Soulmate: Feel My Heart Beat Book 1 Read online

  Copyright

  Dedications

  Chapter One: Soulmate

  Chapter Two: Questions

  Chapter Three: Confusion

  Chapter Four: Blush

  Chapter Five: Mortified

  Chapter Six: Moan

  Chapter Seven: Strings

  Chapter Eight: Dance

  Chapter Nine: Pleasure

  Chapter Ten: Kitten

  Chapter Eleven: Parkour

  Chapter Twelve: Chase

  Chapter Thirteen: Trouble

  Chapter Fourteen: Punishment

  Chapter Fifteen: Observation

  Chapter Sixteen: Memories

  Chapter Seventeen: Preparation

  Chapter Eighteen: Mission

  Chapter Nineteen: Indecision

  Chapter Twenty: Jones

  Chapter Twenty-one: Flux

  Chapter Twenty-two: Heartbeat

  Chapter Twenty-three: Healing

  Chapter Twenty-four: Practise

  Chapter Twenty-five: Unexpected

  Chapter Twenty-six: Crisis

  Chapter Twenty-seven: Intuition

  Chapter Twenty-eight: Insane

  Chapter Twenty-nine: Escape

  Chapter Thirty: Pull

  Chapter Thirty-one: Ueda

  Chapter Thirty-two: Release

  About the Author

  Preview

  Copyright

  © 2017 Delmire Hart. All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  This is a work of fiction. All resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  This ebook contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers.

  Please don't read if you are under eighteen.

  For inquiries please contact: [email protected]

  Dedications

  Massive hugs to both Mara and Darren who helped make this better than before.

  Also to my partner for his unending support.

  And to everyone who has supported me so far! <3

  Soulmate

  Feel My Heart Beat book 1

  By Delmire Hart

  Chapter One: Soulmate

  Daniel wondered what it would be like to find his soulmate.

  Would it be a platonic soulmate, an ultimate best friend like his best friends had found in each other?

  Would it be a romantic soulmate like his parents? A partner for him in all ways possible?

  Or would he stay like most of the world, left wondering, waiting and hoping that he might get his answers.

  Some researchers argued that with the amount of people in the world and the need to touch the other person to get the reaction, it was no wonder so few people did. Others suggested that with today’s busy lifestyle, people were less in tune with themselves and The Pull, the legendary feeling of being drawn to another person, is drowned out in a sea of instant and easy entertainment.

  Why go chasing a fleeting feeling that you cannot decipher when you have everything you need right here?

  Even if you found your soulmate, there’s a good chance that they will just stay as a friend.

  It was becoming more of a divided culture, particularly with the younger generations. There were those who had their heart set on meeting that one special person and refused to date anyone else. Yet others brushed off the idea and continued their life as normal, dating, working, not leaving their little sphere of comfort for such a small chance. It’ll happen if it’s meant to be, Daniel himself had heard people say. He wasn’t so sure that was true but then he had yet to meet the person that would light up his chest. He was a wanderer by nature, no set job, no set working location, ready and able to move on short notice, yet he also had never experienced The Pull. Daniel had never felt like he needed this mysterious other person, never felt drawn to them, never truly felt like he was missing out.

  Only on the loneliest of nights when his mind wandered did he question what he was missing and even then, all he felt was a dull ache of what if and maybe.

  It had been Daniel’s most recent job that set his thoughts on this rather depressing spiral. He had been commissioned to take the photographs for a magazine piece on an elderly gentleman that had felt The Pull and not just in a small way. Every day for nearly twenty years, he sat on the same park bench in a park in a sleepy suburb on the outskirts of Now York. He sat and waited and felt that pull; that need to be there. Sometimes the time of day when he was drawn to it changed but mostly it stayed the same, early evening, just after dinner. Then one day, about a month ago, that drawn feeling stopped. Suddenly, that intense Pull never came back. The elderly gentleman had smiled sadly while he told his story, sitting there on that same park bench.

  “At my age and after so many years of being drawn here, I think it’s safe to say that my soulmate has passed. I’ll never know if they were as drawn to me as I was to them but maybe I’ll meet them in another life. I still come here every day at the same time. It’s been nearly twenty years you know? It’s become a habit although the feeling is more nostalgic now.”

  What chance did he have compared to someone who felt drawn so strongly and yet still never got the chance to meet their soulmate? The old man could describe all the changes of the park, all the things that went on over the years. He said he could walk there blindly, he knew the path so well. While he recounted his sad story, he traced the grain of wood on the park bench and admitted that the bench itself was like a lifelong friend to him.

  Would it be better to never get to meet this destined other person so that in the event of their passing, one wouldn’t have to feel quite so much pain or better to have known and lost than to have not known at all? This man seemed to be stuck between the two concepts and his sad smile tore Daniel’s heart to pieces.

