any signs of wanting me dead—yet—but a murder attempt might change that, especially since it wouldn’t be the first time I’d tried to hurt him.

  Alex frowned and washed his hands before stepping over to me. “What are you thinking about, angel?” he asked.

  “Nothing, sir,” I murmured, lowering my eyes.

  “Judging by the intense look on your face and the way you’re handling that knife, you’re thinking about stabbing me,” he said jokingly, hooking a finger under my chin and forcing me to look up at him again. “But you wouldn’t do that, would you?”

  My cheeks flu
shed. Were my thoughts really written that plainly on my face? “No, sir.” I shook my head and forced a coquettish smile. “I... I was actually thinking how easily you could cut my clothes off with this knife.” I bit my bottom lip, feigning embarrassment at my supposedly sinful mind.

  A slow smile spread across Alex’s face. “Ah, I see. I should’ve known,” he said, his voice low, dangerous. “You really are a dirty girl, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, sir,” I replied breathlessly, glad I’d saved myself with the lie. If there was one way to distract Alex, it was with sex talk. I’d learned that a while ago.

  He grabbed my wrist and made me put the knife down on the chopping board, then leaned down and kissed a path across my collarbone, hot and wet and full of filthy promises. At the same time, he rubbed a hand across the back of my black cashmere sweater, his other hand sliding under the front. “Maybe we should test your theory,” he said, his lips on my still-clothed breasts now.

  An idea flashed in my mind. A possible way out. “Yes,” I gasped, looking at the knife again. “But… not here. Not where we’ve been making food.”

  Alex drew back, his eyes burning with an animalistic need. He nodded briefly. “You’re right,” he said huskily, quickly fetching a clean knife from the drawer before coming toward me again, the blade gleaming dangerously only inches from my chest. “Go to your room.”

  I did as he said silently, pressure already building inside me. I might not trust Alex worth a damn, but the effect he had on my body was still wild, still crazy, and he was the only man who could unknot the tension within and push me over the cliff into a climax.

  “Stay still,” he commanded once I was standing at the end of my bed. I did as he said, and his harsh breath warmed my neck as he brought the sharp knife up to me, slicing effortlessly through the fabric of my sweater. A moment later, I was wearing nothing but panties, and he made quick work of them too. “You were right,” he murmured, rising to his full height once the panties lay in shreds on the ground. “That was easy.”

  He threw the knife down on the floor, and my eyes followed its trajectory, memorizing exactly where it landed. Alex peeled his clothes off and pressed a teasing finger to my slit, smiling as he saw how wet I was for him. The pressure between my legs grew agonizing as he pulled me toward him, the hard bar of his throbbing erection pressed against my stomach.

  Instead of pushing me down on the bed like I thought he might, he picked me up so that I was forced to wrap my legs around his waist. I squealed with surprise, and he crushed his hot lips to my neck and sucked on the delicate skin there as his cock found my entrance and forced its way inside. I gasped, my pulse doubling as I clung to him, my fingers threading in his thick dark hair. My heart was in overdrive, desperately pumping blood and adrenaline into me, driving me mad with lust.

  Alex’s fingernails dug into my ass as he held me in the air with his strong arms, pulling me back and forth on his cock. He pulled me against him hard and fast, every movement rough and raw. Primal. My insides clenched every time he went deep, and I cried out so loud I was sure even Baldwin could hear us from the shelter outside.

  “So fucking tight,” Alex grunted, his lips on mine, then on my cheek, my ear, down to my neck. “Such a good little slut for me. Tell me what you are.”

  I moaned. “Yours, sir. I’m yours. Your property.” I was about to come. In these moments, I would say anything to this man. Promise anything. I’d let him have it all, pretend he owned every inch of me.

  But the second I came, I would retreat again, remembering all the reasons I couldn’t trust him. Couldn’t stay with him. Couldn’t fall for him….

  My pussy clenched as my body quivered. Goosebumps were crawling on my skin, and I let my head tip back as I shuddered in Alex’s strong arms. “I’m… I’m coming,” I gasped as waves of warm pleasure washed through me.

  He let me climax on his cock in that position, and then he finally threw me down on the bed and flipped me over on my knees. With one hard thrust, he drove into me again, and I cried out, my mouth dropping wide open in pleasure. One arm snaked around me, playing with my sensitive clit, and seconds later, I was coming again, my body completely at Alex’s mercy.

  “Fuck.…” He drove into me again before grunting out his own orgasm, jerking inside me and slapping me on the ass. My knees weak, I collapsed forward, and Alex did the same, falling on the mattress beside me.

  I rolled over and sat up. “I’ll get some tissues, sir,” I said, standing up. I hoped my voice wasn’t quavering, betraying my true intentions.

