Dark Hearts, Volume 1 (The Dark Hearts Collection #1)

Chapter 1

Chapter one

Masked Lovers

Adopted Siblings

“Asshole,” I snap. I end the call and toss my phone on the bed before dramatically falling back onto the mattress. “I can’t fucking believe he just dumped me.”

“Bella, baby. Josh was trash,” Ashley says. “He was probably fucking that one girl you caught him sexting last week.”

“Probably,” I sigh.

“Now you can come with us to the party,” Beth grins.

“The masked party? Why do you want me to go to this so badly? It sounds like a terrific way to catch an STI,” I laugh.

“Oh, chill. Live a little,” she laughs. “All you do is show up in a full-face mask and you'll get paired based on the test I made you fill out.”

“So… speed fucking?” I ask, sitting up.

“Yep. Afterward, if you both decide to take off your mask, then you get to reveal yourselves. If both of you do not agree, then you walk away and never know who they are.”

“So, if they’re trash, I don’t have to know?” I ask.

“Exactly.”

“Alright. I’ll go,” I say after a second. “I don’t have a mask though.”

“I have another one,” she says. She jumps up from the bed and races over to her bag to pull out a black mask. It looks like a cat, and it’s covered in glitter.

“Dude. If I choose not to reveal to them, they’re still gonna have that glitter all over them,” I laugh.

“No. It doesn’t come off,” she says as she rubs her fingers across the glitter to prove that it doesn’t. “Pair it with that black body-con dress you just got.”

“That would look good,” I admit.

“Also, you just dyed your hair brown. No one has ever seen you with brown hair before so even less of a chance of anyone knowing who you are. New clothes, new hair and no one knows you’re coming,” she says happily.

“What if I end up getting paired with someone I know?” I ask.

“By the time you find out, you’ll have already fucked them and liked it,” she says with a shrug.

“That’s true. Well… let me get dressed. It’s soon, right?”

“Right! Get dressed. It starts in a few hours. We can stop for food on the way,” she says.

We are sitting in Beth’s car eating chicken nuggets when my phone rings.

When I pick up my phone, I see it’s my older brother, Cory.

He has been gone for months for his job.

He’s a security data analyst for a tech company.

He was sent to California to help open one of their new locations.

He’s five years older than me, but even at twenty-five, he still makes time for me. I just wish I got to see more of him.

“Hey, Cory,” I say before taking a bite of my food.

“Hey. Where are you?” he asks.

“Out with Beth. Where are you?”

“At the house.”

“Oh my God! Really? When did you get back?” I ask excitedly.

“Just now, actually. Where are Mom and Dad?”

“They took a weekend trip to Charleston,” I say. “I can come home.”

“No. Cory, don’t you dare make her come home. She’s mine tonight,” Beth says loudly.

“You have fun. It’s Halloween. I’ll probably call Jason and go chill with him,” he says. “Are you going to be drinking?”

“Probably. Planning on being uptight about it?”

“No, smartass. If you need a ride, just call me. Okay?” he says. “I’ll kick your ass if you get into a car with someone who’s been drinking.”

“I won’t. I won’t,” I say. “I’ll call you if Beth drinks. She’s supposed to be the one driving.”

“Okay. Have fun. Love you,” he says.

“Love you.” I end the call and finish eating my food.

“Is he still seeing that one bitch?” Beth asks.

“Who, Jade? No. He dumped her a few months ago,” I say.

“Good. She was always rude to you,” Beth says as she puts all our trash in the bag.

“She just didn’t like that I was more of a priority to him than she was,” I shrug.

“Boohoo,” Beth laughs.

Cory and I have always been close. I was pissed at him for weeks when he agreed to go to California.

We still talk or text most days, it just took me a while to get over it.

I’m glad that he’s back now. I’m hoping he will be at the house with us again.

I like having him around, even if he does a lot of work.

It’s dark by the time we get to the party.

The house sits on nearly 100 acres and is practically a mansion.

The parents of the girl that throws these parties every year owns all of the dealerships in town.

They are loaded and love to flaunt it. I’ve been to parties here, but I’ve never been to this particular type of party.

She does it every few months. It’s led to some interesting encounters, but there have never been any major issues.