  His best friends, Marcus and Rafael, had found each other in high school but this was rare, as most people who did find their soulmates found them later in life. His parents were also relatively young, being only a little older than he was now. How many years would he have to wait? Would he wait in vain? He wondered if finding that person would remove the feeling that he was only drifting through life. He wasn’t lonely, didn’t miss this person, but he did sometimes feel purposeless. Maybe that was his form of The Pull? Did the other person feel it too?

  Daniel’s dark musings were interrupted by a familiar tone and he fished his phone out of his pocket to check the message. Noting that it was from his mother, he opened it.

  Hi, darling! I hope you are enjoying your day! Remember it’s your father's birthday soon! I’ll call tonight. Kisses!

  Daniel shot off a quick reply to say that he had saved the date in his calendar before pocketing the phone. He needed to get his dad a present, but he still had time to think of something. He sighed. He felt like a mess. His thoughts still echoed the depressing feelings from his photoshoot but he was glad that his mother wasn’t gushing over soulmates again. The last thing he needed right then was her well-meaning interrogations. It wasn’t like him to get melancholy, he was normally the most upbeat and optimistic among his friends, but even he got down in the dumps sometimes. The story about the old man really weighed on him.

  Dan
iel ran a hand through his blonde hair in an effort to calm himself. He had things to do and standing here was not going to get them done. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Feeling a little calmer, he continued to make his way towards the fancy camera shop in the central shopping district. The camera store, like all the stores here, was well outside Daniel’s price range but they serviced high end cameras. Their prices for the servicing were a little higher than others but they had all the best equipment and did a much better job than any other store Daniel had found. Most importantly, he trusted these guys with his precious camera.

  This particular camera had been his for a while now and it was amazing. He had brought it off one of the top fashion photographers for a company he sometimes freelanced for. They hadn’t liked it as it didn’t suit their style, whatever that meant, and he was already considering replacing it for an even more expensive model. After seeing Daniel’s interest, they had come to a deal and now, it was his most prized possession. Considering how he used it on a daily basis, he needed to take it in occasionally for servicing. It was working well for now but it was due for a service so he planned to drop it into the camera store and do some window shopping while the tech’s there checked it over.

  He was only a block away from the store when a commotion up ahead caught his attention. Two rough looking youths stood threateningly over a little old lady. He couldn’t make out what they were saying but the crowd parted around them as people hurried by purposefully ignoring what was happening. Already agitated after his earlier photoshoot and no stranger to the odd street scuffle, Daniel wasn’t about to walk on past. Especially when the woman seemed to desperate for someone to help her. A quick glance around showed no help in sight so Daniel strode up to the group.

  “Is everything okay?” he questioned.

  The two youths both swung around to sneer at him. He could smell the cheap cigarettes from where he stood and both were dressed in baggy, ripped clothing.

  “Nah, grandma over here was going to give us some money to go play in the arcade. Right, grandma?”

  The lady didn’t respond verbally but shook her head in denial. Daniel could see her hands trembling and while she looked to be fairly well off, most who shopped here were, it certainly didn’t excuse their behaviour. Anger rose up within him at these two thugs threatening an elderly lady. What kind of asshole did that? He stepped forward, hands curling into fists.

  “Leave her alone, she doesn’t owe you anything.”

  The crowd moved out to give them more space as though people were worried that they could be drawn into a fight. It pissed Daniel off further that not a single person even so much as looked their way, everyone keeping their eyes averted like if they couldn’t see what was happening, then it couldn’t be happening.

  “Yeah? What you going to do about it?”

  “Not let you get away with anything, that’s for sure,” he retorted, refusing to back down.

  Daniel knew he wasn’t going to win, two against one in close quarters was not to his favour, but he would be damned if he was going to let this slide. He only hoped that someone from the crowd would join in or that the incoming fight would draw enough attention to get the police involved. He shifted his camera bag so that the strap sat on one shoulder and went across his chest with the bag itself at his back. Hopefully that would keep it safe as he wasn’t willing to chance leaving it on the ground.

  The two youths split up and moved to flank the photographer, clearly intending to make full use of their extra person. Daniel gritted his teeth and tried to keep his eyes on both. One moved first and swung a punch which he managed to dodge. Daniel stepped in close and nearly landed a punch but the other came at him suddenly and he barely managed to dodge that time. He danced back to watch them both approach warily. After a few similar exchanges of not quite hits, he finally managed to land a punch on one of the teens and knocked him to the ground.

  Unfortunately, as he turned to face the other Daniel realised that he had taken too long and the second teen had gotten too close. He didn’t have a chance to block before he was knocked backwards off his feet by a fist connecting with his jaw. He didn’t land flat on his back like he thought but instead felt a sharp pain lancing through his back from the impact of his camera bag interrupting his fall. He looked up in time to see two suited men step forward and make very quick work of the two punks. The little old lady hurried over to Daniel’s side.

