Page 42

FORTY-ONE

Lucius

One month felt like a year without her. Every second apart was unbearable. But now, I’m here, and she’s with me. Nothing else matters. Nothing else exists.

It was just five in the afternoon, but I wished for the night, to see her glow, to wish upon a star. And I would wish too, but not for her to be mine, no, I would wish for time to freeze, to hold her forever in my arms, to let every piece of my dark past drift away. I would drown in the present, for her. Because ever since I met her, she became my now. And now, she is my past, my present, and my future. She is forever my Little Star.

She leaned further into me, tangling her fingers in my hair, kissing me, stealing my breath, leaving nothing but her lips on mine, holding me chained in her time.

“Roses?” she whispered, breathless. “How did you bring them all inside?”

“People,” I chuckled, kissing her again, losing myself in her mouth.

“People?” she asked, parting from me just slightly, confused.

“Just people,” I mumbled. “Not now. Just kiss me.” I whispered, pulling her closer, and holding her tight. I didn’t want to be apart from her.

She smiled against my lips as I lifted her into my arms, carrying her toward the bed. Before lowering her down, I moved the roses aside, making space for her.

I reached into my pocket, lifting a mask into the air. “I brought this,” I said with a smirk, “but all I want tonight is to watch your face, every expression you make while I fuck you until you’re out of breath.”

“Oh, charming,” she chuckled, sliding her hands beneath my hoodie, pushing it up, then pulling it over my head until I stood shirtless before her.

Her lips parted slightly as she leaned back, her hand reaching for my chest. Her fingers traced the paths of a cloudy night sky, and stars inked across my skin, over muscle, all leading to a single word: SOUL. I had tattooed my entire chest with the stars of the day we met, adding more with each day I had known her. My arms and back had tattoos long before, but my chest belonged to her, especially the part where my heart was.

“Stars,” she murmured, smiling. “So many stars.” She chuckled. “Why?”

I took her hand, pressing it against my chest, just left of center, where the first stars had been tattooed on my skin. As she traced them with her fingertips, I said, “The day I met you, you became my Little star. But now—“ I guided her hand across my chest, letting her feel every line. “Now, you are my whole universe.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and I could see my reflection in them. My voice turned rough. “I might not be some hero or prince on a white horse, or whatever, but I will,” I swallowed hard, the words carving into my throat like glass. “I will become whatever nightmare keeps you safe.”

She bit her lip, then took off her white shirt, stepping closer. “The only nightmare would be a day without you.”

I leaned in and unhooked her bra so that her soft breasts spilled onto my palms. She unzipped my trousers while I started unbuttoning hers and dropped them to her knees. I rose from over her and removed my trousers, with only heat and breath separating us. She got up too and stood before me in nothing but red lace. Her hair hung loose over her arms with only the ends of it hanging in front.

A slow smirk curled my lips. “God, you’re beautiful.”

She crouched down to the edge of the bed, raising her bottom in the air as she arched her back, her thong biting into her skin. She stood up, her hands reaching for my cock, tracing its shape with her fingertips before placing it in her mouth.

She playfully nibbled on the tip of it with her teeth, then took it all in, making her gasp. She held my balls in the palm of one hand and played with the rest of my cock with her other hand; sucking, pulling, shaping, until I let out a deep moan from my lips.

“Yes,” I growled. “Show me that you missed me.”

She rolled her tongue over it, pulling it up and down softly, making my eyes roll back in pleasure. My head fell back, eyes closed as I relaxed and let her take my cock deeper into her mouth. She gagged as she let it slide with the whole length down her throat. I lowered my hand to her jaw, watching her eyes, which were now tearing at the corners, as she took me deeper. I cupped her with my hand, patting her cheek, forcing her to take all of it.

I then pulled my cock from her mouth and gently lifted her to the sitting position. “Turn around,” I growled.

She obeyed, leaning forward with her back to me. She taunted me, crawling back away from me until her ass cheeks were up hard against my crotch.

She arched her back, her arms reaching around the sheets, her face buried in the white sheets as she looked back at me, her ass still in the air. I slowly spread her legs apart with my knee, scanning her body.

She is perfect.

Slipping my fingers between her lower lips, I taunted her. She was already so wet, and I hadn’t even started. Slipping her thong to the side, I ran my fingers up and down from her clit to her opening. As she gasped and moaned, I slapped her hard across her pussy, making her jerk.

I hoisted my leg onto the bed beside her and edged closer with my cock, teasing her with the tip only, going up and down. As I finally pushed inside of her, she moaned, letting me enter her fully. Midway in, she moaned again, and I began thrusting deeper and deeper until I was fully buried within her.

She clutched the sheets in her hand firmly, her mouth open, her eyes shut as she moaned in pleasure.

I continued my deep thrusts, holding her hips in both of my hands and pinning her down. The room was filled with her moans and the slapping of my strokes on her swollen pussy. She took each of my thrusts with pride, rolling her eyes, and screaming out in short gasps of breath.