Once we get parked at the house, we go to the front door, where a guy is verifying names on the list for people who have completed their test to be paired.

Those who have not completed their test are pulled aside so that they can.

Everything is then put into whatever system they have there, and you are randomly paired with someone who fits the criteria that they have set up.

This is so organized for a bunch of drunk college kids, but this is what happens when you put a bunch of engineering students together.

We are given our room number and the time that we are supposed to be there.

I have an hour before I’m supposed to be in room six.

First, we find the room so that I know where I’m going.

Beth is going to room ten, twenty minutes later.

The rooms are numbered with a simple piece of paper taped to the door.

Sometimes it’s a laundry room, sometimes it's in the bedroom. Either way, the goal is to get fucked.

Beth comes back with three shots each, and we throw them back one after another so that I’m good and tipsy by the time I have to be there.

I don’t want to be drunk, because that would just be unfortunate for whoever had to deal with me.

This is far out of my comfort zone so unless the encounter is absolutely fucking mind-blowing, I’m not going to agree to anyone to knowing who I am.

I’m not the one-night-stand type of person, but I think that I deserve at least a little bit of fun after getting dumped over the phone by the guy that I’ve been dating for four years.

“Three minutes,” Beth said excitedly.

“I’m so fucking nervous. What if the mask falls off or something?” I ask.

“I made sure it was secure. It’s not going anywhere until you untie it,” she says reassuringly. “I think you’re in a bedroom, so just turn on one of the lamps and turn the main light off. Not having it as bright will probably help.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “I should go now.”

“Just breathe. Remember that you don’t have to tell them who you are. You can say no,” she reminds me. “You can say no at any time. Even if he’s balls deep, people know the rules.”

“Walk with me,” I say. She loops her arm in mine, and we walk upstairs to the end of the hallway. All of the upstairs floor is filled with moans and the sound of skin slapping against skin. We get to the end of the hallway and Beth knocks before opening the door.

“Alright. Turn the lamp on in the corner and just sit on the bed. Take a deep breath and keep your mouth shut. Whoever you are paired with, will know to keep their mouth shut also. Once everything is done, you’ll decide if you want to take your mask off.”

“Okay,” I say.

When she shuts the door, I turn the lamp on in the corner before shutting off the main light. The lamp is emitting a soft glow through the room. It’s much more comforting to not be blinded by light. Somehow it seems brighter when I’m nervous.

I sit on the bed, and I can’t stop fidgeting.

He’s not late or anything. He’s supposed to show up five minutes after I do so that I have time to get settled however I wish to.

I’m nervous because I don’t know what to expect from him.

Obviously, I’m in this room because I want to get fucked and I’m super excited for that, but what if it’s really good?

Am I bound at that point to show myself?

How do I know if it’s a good idea to take the mask off and how would I even communicate that with him if I can’t talk?

My test asked a lot of questions, but it ultimately called me submissive, so I am assuming whoever I am paired with is going to be as dominant as I would hope they are.

I hate having to tell people what to do or someone asking me to do something.

Just take it if you want it and I will use my safe word if I need to. Most people don’t understand that.

The door comes open and my breath catches in my throat when I see a man in a scream mask. I don’t know why that’s so hot, but he automatically gets brownie points for that one. Now that I’m face-to-face with my stranger, I’m realizing that I definitely have a kink for fucking strangers.

The man is tall, probably six foot three. He has a tight white T-shirt on and it’s doing nothing to hide the muscles in his chest and arms. Bulging veins ripple up his forearms. Once in the room, he shuts and locks the door. I don’t move because I don’t know what to do.

He shows me the front of the paper that he brought in with him. It simply says ‘Yes/No’ at the top and bottom of the paper. He pointed to his mask and then set the paper on the dresser. I’m gathering that is how we communicate after. I nod and he steps closer, extending his hand for me to take.

When I place my hand in his, he pulls me up from the bed, then spins me to face away from him.

He doesn’t hesitate to pull the straps of my dress off my shoulders.

He is standing so close to me that I can feel his body heat.

I instinctively take a half step back to press my body against his.

His response is to slide his hands up my dress, dragging it up my body until it gathers at my waist. I gasp slightly when he grabs hold of my lace thong and rips it off me.