Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven &amp; Hell)

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I’m horrified to realize I completely forgot about her. At the very least, I should have asked tomake sure she wasn’t his girlfriend. Watching now, it doesn’t seem like she is. There’s still nonoticeable affection between them. He doesn’t give her a kiss goodbye, she doesn’t even give him ahug, just nods and smiles. Then, with a last lingering look at me, Calvin leaves.
Chapter NineHallieAs six bleeds into seven, and seven into eight, I sketch, sketch, sketch.I decided that burying myself in work would be the best thing. Work pays my bills, but it alsoprovides an escape from my troubles by allowing me to focus on lines and shading rather than…well, Calvin Cutler.Marie—my cat—hops up on my drawing table and brushes her bushy white tail right in my facebefore trying to step on my paper.I grab her and snuggle her against my chest before her claws can destroy two hours of hard work.“I don’t think so, little girl.”I pet her head and she nuzzles me, placing her paw over my wrist as if giving it a hug.I smile and give her a warm hug, then I push back my chair and bend down to put her on thefloor. “Just give me a few more minutes, okay? I’m almost finished, then I’ll feed you dinner. Are youhungry?”She sticks her tail in the air and prances away, not deigning to respond since I made her get offmy drawing table.I’m a little relieved checking the clock and seeing it’s after eight. I needed to keep busy duringthe time when I should have been heading to the steakhouse Calvin told me to meet him at, but nowthat it’s too late to show up even if I wanted to—and no big, scary men with syringes have shown upat my door—I can finally relax.It’s over. It’s done. He knows now I didn’t show up, and I no longer have to wrestle with myselfover the ethicality of it all. I’ve never met someone so fixated on the truth before. People tell eachother polite little lies all the time, but with Calvin’s emphasis on honesty, I feel ickier about it than Inormally would.It doesn’t matter now.I go to the kitchen and dig a can of food out of the cabinet for Marie. Now that I’m notdispleasing her, she comes over and rubs up against my leg.“Which one do you want?” I ask, holding up a green can and a purple one. “Chicken or fish?” Ibend down to let her investigate each can and she paws at the purple one. “Chicken it is,” I tell her,standing back up to open the can.As I’m dishing the food into her bowl, I think I hear a noise at the door.I freeze, and so does my heart. I wait for a knock, but there isn’t one.
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DescentBy Sam Mariano
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Were he not a supreme scoundrel, he
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Chapter Forty TwoChapter Forty Thre
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“An excellent mentality in most c
Page 10 and 11: head to explain why I didn’t want
Page 12 and 13: “Hello, Hallie.”The deep, unfam
Page 14 and 15: His answer is simple. “I don’t
Page 16 and 17: I’m not sure I should.“I believ
Page 18 and 19: there are certain aspects of my per
Page 20 and 21: her.Even though I’m the one who w
Page 22 and 23: something else, aren’t you?”She
Page 24 and 25: Chapter ThreeHallieI thought it wou
Page 26 and 27: Until he lets me out?Dread blossoms
Page 28 and 29: Defeat wraps its fingers around my
Page 30 and 31: boobs spill out. Then he slides his
Page 32 and 33: on the wall, too, then grab a vibra
Page 34 and 35: She latches on desperately. “Yes.
Page 36 and 37: I text Hollis.I collect Hallie’s
Page 38 and 39: He nods dutifully. “Yes, I am.”
Page 40 and 41: together enough courage to leave my
Page 42 and 43: It’s nearly time to start the mar
Page 44 and 45: that. The possibility that he could
Page 46 and 47: I don’t.I hear her voice again, l
Page 48 and 49: want to know the reason.My pleasure
Page 50 and 51: I hear a confused murmur, and a mom
Page 52 and 53: front of everyone up here, but the
Page 54 and 55: that’s the problem. It should’v
Page 56 and 57: “But I want to see you again. Tom
Page 58 and 59: But there are brush strokes that do
Page 62 and 63: I drop the spoon and hurry over to
Page 64 and 65: myself watching for Calvin’s limo
Page 66 and 67: around the city somewhere.He has as
Page 68 and 69: My nude heels click against the coo
Page 70 and 71: I swallow and shrug off his grip be
Page 72 and 73: I swallow it, anyway.A brief hit of
Page 74 and 75: Chapter ElevenHallieWhen I was a gi
Page 76 and 77: So, so heavy.My eyes drift closed.