  I padded over to the coffee table near the couch, where a box of tissues sat near a bowl of purple flowers. Once I’d grabbed the box, I turned and headed back toward the bed, my eyes locked on Alex the whole time. He was still recovering from his climax, his face tilted toward the ceiling, one hand wiping sweat from his forehead.

  When I reached the spot where he’d thrown the knife, I surreptitiously kicked it under my bed, thinking he’d probably forget all about it if it was removed from his direct line of sight.

  I was right. Alex stood and came over to me a few seconds later, arms twining around me as his mouth enveloped my lips in a searing kiss. He didn’t seem to remember the knife at all; he was too distracted in the afterglow of our sex.

  He drew back to grab a tissue from the box, and for a second I thought the jig was up when a frown drew his brows together. “I thought you might’ve been thinking of running again,” he said softly. “You’ve been so quiet these last few days.”

  I gulped. “I… I’m just disappointed in myself,” I replied. “After what I did when the power was out. I let you down.”

  “I understand. But you don’t need to feel bad forever, angel. It was just one slip, and besides, like you said, the internet couldn’t have connected anyway.”

  I nodded. “I’ll try to be better,” I whispered, making a mental note to start acting normal. If I didn’t, he would suspect something was up, and I couldn’t have that. Not when I still had no idea what I was going to do to get away from him.

  “Tell me you’re mine,” Alex said commandingly, wrapping his arms around me again. “Tell me you’d never try to run again.”

  My eyes fell to the spot on the floor where the knife had lain only seconds before. “I’m yours. I’ll never try to run again,” I lied, looking back up at Alex. “Never.”

  12

  Celeste

  Sighing, I surveyed the top of the smallest tiered planter in the greenhouse. The cold snap that affected the greenhouse for a while during the power outage the other week must’ve done more damage than I thought, because the herbs I’d planted from pots were all withering.

  I felt like I was withering alongside them.

  Alex had barely left my side over the last few days, probably to keep an eye on me given my recent quietness and reticent behavior, despite my promise to never run again. I could barely stand it, because I wanted to be alone right now, but on the other hand, I knew I had to try and act normal around him lest he realize what was happening inside my head.

  I was preoccupied with thoughts of escape, even if it meant ripping my heart in two. There was still that part of me that wanted to be with him, trust him, give into him. But the part of me that refused to trust him was growing bigger and stronger every day, and I felt suffocated with the restless need to get away from this place.

  I was sick of waiting, sick of wondering what sort of death lay in store for me and when it would happen. Sick of all the unanswered questions in my mind; questions Alex would never answer honestly. Sick of the fear that left me breathless and helpless whenever I thought about what might happen to me if he found out what I knew.

  Most of all, I was sick of wanting Alex. I hated myself for being so damn weak, for still craving his body, and I was angry that I hadn’t thought of a way out.

  I had the pilfered knife hidden carefully under my mattress along with the photo of Evangeline, but I couldn’t hurt him with it. There was stil
l that part of me that felt too devoted to him to ever hurt him, and even if that finally dissolved, he was too strong for me, always had the upper hand. He would kill me long before I ever killed him.

  Even if I waited till he was asleep, I wouldn’t be able to get him. He was a light sleeper, so if I got up and started trying to retrieve the knife from its hiding place, I could almost guarantee he would wake up immediately and demand to know what the hell I was doing, even if I tried to be as quiet as a church mouse. I couldn’t risk it.

  My only serious idea had been to try and cut the collar off with the knife, but I hadn’t yet had the chance to see if that would work. Like I said, Alex had barely left my side over the last few days. Apparently he hadn’t had any consults in the city this week, and he’d also started sleeping with me again, so I never had a spare moment to myself. He even came with me when I showered, so I couldn’t try anything in the bathroom. Not that I’d had the chance to sneak the knife into the bathroom, anyway.

  The only time I had more than ten minutes to myself was when he went down into the shelter to feed or speak to Justice Baldwin. Or torture him. I might have just enough time to cut the collar off then, but if I ran outside and took one of the cars, Alex would hear and realize what was going on, and he’d come after me fast and hard. If I didn’t take a car and went on foot to avoid the issue of him hearing me escape, then I’d face yet another problem—he’d realize I was gone within half an hour and catch up to me right away, given that he would be speeding around in a car and I would be trudging through the snow on foot.

  As such, I knew I had to wait until he was actually well and truly off the property before I could try.

  My chance finally came an hour later, a lot sooner than I expected. As I finished tending to the herbs, Alex entered the greenhouse and looked down at me. “I have a patient to see in the city,” he announced. “It’ll take a while, but I should be back in time for dinner. I think we’ll have salmon tonight.”