  “Are you all right?” she asked worriedly.

  “I’ll be fine.” He tried to smile at her but as he shifted his weight, he heard the tell-tale click of broken glass.

  “My camera!” He immediately pulled the bag off his shoulder and unzipped it to peer inside. Daniel pulled out his precious high-performance camera and cried out at seeing the cracks in the lens and along the body of the camera itself.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry!” He could hear the panic in the old lady’s voice.

  “No, no, it’s not your fault.” He couldn’t even muster a smile this time and with a sigh he put the broken camera back in his bag.

  “I was taking it in to be serviced, looks like I don’t need to worry about that anymore.” He forced out a strained laugh. He wasn’t even aware that someone had approached them until a large hand appeared in front of his face, palm up, to help him to his feet.

  “Here.” A deep voice spoke softly and Daniel felt himself shiver. He reached out to take the hand at the same time he turned to look at the person nice enough to help him. Blue eyes met molten gold, and he froze. A strange feeling in erupted in his chest and suddenly it felt hard to breathe. He saw the golden eyes widen in shock and he caught a weird light out of the corner of his eye. He looked down to see the stranger’s chest glowing with a pulsing light like a heartbeat. He quickly glanced down to see his own chest pulsing in rhythm with the other man.

  No way.

  Soulmate? Now? Him?

  He stared at this mystery man in front of him. He seemed like a well-to-do businessman, clearly older than himself with dark slicked back hair sitting above a handsome face. Bright eyes gleamed down at him and he wore a clearly expensive, well-tailored suit. Daniel didn’t have time to register anything else before the old lady brought him back to down to earth.

  “Oh my! Well, I can’t say I liked being nearly mugged but if this is the outcome then it’s definitely not so bad. Congratulations to you both.”

  It was not every day you saw someone find their soulmate in person. Daniel himself had only seen it firsthand once before, with his friends Marcus and Rafael in high school. The way their chests lit up had seemed like something magical at the time but it didn’t compare to the feeling of it happening to you, it was a pale comparison. The businessman seemed to have come back to his senses after his own shock and gently tugged on Daniel’s hand. He let himself be pulled to his feet and reluctantly let go of the warm hand to dust off his jeans.

  “Thank you very much, young man, for standing up for me. It looks like they want to speak with me but I wish you both the best.” The lady moved back towards where the two teens were and Daniel noticed that two police officers had shown up and handcuffed both the young men. One was speaking with the two suited men who had stepped in after Daniel had been knocked to the ground and the other approached the older lady in concern.

  “Do you have anywhere to be after this?” Daniel jumped at the voice. It was deep and smooth and sent little shivers down his spine. He turned to peer at the man again. So, this was his soulmate. He briefly wondered if his reaction to his voice pointed towards him being a romantic partner. Realising that he had been wordlessly staring, he gave himself a small shake and tried to smile.

  “Ah, no.” He glanced down at the camera bag still on the ground and sighed in disappointment. “I’m free now. Oh! I’m Daniel Miller, by the way.” He stuck his hand out to shake, feeling somewhat awkward. The other man reached out and clasped his hand, it felt warm and large against his own. Comforting, somehow.

  “It is a
pleasure to meet you, Daniel.” That voice was going to be the death of him. “William Hunt.”

  Oh shit.

  Chapter Two: Questions

  Daniel wasn’t quite sure how he got here. It was all a blur of thoughts running in circles while he tried to wrap his head around the whole I found my soulmate thing. He had given a statement to the police officers and now he sat in some fancy restaurant with a menu open in front of him getting a late lunch with his soulmate, holy fuck. He had been told to order whatever he would like off the menu but every time he looked at the prices he felt a little faint. One meal for two here would pay for his rent for a week!

  Between his dithering over the prices and his brain flittering off to freak out over recent events, he hadn’t even begun to decide what he wanted to order when a waiter showed up asking if they were ready. Daniel floundered, but the menu was removed from his hands by the man sitting across from him. William proceeded to smoothly order a list of things he barely registered. Amused golden eyes turned back to him and a smirk appeared.

  “You seemed to be having trouble, so I got a few different things to try.”

  “Ah, thank you. I’ve never been somewhere like this,” Daniel replied with a nervous laugh. He didn’t like being ordered for without being consulted but he would let it slide this time. It saved him the awkwardness, at least. “I’m pretty sure what you just ordered could pay my rent for a week.”

  “Now, Daniel,” William started after he finished chuckling at him. The way this man said his name sounded so good it should be a sin. Was he only reacting like this because of their supposed connection or was he just extra aware of this person because of shock? “You seemed rather surprised when I told you my name, have you heard of me by chance?”

  Daniel paused and weighed up what he should say. This man was his soulmate after all, he should be honest. As far as all the rumours went, he didn’t seem so bad in person. The gossip around the station made the man sitting in front of him out to be some sort of demon.