Page 60 of House of Darkness (The Fallen Star #1)

ROMAN

My entire body was stiff, and my breath caught in my throat as I awaited her response.

I couldn’t help but remember the last time I put my heart on the line for her, the sting of rejection still somehow fresh.

It was too soon to ask, especially since she had only admitted her love for me a few weeks ago, but I couldn’t wait any longer when the future was uncertain.

I wanted her to be mine in every way before it was too late.

Then, a smile broke across her face, and she leapt onto me, her arms wrapping around my neck and pushing me to lay back on the deck.

It was a delicate balancing act to ensure the ring I’d managed to find in the market square—still in disarray but functional—didn’t fall onto the deck.

She laughed in a way that lit up her face like a full moon in the night sky, and soon I was laughing with her.

I wrapped my free hand around her waist, squeezing her closer.

“You’re crazy, Roman, but I love you for it. Of course I’ll marry you.”

The world seemed to disappear. I grabbed the ring and tossed the little box aside, slipping it onto her dainty finger. It was a bit big, but I’d get it fixed later. What mattered was what it meant to have it on her hand. “I love you, Estrella.”

“I love you too.”

Then we kissed, our lips melding together in a way that threatened to consume us like the vast expanse of the sea.

I rolled us so she was pinned beneath me, lacing my fingers with hers, pinning her hand above her head.

The cool brush of metal between my fingers was everything—she was everything.

My reason for breathing, for fighting, for living.

Nothing else mattered in the wake of her body against mine.

I ground my hips between her decadent thighs, desperate for the heat and friction that would make everything else irrelevant.

The fact that Mihal was building an army, having already employed both the Javali and the Pantera House.

That he was currently visiting the Azu House, hoping to sway them to his side as well.

Even the knowledge that he somehow knew of my powers and was training his people against them.

None of that mattered as long as she was by my side, my strength against the violence.

She would be tsarina now, just as she should be.

I doubted she had put that together yet, and I was grateful for it.

It gave me a few moments to enjoy her being mine before I had to share her with everyone else.

She would make a great ruler—fair, kind, considerate.

Better than me. I didn’t deserve her, but our people did, and they would come to love her.

I pressed my tongue to her teeth, and she opened for me willingly, allowing me to explore every inch of her like I’d never have the opportunity again.

But I would; I’d make sure of it. I wanted to spend the rest of my eternal life savoring the curves of her body and the taste of her mouth.

My hand slid from her back down her side, tracing her hips with a shaky touch.

I couldn’t stop the tremor, whether from excitement or fear or desire, I wasn’t sure, but she didn’t seem to mind.

She broke away from me, bringing her hand to my cheek and brushing her thumb over my jaw. “I always wanted my first time on a ship to be with you. And this—this is perfect. Make me yours, Roman.”

“I plan to, my love. Every day for eternity.” I kissed along her jawline, relishing the sweet taste of her skin on my lips.

I trailed my fingers to the sash holding her dress closed and tugged it open, revealing her beautiful body to the sun’s orange rays.

I couldn’t help but drink in the vision of her naked form beneath me.

She smiled up at me, the gilded light bathing her like the true embodiment of a goddess.

She trailed her hands down my chest, still stained with blood from the darkness of the night before, until she found the button of my pants.

In seconds, her fingers—now weighed down by my ring—undid the clasp and freed me to her.

In one smooth thrust, I was buried inside her, the sensation consuming every rational thought in my head.

Her breathy moans were barely audible over the crashing waves, but it was perfect.

The steady groan of the oak wood beneath us as I rocked into her matched her breaths, making everything else wash away.

I kissed her neck, the thrum of her heartbeat and the heat of her nearly driving me mad. “I will never get over this feeling, doll. I’d let the whole world burn just to stay buried inside you.”

She hummed happily, her fingers digging into my curls in a blissful kind of pain. “That’s not true.”

“Don’t underestimate me.” I quickened my pace, my eyes rolling back as she moaned loudly in response, her fingers digging into my scalp.

She thought I was being dramatic, but I wasn’t.

In that moment of euphoria, I’d let the whole damn world fall apart just to bury myself in her special brand of bliss.

I tried to be a good man, but in moments like this, I knew I was a monster.

I’d let the world devour itself just to have the chance to devour her.

My hand that still pinned hers dug into the oak floorboards of the ship as I approached the edge, her writhing body telling me she was close too.

I opened up to her, letting our emotions tangle together as messily as our bodies, wanting to share this moment with her, just as I wanted to share every moment for the rest of our lives.

“Whatcha doing up there?” a deep, rough voice called from the docks below. I nearly screamed.

I swear to god, if you cockblock me again, I’m going to kill you, I nearly shouted at Sorin. His annoying tendency to interrupt at the worst possible moment was quickly making me hate him.

“Oh my god,” Estrella’s eyes went wide with panic, her body stiffening beneath me.

“Ignore him,” I muttered, not stopping. I barely had the capacity to think, my strands of consciousness still tangled with hers, completely focused on how close I was to coming. I couldn’t think of anything else.

Pretty view. Might want to get your lady dressed. I flushed with mortification as I realized, in the chaos of my mind, I must have shown more than I intended when I spoke.

I growled in frustration, delicately untangling myself from Estrella’s threads of consciousness, trying to regain some semblance of rationale before responding. I’m definitely killing you now.

You’ll have to kill Raz too; he’s with me, Sorin chided back.

COME BACK IN TWO FUCKING MINUTES!

His laughter reverberated down the mental link like clanging metal. No. We’re coming up.

It took everything in me to care enough to stop, especially because Estrella seemed perfectly content to heed my advice about ignoring Sorin.

Her teeth sank into the crook of my neck to stifle her moans, the soft pain nearly pushing me over the edge.

I nearly allowed myself to, but I wouldn’t embarrass Estrella like that.

I growled irritably as I heard the first creaking step on the planks.

“Give us a second!” I shouted. Estrella tugged back, her eyebrows furrowed and cheeks flushed.

“They’re coming up. Let me help you, doll,” I murmured.

Her eyes widened, and our fumbling fingers worked together to find the sash of her gown, tying it around her.

I helped her to her feet and barely managed to button my trousers when Razvan and Sorin crested the ramp and stepped onto the ship.

There was no hiding the evidence of what we had been doing.

Not only had they heard us, but my shirt was half-buttoned and twisted, and her gown was barely pinned together in a messy knot.

I tugged her to my side and glared at my two generals.

Razvan’s expression was flat and unimpressed, which was almost worse than Sorin’s smirk.

“What the fuck is so important that you couldn’t wait two minutes?” I snapped.

“We need to discuss what Codran revealed. We’ve already gathered the others,” Razvan responded, crossing his arms.

“Catina must have told you, then,” I said, looking at Sorin.

Sorin ignored me completely, stepping forward and snatching Estrella’s left hand. He examined the ring with a critical eye. “So, you actually did it? I didn’t think you had the balls.”

I hadn’t told him I was planning to propose, but I wasn’t surprised he knew.

He seemed to know my every move before I even realized them myself, just as I did with him.

Estrella piped up before I could, her blush fading into a beaming smile that could melt away the darkness within me. “He did! Isn’t the ring lovely?”

She waved it to Razvan, who quickly lost his bemused expression and broke into a massive smile. “That is wonderful news, Es! You will make a wonderful tsarina!”

Her eyes widened with sheer mortification. “What do you mean, tsarina?”