Page 78 and 79: Thirsty.I’m so fucking thirsty.I
Page 80 and 81: I don’t want to talk to him. He
Page 82 and 83: I grab onto it. “Please, Calvin,
Page 84 and 85: Chapter TwelveCalvinShe’s so godd
Page 86 and 87: “No.”Because I say no when I co
Page 88 and 89: grasp. I wonder if deep down, it ma
Page 90 and 91: up to me. Reality pierces my bubble
Page 92 and 93: safety, you aren’t as afraid of m
Page 94 and 95: The pressure builds despite his hor
Page 96 and 97: Chapter FourteenHallieWhen my eyes
Page 98 and 99: ___I had to walk for several blocks
Page 100 and 101: “Your boyfriend told me you were
Page 102 and 103: “You’re right,” he answers.
Page 104 and 105: crawling down his arm that goes pas
Page 106 and 107: Chapter SixteenHallieI haven’t de
Page 108 and 109: I don’t bother pointing out that
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Shaking it off and telling myself t
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look at me, hiking an eyebrow in qu
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being a secret art thief, but for w
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Instead, he rented out The Met beca
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Shaking off the errant thought, I s
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He nods casually. “If you asked m
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I suck in a breath and push back in
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Chapter NineteenHallieThe temple is
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The thread of conversation slipped
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I turn to head back through the doo
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And then there’s the man behind m
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“Brace your hands,” he orders,
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He grabs my hair, pulling me uprigh
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Chapter Twenty OneHallieMy dreams t
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My gaze stops on the oscillating fa
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Lifting my eyebrows, I say, “Am I
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not in the wrong without telling hi
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Since Hallie seems to be in the bat
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I palm my cock as it strains agains
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Chapter Twenty ThreeHallieTurning i
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In Calvin’s overbearingly bossy s
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at the time, a reality TV star he w
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Every word out of his mouth makes m
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tonight, I’m actually kinda surpr
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“No?” the guy behind me asks, h
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I can only gape at him.He was a lot
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Chapter Twenty FiveCalvinMy lovely
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stand up for this part.She eyes my
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The kiss wasn’t the point; I just
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Chapter Twenty SixHallieThe bedroom
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I shake my head. “I can’t help
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Calvin proves an unlikely savior, s
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I watch as he approaches the hall l
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might when they’re standing guard
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He regards me for a moment, an insc
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him.I know I set out to annoy him t
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That’s what I have to keep tellin
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Not that. Whatever door number two
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Chapter Twenty NineHallieCalvin sit
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pussy. He does it again and again u
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I expect pain to follow my acquiesc
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the bathroom naked.
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you, but I need to be looped in. I
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else, Hallie.”His words are reass
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I’m not one of those easy breezy
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Chapter Thirty OneHallieI barely wa
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I frown at my own thought. Is it?I
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to feel sexy in these heels. I lay
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Chapter Thirty TwoHallieHollis does
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exactly why I sent them.I shake my
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wisely.”___Calvin orders my dinne
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Chapter Thirty ThreeHallieI feel st
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the city pretty regularly. I always
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I sigh, sinking into the buttery le
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He grabs my arms and pins them over
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Oh my god, could he hear us?As if n
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Chapter Thirty FourHallieOver the n
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“I… What? I mean, what if you d
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Some part of me thought he might te
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Chapter Thirty FiveHallieSteam make
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and silk sheets, and before I know
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“I can’t be pregnant.”My voic
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have power over me even after that.
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She still needs to eat something. H
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“Let’s never use that terminolo
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Chapter Thirty SevenHallieIt’s mo
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“That was generous of you.”“R
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Phew.That was too close. She’ll b
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Then again, I met him because of a
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Why would you delete pictures you t
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I don’t even know what to say. Of
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Trying to shake it off, I focus on
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“I’m afraid I’m your only opt
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“Because you still kiss me back.
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Chapter FortyHallieGiven my new, te
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“Ross what?”“Ross Ellison. An
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He models breathing for me again—
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Chapter Forty OneHallieIt’s not h
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It reminds me of his story about th
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“All criminals think that until t
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fuck himself.”So, that answers th
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“Do you see my rose garden?” sh
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“She was dating an employee of mi
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“Is that so?” he murmurs, his h
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I make a face at him, then grab the
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I gasp, rolling off the bed and tou
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“You knew those people would be h
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Chapter Forty FourCalvinI tried wit
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work, but when she opens her briefc
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obnoxious, intrusive friend.I don
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thought they could walk all over he
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Chapter Forty FiveCalvinI knew I wo
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decide to up the ante. “I blackma
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up, I hear a soft, lilting moan as
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EpilogueHallieAs I close the storyb
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and sweet. We’ve opened each othe
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I smile. “Always, my handsome lun
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Also by SAM MARIANOContemporary rom
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Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven &amp;amp; Hell)

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Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)