The Heart System

Chapter 867: Chapter 867

I stopped the car in front of the penthouse and leaned back in the seat for a moment. Today had been long and exhausting. Just before I got out, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and saw a message from Delilah. The attached photo showed a pair of her panties laid out on the bed, the fabric stiff with dried cum stains. Damn. I really had filled her that much, looking at the stains, it must have kept leaking for a while after I left.

I typed a quick ”Sorry” and sent it, then got out of the car and handed the keys to the valet. The same valet Ivy had once suspected her mother of seeing. Those two really needed to sort out their issues soon, or Ivy finding out about me was only a matter of time.

”Thanks,” I said.

”No problem, Mr. Marlowe.”

I walked up the steps and into the hotel. As the automatic doors slid open, something in the corner of my vision caught my attention, something pointed in my direction, and I swore I heard a soft clicking sound, like a camera shutter.

I turned left and scanned the reception area, but there was nothing unusual. Just the normal evening crowd of guests and staff. Probably just paranoia leftover from everything with Cora. I shook my head and headed for the elevators.

The elevator was currently one floor below the top, which meant either Eleanor or Esme had used it last. I pressed the call button and leaned sideways against the wall while I waited, still eyeing the people in the lobby. Was I actually seeing things, or...?

”Nah... nothing, probably,” I muttered under my breath. ”Damn you, Cora. You’re making me paranoid.”

The doors opened. I stepped inside, tapped my keycard on the reader, and pressed the button for the top floor. A few seconds later the doors opened again. No Mana waiting for me this time. I was quietly relieved. I walked across the hall, tapped the keycard on the door reader, and pushed it open.

The girls were already home, and dinner smelled like it was ready. Behind the double couches, right in front of the dining table, Jasmine, Nala, and Kim were doing squats. All three of them were in tight sports clothes, tank tops and short shorts. Jasmine and Nala wore black; Kim wore white. None of them had bras on underneath. Every squat made their soft tits bounce freely under the thin fabric, nipples faintly outlined with the movement and sweat.

”Wow,” I muttered as I closed the door behind me. ”I might be the luckiest guy alive to walk in on a scene like this.”

”We’ve been... going at it for... an hour,” Jasmine panted, still dropping into another squat. ”You should smell us first, then say that again.”

”Hey, some guys are into that kind of thing.”

”Are you?” Tessa called from the kitchen, where she was eating ice cream straight from the carton and peeking over the counter.

”No!”

”But you fucked Kim’s armpit,” she said without missing a beat. ”I bet you’d do it again. Those smooth, sweaty, dirty armpits.”

”Are you eating ice cream before dinner?” I asked, changing the subject.

”Yes. I got hungry and you just wouldn’t come home!”

”Welcome, Master.” Minne appeared from the master bedroom on my left, wiping her hands on a small towel. ”I changed the sheets.”

”Thank you, honey.”

”And, um... s-sorry again. For yesterday.”

”It’s fine.” I smiled and gave her ass a light, affectionate slap as I passed. ”You can make it up to me by pouring me a glass of cold lemonade, though. I’m parched enough to die.”

”Yes!” Minne said quickly, already turning toward the kitchen with a small, relieved smile.

I entered the master bedroom and headed straight for the bathroom. After everything that had happened that day, I felt like I needed a few minutes to clear my head.

I turned on the faucet and washed my face, letting the cold water run over my skin before rubbing my hands together under the stream. Once I was done, I grabbed the edge of the counter and looked at myself in the mirror.

”Well, at least Cora and Esme are on okay terms now,” I muttered.

That was something, at least. Right?

Yeah...

I’d also told Esme to send me updates from the house if anything happened. Not because I didn’t trust Cora. Yeah, who was I kidding? I didn’t trust Cora at all.

I trusted her enough to believe that she cared about Esme, and I trusted that she’d agreed to try, but after everything I knew about her, there was no way I was going to completely relax and assume everything would be fine.

”Should be fine,” I said quietly, giving myself one last look before leaving the bathroom.

I headed toward the living room, and as soon as I walked out, I realized dinner was already ready.

The smell of food filled the room, but that wasn’t what caught my attention first.

Jasmine, Nala, and Kim were sitting on the couches, all three of them looking absolutely exhausted. Their hair was messy, their clothes were slightly damp with sweat, and they were breathing heavily as though they’d just finished running a marathon.

The TV was still on, connected to Jasmine’s phone. A woman on a gym app was demonstrating another exercise, squatting repeatedly before moving on to some other routine.

I looked at the screen, then at the three women.

”Gave up?” I asked with a grin.

Jasmine lifted her head and glared at me. ”It was on loop!” she practically yelled, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. ”The whole thing was normally half an hour, but our CEO here didn’t realize she put the video on loop!”

Nala, who was leaning back against the couch with her chest rising and falling from exhaustion, raised both hands defensively.

”Hey, I said I’m sorry.” She took a deep breath, then tried to sit up straighter. ”Think of it this way. Phew, okay, give me a second.” She wiped her face with a towel before continuing. ”Think of it this way. We surely lost some weight.”

Jasmine stared at her. ”You made us exercise for two hours.”

”An hour. Don’t be so dramatic.”

”You were the one who put it on loop!”

”I know, I know.” Nala groaned and dropped her head against the couch. ”I’m aware of my crimes.”

Tessa shook her head as she walked past them. ”Women. What stupid little creatures.”