Page 62 of House of Darkness (The Fallen Star #1)

ROMAN

“Tell me something about your childhood.”

My gaze swept over Estrella’s beautiful form, feasting on every curve.

Somehow, she was even more enchanting amidst the garden's lush vegetation, her sweet scent mingling with the spring flowers. The steady rhythm of her heartbeat harmonized with the soft singing of the fountain beside us. Her starlit hair lay splayed over the gravel as she bit into a ripe strawberry. I focused on the way her lips wrapped around the fruit’s luscious red flesh.

It took a moment for my mind to wade through the thick fog of desire to grasp what she was saying.

“This garden was built by my grandfather, but my father neglected it while he ruled. My mother and I rebuilt it together. I would go into the city and bring back shrubs for us to plant when my father allowed her out. Those are some of my best memories of her.”

Meager, irrelevant details from my depressing childhood that I really didn’t want to discuss right now.

I rolled closer to her, pressing my lips to her neck.

It had been my idea to hold off on intimacy as long as possible, but damn, it was hard to resist. All I could think about was how incredible it would be to be inside her.

I could already imagine it—my teeth buried in that perfect neck while I was buried deep inside her—

“Roman.”

Her sharp tone dragged me back to reality—barely. “Yes?” I pressed another kiss to her jawline.

“I think it’s time.”

My entire body stiffened. “No, no. I’m fine—I can make it to dinner.”

“You were growling.”

Was I? I hadn’t even realized it. “—and you completely ignored me.”

That cleared the fog. I leaned up on my elbow as panic hit me. “What? I—I’m sorry, doll.”

She laughed, and gods, I couldn’t look away from her chest heaving with the motion. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. I never want to be like that. I care about you and what you say. I don’t want to be a guy who doesn’t listen because he’s too focused on—”

She pressed a finger to my lips. “It’s once a month, my love. I’ll manage.”

Just the taste of her skin... I could lick every inch of her. I could spend an entire day worshipping that taste, especially the taste of her sweet pussy—damn it. I ground my teeth together. “Tell me what you said.”

“Your mom sounds like a remarkable woman.”

I nodded, doing my best to keep my eyes locked on hers and nowhere else. “I was lucky to have her while I did.”

She smiled. I would do anything for that smile, the way it bathed her face in remarkable starlight.

I’d kill for that smile—nope. Not going there.

As difficult as it was to endure the overwhelming desire to shove my cock into her, it was better than the alternative—violence. That emotion could not surface tonight.

I cleared my throat. “What was your mother like? I’ve never heard you talk about her.”

She sighed. “Our parents dropped us off at the academy when we were three years old. They didn’t even name us—Matei did. We were just a paycheck to them.”

Rage threatened to erupt within me. I should have fucking killed that piece of shit when I had the chance. He didn’t deserve to live after what he did to her, especially knowing he had probably done it to numerous other girls before and after her. I should kill all of them.

“Roman, it’s time,” she urged, moving to stand.

My eyes widened as I realized I was growling again. I immediately stopped. “No, we agreed after dinner. We still have a long time before the sun goes down.”

We had tried eating lunch inside, only to find her scent in that small area nearly drove me out of my skin, so we moved to the garden.

I thought the fresh air and other smells might help…

they hadn’t. My mind slipped further as we approached the peak of the moon, but I had made a deal with myself to get to dinner.

Make sure she was fed and delay the inevitable as long as possible. I couldn’t give up now.

“We agreed to wait as long as you could,” she argued.

“I can wait longer.”

“As much as I’d love to see you claw your skin off, I don’t think waiting until you’re foaming at the mouth is a good idea.”

I tossed her a glare, mostly because I didn’t have a response. She was right, waiting until I was completely gone would put her in more danger; all that pent-up energy could explode out of me. It made sense to start earlier, but it didn’t mean I had to like it.

“Are you ready?”

“No,” I ground out.

Before she could sass back in a way that would surely have me pinning and fucking her right there, I interjected. “Do you have the knife?”

