My Hard-hearted Hero

Chapter 9 √

(Recommended to 17+. Contains mature scenes. Read at you own risk.) Happy reading and enjoy.!

Song added is (Can't help falling in love)

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An ear-splitting clap of thunder jolted Ariana awake just before dawn. As she lay in bed listening to the pounding rain and the accompanying low rumbles, she resigned herself to the fact that she was up for the day. She rose, pulled on her pink cloth robe and made her way downstairs to put on a pot of coffee.

In the four days since she'd discovered her SOS note in Zach's pocket and abandoned all hope of rescue, her interactions with her "host" had become more natural and relaxed. She'd dropped the pretense of submissiveness, while taking care not to provoke him.

Unfortunately, he considered any attempt to explain her presence in Underground highly provoking. Still, he seemed to treat her with a greater regard nowadays, his attitude almost one of respect. She considered it ironic that if they'd met under less outlandish circumstances, the two of them might actually have become friends.

Or something more. She refused to lie to herself and deny the attraction that sizzled between them. His masterful self-assurance, the unwavering strength of his convictions, were as arousing as they were frustrating. She'd never known a man like Zach, never thought herself particularly drawn to powerful, take charge men.

But this particular take charge man had Awakened something deep within her, something profound, elemental and somehow she knew she'd never be the same. When he finally released her and she went back to her old life, this restless hunger would forever be a part of her.

And just as surely, she knew she'd never find the man who could ease this gut deep ache and make her whole. This, then, would be the bitterest relic of her imprisonment, her captor's ultimate revenge.

As she passed the sunroom, lightning illuminated it through the huge bay window, and she stopped cold.

He was in there, facing the window. His back was to her, his arms crossed over his chest.

Many times she'd imagined the body. Under the bulky sweaters. Now she was forced to admit she didn't have much of an imagination. Zach wore only gray sweatpants, which hung low on his hard, trim waist. The rapid lightning flashes sketched a bronze torso more powerful, more male, than she could have envisioned.

"You gonna just stand there?" He asked, not turning.

She grimaced. It wasn't fair. If Zach wanted to, he could sneak up on her in a tomb wearing a suit of armour. She, on the other hand, couldn't even make it past him barefoot during a thunderstorm!

She entered the room and stood next to him before the window.

"Some storm," she said.

"Uh-huh."

His voice was strained. Had she violated a private moment? Then again, he had asked her in. Sort of. She glanced at his face and was astonished to see the tightness around his mouth and eyes. Beads of sweat glistened over his upper lip. Now that she was close, she could discern the tension in his entire body.

"Something wrong?" She asked, an instant before another thunderclap roared.

Zach flinched, though she could tell he was trying not to. For long moments her rational mind refused to acknowledge what her senses already had, he was afraid of lightning and thunder.

But that was impossible. The commando, afraid of thunderstorms?

A few seconds later the house shook with a deafening thunderclap that simultaneously lit the sky. That one was close! His eyes shut briefly, as if against his will. She saw his throat working.