Black Heart (Cursed Hearts 1)

"Don't let me f**k this up," he prayed as he walked towards his room.

He didn't see her as he walked into his room. As he was turning around to leave he spotted her shoes on the floor. A few feet away from those he spotted her nylons and a few feet away from those he spotted her pinstriped skirt lying in the doorway of his bathroom. More than a little curious, he followed the trail of clothing and pushed the bathroom door open as his eyes followed the rest of the trail to the foot of his tub where the trail ended with her bra.

He looked up and couldn't help but groan when he spotted Marty surrounded by bubbles in his tub as she absently twirled a pair of lacy pink panties on her finger. When she saw him, she gave him a teasing smile as she sent the panties flying in his direction with a simple flick of her hand. He caught them as he leaned back against the doorframe.

"I thought you wanted to talk," he said, wondering just how much she was going to want to know and if he could give it to her.

"Not unless you do," she said with a shake of her head as she leaned back against the tiled wall and closed her eyes.

"I don't," he admitted softly.

"Then we won't talk," she simply said.

"Then what do you want to do?" he asked, wondering where they were supposed to go from here. Thankfully, Marty had an idea.

"You could start by getting me a beer," she said in a teasing tone that relaxed something deep inside of him.

"A beer?" he repeated, wondering how he managed to win over a woman that he clearly didn't deserve.

"Mmmmhmmmm, ice cold," she said with a cute little sigh as she settled more comfortably into the tub.

"I think I can handle that."

*-*-*-*

"Help me, please!" a woman cried, startling Marty wide-awake.

She frantically looked around the large bathroom, but didn't see anything. After a moment she nervously laughed it off even as she strained her ears for a television or a radio, anything to explain the fluttering in her chest and the tiny hairs standing at attention on the back of her neck.

After a moment she shook it off. She'd obviously been dreaming, she told herself, feeling foolish. She laid back in the tub and just started to relax when she heard movement in the bedroom.

"Tristan?" she said, wondering what was wrong with her and why she was reacting so strongly to a dream.

"Sorry it took so long. Mom called and wanted to know if we wanted her to bring over some food," he said, chuckling while he walked into the room, carrying two longneck bottles of beer as self-preservation kicked in and made her forget all about the strange dream.

"You told her no, right?" she asked, already moving to climb out of the tub and make a run for it just in case. She really didn't think that she could take anymore of Beth's meddling tonight.

"I did," he said, sighing as he handed her a beer. "It took a while and my father's help to get her to listen," he explained as he pulled his holster off his belt and placed it on the counter.

"So, she's not coming here?" Marty clarified, knowing the woman would probably embarrass the living hell out of them with more questions and suggestions.

"No, but you should probably know that Denny tried screwing us over by sending her over here so that he could make his escape," he said, chuckling as he toed off his shoes.

"That rat bastard," she muttered, twisting the cap off her beer and taking a small sip.

"Yes, he is," Tristan agreed with a grin as he yanked off his shirt and revealed an incredible chest, but that's not what had Marty hungrily licking her lips. It was that smile of his, that bad boy-relaxed-make-her-blood-boil smile of his. He didn't smile nearly enough, but she was glad that the stressed expression that he wore earlier was gone. As she watched him remove his pants, she couldn't help but wonder if that smile was because of her.

"We won't have to worry about anyone bothering us for a while," Tristan murmured absently as he moved to place his pants on the counter, but after a slight hesitation and a nervous look, he placed his pants on the floor by the tub. It was a little odd, but nothing worth mentioning.

"Why?" she asked, wondering if he truly knew his mother at all. If Beth was determined to come over here, then she was damn well going to-

"They'll be busy for a while helping Denny," Tristan said offhandedly as he pulled his underwear down and raised the temperature of the room by a good ten degrees.

"What happened to Denny?" she somehow managed to ask as her eyes ate up every last inch of him.  The man truly was magnificent. She wanted to run her hands over his muscles, kiss his scars better and trace his tattoos with her tongue.

"A freak accident," Tristan said, sounding unconcerned as he grabbed his beer and walked over to the bathtub. With a smile, he took a sip of his beer as he gestured lazily for her to move forward.

"Is he okay?" she asked, worrying her bottom lip as she moved forward, noticing for the first time that the water was barely lukewarm. Just how long had she dozed off for? she wondered when Tristan climbed in behind her and hissed as he sat down.

"I guess I was gone longer than I thought," Tristan said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and gently pulled her back against him.

"You were gone?" she asked, carefully setting her beer on the side of the tub.

"Mmmhmm," he said, taking a sip of his beer as she enjoyed the feel of him against her back. She could lay in his arms forever.

"Did they call you to help Denny?" she asked, placing her arms over his where it rested across her stomach.

He chuckled as he pressed as a kiss against her neck. "No, his unfortunate accident happened while I was over there getting something out of my old room," he explained.

"You left to get something out of your old room?" she asked, hoping that she didn't sound as hurt as she felt.

"I only left to get something for you, baby. I would have been quicker, but Denny saw me sneak inside the house and decided to try and sell my ass down the river to distract Mom."

As curious as she was about what he had for her, she was even more curious about Denny. "Tristan?"

"Hmm?" he asked, placing his beer on the side of the tub next to hers before reaching down for his pants.

"What happened to Denny?"

"Nothing important," Tristan murmured as he searched around for something. "He just suddenly found himself tied up."

"Tied up?" she asked, feeling her lips twitch as she leaned her head back and to the side so that she could look up at him.