She grimaced, but I didn’t care if she liked it. It was the one thing I had insisted on for this first time—a weapon in case I lost control. It wouldn’t help much, but it would increase her chances from none to slim. She patted the side of her hip to show me where it was. I nodded.

“Do you remember what I said?”

She released an irritated sigh. “Aim for the head and don’t hesitate.”

I ignored her exasperation and nodded. “Remember, you can reach the brain from the neck too; you just have to hit hard enough. If I go out of control, do not hesitate, do you hear me?”

“I’m not going to kill you, Roman.”

I let a snarl escape me. “If I’m out of control, you will. You promised.”

There was silence before she finally said, “Fine.”

We went to my room to avoid destroying hers. I sat on the bed, already out of my clothes. My entire body hummed with anticipation, shadows sloughing off me to release some built-up energy. I held most of it back, stuffing it down to the point I felt like I was going to suffocate.

She walked out of the bathing room in nothing but that infernal baby blue robe, and I jolted like a dog brought to attention, every part of me focused on her. It was terrifying how visceral my reaction was.

She threw me a cat-like grin as I started to stand. “Back against the headboard.”

The command stopped me in my tracks. “What?”

“I said, back against the headboard.” It was then that I noticed the thick chain in her hands. I had been so focused on her that I hadn’t seen it.

“Where’d you get that, doll?” I purred.

She crawled onto the bed. “Sorin gave it to me.”

I laughed. He was going to have a field day with that later.

I didn’t protest as she grabbed my hands and moved them above my head, pinning them to the top spike of the headboard.

The cool bite of the chains made my cock jerk with excitement.

Her robe left that pretty collarbone exposed for me.

I leaned forward and pressed a kiss there, fighting the urge to bite down.

I worked my way up her neck, speaking between each kiss.

“You know I can break these, right?”

She stiffened, answering the question. “But you won’t.”

Too distracted by her scent and the way her heart raced at my words, I returned to kissing her neck. Tempting fate, I slid my tongue over her scar—my new favorite place to bite. “Oh yeah? And why is that?”

She clicked the lock in place. I twisted my wrists and smiled—at least she had gotten them tight. She tugged back until her nose brushed mine. “Because I’ll stop if you do.”

Well, fuck, okay. Apparently satisfied, she leaned down and kissed my neck, torturously inching her way down my front. She took her sweet time, and by the time she reached my hips, I was damn near ready to jump out of my skin.

I growled, “Suck it like a good girl.”

She stopped and flicked those baby blues at me. I could hear her heartbeat speed up, the sound threatening to drive me insane. “Say please.”

I blinked. “What?”

She grinned and sat back up. I twisted in frustration. She had been so. fucking. close. “I said beg, Your Highness.”

A growl escaped me, but not necessarily in irritation. She was testing her power over me. Little did she know she had always been in control here. “Please, doll,” I ground out.

She smirked at the win, but I added, “Only because you’ll be on your knees begging later.”

Her eyes widened for a heartbeat before she schooled her expression. She started working her way down my front again, then stopped. “What do you want, exactly?”

My wings trembled, a testament to how profoundly she was affecting me. “I want your mouth around my cock, now.”

She hummed, a playful smile on her lips. “Is that all?”

“No,” I hissed, jerking as she kissed just above where I craved her. “I want to break these fucking chains and bury myself in you until you scream.”

She clicked her tongue, then slid it teasingly up my shaft. I arched off the bed, a tormented moan escaping me. “Estrella,” I warned through gritted teeth.

Her glowing blue eyes met mine, the definition of sin, as she slid home.

“Fuck,” I whimpered, my voice nearly breaking.

I could process nothing but the exquisite sensation of her mouth enveloping me. My gaze locked on her as she descended, my cock hitting the back of her throat. The sound of her choking, the feel of her throat tightening around me, teetered me on the edge. I wouldn’t last long.

She released me with a gasp, trails of saliva glistening on her lips. I wanted to etch the image of her, teary-eyed and drooling, tongue wrapped around my cock, into my memory for eternity. “You’re beautiful, doll, and you take it so well,” I purred.

