Page 30 of House of Darkness (The Fallen Star #1)

ESTRELLA

“Please, Headmaster. I’ll be good.” I whimpered from the floor, my fingers slipping in the pool of blood draining from my face. Matei’s cruel laughter echoed in my ears.

“You’re a liar.”

He struck me again, and I screamed.

I jolted awake, my scream still reverberating through the room. I rubbed my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. It had been weeks since I last dreamed of that monster.

Wrapping my arms around my knees, I rocked back and forth, tears threatening to spill.

With Roman locked away and the generals gone, loneliness was my only companion.

What had once been a welcome reprieve from the academy’s chaos now left me yearning for comfort, desperate for an escape from the nightmares of my own mind.

The only contact I had was Roman’s power.

It enveloped the house, growing thicker with each passing hour.

Shadows caressed me with a gentle touch, beckoning me to the murky depths.

I craved nothing more than to give in. I could almost imagine Roman’s arms replacing those dark tendrils, his dark, honeyed whisper promising safety and protection.

My feet hit the cold marble floor.

Maybe I needed to work on my self-preservation skills, but I didn’t care. I wanted him. I slipped into my light blue silk robe and shoved on my slippers. His shadows wrapped around me, guiding the way.

Roman stood in the garden, bathed in the moonlight’s silvery glow. He must have heard me approaching, for he was already waiting. “You should’ve stayed in your room.”

I ignored him. “I had a nightmare about that monster hurting me again.”

Even in the dim light, I saw his eyes darken. “I’m the only monster here tonight, doll.”

“You aren’t a monster.”

He stepped forward, revealing what the shadows had concealed. His eyes were completely black, jagged streaks of darkness spreading up his arms from his taloned fingertips, as if his hands had been dipped in ink. He was as terrifying as he was breathtaking.

“I am. I came out here because of that scent…” He inhaled deeply, his eyes rolling back in ecstasy. When they opened again, he shuddered. “Estrella, go back inside and stay in your room.”

I took a step closer, closing the distance between us. “I don’t want to.”

“Gods damn it, Estrella,” he groaned. Reluctantly yet desperately, he stepped close enough to touch me. His eyes burned like voids, threatening to pull me into their endless depths.

Through gritted teeth, he said, “I want you. I want to sink my teeth into that beautiful neck. You. Shouldn’t. Be. Here.”

I tilted my head in invitation, my mind oddly clear. I wanted this more than I had ever wanted anything. “Touch me, Roman. Until the only touch I remember is yours.”

Roman’s hands gripped my hips, pulling me closer. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I trust you.” I did. I felt safe with him, just as I always had. The thought comforted me as his velvety tendrils enveloped me, holding me close.

His lips traced my jawline, sending shivers down my spine. I could feel his body shaking with restraint. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

It was as if I had unleashed him. With a growl, he lifted me in his arms and pressed me against the nearby stone wall. This was exactly what I wanted—his body against mine, the only thing filling my mind. I never wanted it to stop.

His hips moved with decadent friction, making me moan as my nightgown bunched around my hips. He pulled back, taking me in with a breathless gaze. “You are intoxicating,” he gasped.

Then his lips met mine. I could never get enough of Roman’s kisses. My hand tangled in his soft curls, savoring how they twisted around my fingers. His tongue danced with mine, and he moaned, the sound reverberating through me.

He broke away, panting. “I’ve thought about this since the city. Thought about how good you would taste, how feeling you tremble beneath me would drive me fucking crazy.”

I arched my neck, pressing my head against the stone. “Then take it.”

His gaze held everything—desire, need, and a rapidly snapping restraint. We hovered on the edge of something I wasn’t sure we could come back from. I wasn’t sure I wanted us to.

Then his fangs pierced my neck.

There was only a moment of pain before it transformed into the most intense, exquisite pleasure I had ever felt. My gasp turned into a moan. The noises escaping him were feral, and mine weren’t any more human.

Pleasure consumed my thoughts. The world around us blurred, and I couldn’t tell if it was his power or my lack of comprehension. All I knew was the press of his excitement against my wet center, his arms tightening around me, and his lips on my neck.

His wings stretched out, shimmering like onyx in the moonlight. My angel of night, ready to carry me away on shadowed wings. I saw stars, but I didn’t care. I would let him consume every part of me if it meant this pleasure would never end.

But it did. Roman lifted his head, his mouth parted, revealing his stained fangs. He looked magnificent, even undone like this—especially undone like this.

“We shouldn’t be doing this. I shouldn’t be doing this.” He set me down on the gravel and stepped back, his eyes tortured. “I hope you can forgive me, doll.”

The loss of contact felt like having a bucket of ice water thrown on me. I shivered and stepped forward, not caring how vulnerable I appeared. “I wanted you to.”

He stepped back, maintaining the distance. “Estrella, I can’t—”

“—Please, Roman. Don’t make me leave. I don’t want to be alone.” Tears brimmed, and I hated myself for it. Hated how weak I felt, hated how much he affected me.

“I said get away from me!” he roared, loud enough that the very ground beneath us shuddered.

He stepped forward like he was pulled by some invisible force until I was able to see what I hadn’t while curled in his arms. He had grown several inches, towering over me like a demon of the night with jagged swirls of black curling over his exposed skin like beautiful, horrifying artwork that ended at the blackened talons curling from his fingertips.

His fangs, stained pink with my blood, were bared at me.

My heart stuttered. I had never feared him before—I still didn’t.

I would never fear him, but my survival instinct was kicking in.

The man before me was a predator, and I was his preferred prey.

Vampires covered that truth with fancy suits and glasses of wyne, but it was impossible to hide in their beast forms like this, under the light of a full moon.

The most terrifying part was accepting that, despite the truth in front of me, everything within me still wanted him. Still wanted those arms covered in arcs of his power wrapped around me. Why couldn’t he see that?

His eyes widened as the stiff silence hung between us. He recoiled farther away from me like he feared hurting me, each step like a spring being pulled tight between us, tugging on my heart. As if he didn’t understand the only thing hurting me right now was the absence of his touch.

“I’m sorry, doll. You have no idea how much danger you’re in.” His teeth were gritted, his eyes glistening with pain. “Please, go back to your room. Don’t come out again until morning.”

Nothing I said would change his mind. I straightened my robe and walked away, my cheeks wet with tears as I retreated to the isolation of my room when all I wanted was to be in his arms.