Whether she would admit it or not, she thrived on praise. She wrapped her mouth around me again, battling for every inch. I rolled my hips, eager to hear her choke again, her teeth scraping against my shaft. The sweet sting of pain made me moan.

She pulled back, gasping for air. Her hand gripped me tightly, pumping with a deliberate rhythm. “You’re still holding back,” she said, licking the tip.

I moaned before responding, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, doll.”

She halted completely, pulling back a few inches. She was torturing me. My claws sank into the wood of the bed frame, and the chains groaned against my wrists. “Last time, your shadows engulfed the whole house. This won’t work if you’re holding back.”

“I could hurt you.”

She crawled up my front until our noses nearly touched. “You won’t hurt me.”

Our lips met, and I moaned, intoxicated by the taste of her messy kisses. I answered in her mind to keep the connection. No.

Yes, or I stop sucking you.

I don’t negotiate with terrorists.

She frowned and pulled back. “You didn’t hurt me when you rescued me and exploded. You won’t hurt me now.”

“How are you so sure?” My wrists twitched, yearning to redirect that bratty mouth.

“You once asked me to trust you, and I said I did. I still do.”

“You should trust me when I say this is a bad idea,” I replied, but I let my muscles relax. Fine, if this was what she wanted, she would have it. Anything for Her Majesty.

“Brace yourself.” A grin spread across her face, knowing she had won. Of course she had; I didn’t know why I bothered to fight.

I exhaled, allowing the tension to release like a dam breaking.

Shadows erupted and glass shattered around us.

When I opened my eyes, my vision was bathed in crimson.

Black streaks snaked across my skin like vines, converging at my wings.

The chains caging me bit into my expanding wrists.

One of the links popped at the weld to accommodate me, and my talons shattered the wood effortlessly.

Yet there she was, a radiant star amidst the darkness engulfing me. My mind was consumed with desire—to feed on her, to fuck her until she screamed—but beneath that simmered fear, the dread of taking it too far and having her recoil from the monster I truly was.

But she didn’t recoil. She never did. She gripped my cheeks, planting a kiss on my lips, the pressure of her mouth making my fangs prick her skin. “I love you. Thank you,” she breathed.

I swallowed the stone lodged in my throat. Gods, she was perfect. Before I could respond with those three words that would never suffice, she glanced at my chains and laughed. “I guess those didn’t last long.”

I chuckled and pulled the chains forward, still tethered to the splintered wood. Her fingers tugged the broken link free and tossed the chain aside. “I told you.”

“I know.” She kissed me again, more urgently now, as she slipped out of her robe. “Take control now.”

“Are you sure?”

Yes. She crawled down my front, her lips trailing up the side of my shaft. Fuck, it was perfection. The rest of whatever control I had evaporated. I surrendered to the savage within me, fisting her hair tightly and guiding her onto my cock.

She didn’t even need to move; I thrust my hips deep enough to make her choke.

The pace was punishing and absolutely perfect, giving her barely enough time to breathe.

Her fingers dug into my thighs, and though I loved the bite of pain, I used my shadows to twist her arms over her back and pin them down.

The sight of those dark tendrils on her beautiful skin appeased the monster within me.

“Fuck, you take it so well,” I groaned.

She did. Tears trickled from her eyes, yet they remained locked on mine, silent permission shining in her gaze. Her tongue pressed against my shaft, trails of spit dripping from her mouth. My eyes rolled back in ecstasy.

“I’m gonna fill that perfect little mouth.”

I saw stars—or maybe that was just her. Either way, I fell into pure bliss as I came. She continued to work my throbbing cock, dragging out my pleasure. She sat up, opening her mouth just so I could watch as she gulped it down.

I hooked a finger under her chin, drawing her up to me for a kiss. She hummed happily as our lips locked together. Was I good?

I tugged her to my front, sliding my tongue up her neck. “Such a good girl, doll. Fucking perfect.”

I scraped my teeth across her neck, teasing myself. “And you know what good girls get?”

She gasped, squirming against me. “What?”

“They get fucked.”