“Fuck,” she cried out, her hand moving down to her clit, fingering it hard, so hard I could feel the heat on my dick, her inner flesh contracting on me. I pulled out, making my way down on her, kissing her ass cheeks and then her thighs until I got to her wet clit. I opened up her lower lips with both of my hands and kissed her before I drew my tongue from her opening up to her clit, stroking it hard at the tip of it, feeling the moisture dripping onto my jaw.

I stuck my tongue in, licking her all the way around, tasting her, then pulling back to insert two of my fingers in, hooking her onto my hand.

“God, oh,” she breathed, her breaths turning to short, successive gasps as she squeezed down on my fingers, not letting me move in or out. “Oh, please,” she whimpered, then groaned, her knuckles turning white as she clinched the sheets in her hand.

I withdrew my fingers, rising and thrusting my cock deep inside her hot, tight inner flesh, maintaining my fast pace. She gasped again, her trembling thighs beneath me, her shuddering body as I pushed her to the edge.

“Come for me, Little Star,” I breathed softly, my hand snapping down on her ass cheeks in a sharp smack before I reached to wrap my arms around her hips and hold her tight as I thrust deeper inside of her.

She arched back higher up so I could take her harder. I pounded her so forcefully that she fell onto the bed, her body collapsing beneath me as I rode over her, opening up the ass cheeks and continuing to hammer away at her until she screamed with pleasure.

“God, please,” she gasped, biting hard on her hand as the tidal waves of pleasure washed over her.

I felt my cock growing hard within her tight inner flesh. Her pussy clamped down on me hard, wringing the last shred of control from me. I groaned, my rhythm slowing, my release bursting ahead. And with one final push, I came inside her, collapsing onto her back, gasping on her skin.

“Freya,” I moaned in her ear, my mouth tracing the curve of it.

I stepped back and let her roll over, and I lay down beside her, gasping. I hugged her and pulled her close, feeling the warmth of her skin on my own. “I missed the way you felt. I missed the way you smelled. I missed you.”

She smiled against my chest, her fingertips drawing idle patterns on my skin. “I missed you too.”

I looked down at her, her freckles, her wild ginger hair, the way her lips curved up in the sweetest, softest smile. She touched the stars tattooed on my chest with her fingertips, tracing over them as if she tried to remember every single one of them. How did I get so lucky? How did I deserve this? The reality is that I didn’t deserve her. I didn’t deserve any of this. There were secrets I had not shared with her. And I feared that once I told her, she would no longer look at me the way she used to. I would no longer be her world.

And worst of all, I was afraid she wouldn’t be mine.

I stepped onto the roof, pulling a cigarette from my pocket and lighting it. The flame flickered in the night air before I took a slow drag, exhaling a thin stream of smoke.

She snuck out behind me, I could hear her soft footsteps.

“Since when do you smoke?” she asked, settling beside me. She coughed when I exhaled, waving a hand to clear the air.

“Ever since I met you,” I said with a grin, glancing at her.

“Do I stress you out that much?” she chuckled, still fanning the smoke away.

“A little,” I admitted. “I even found a gray hair thanks to you.”

She playfully punched my shoulder. “That smoke will give you more gray hairs, and I’m pretty sure I read somewhere it’s bad for… you know, impotence.”

I laughed. “Baby, I’m twenty-eight, not sixty. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Well, better stop now than be sorry later,” she said, leaning against my shoulder, wrapping her arm around me.

I hadn’t smoked in years, but the past month had been a mess, and I was back to my old habits. And yet, just sitting here with her made me want to quit. For her. With a sigh, I crushed the cigarette against the brick wall and left it there.

“Happy?” I asked, raising a brow.

“Yes.” She smiled. “I’m just happy you’re here.”

She lay next to me, her head resting on my lap, her hair in a tangled mess around us. I looked down at her, the way she looked at me, and I knew I had her. But God, I was so fucking afraid of losing her. I didn’t want to be without her, not even for a second. And before A and O had a chance, I had to tell her the truth.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, as if reading my mind.

I clenched my jaw. “I got another note from A and O. They know… about things I did in the past.”

Her expression shifted, concern shadowing her face. “Is this about that tape you found?”

“Yeah.” I let out a humorless chuckle. “They found it. Took it.”

She blinked at me, ready to hear it. But I wasn’t ready to say it.

“Maybe not tonight,” I murmured. “Maybe tomorrow.”

She bit her lip, uncertainty clouding her eyes. “I saw my mom today.”

“Oh?” I said, tensing. “What did she say?”

“That my dad is alive. That he has a new family. And that it’s not a good idea to dig into the past.”

I exhaled, nodding. “She’s right. Escaping the past is hard enough, but going back can burn us worse than before. And the flames, well, they can get out of hand.”

“I know,” she whispered. “But I still want to know. About him. About you. About me. Why he couldn’t love me? Why he—“ she hesitated, voice breaking, “why he raised a hand against me.”

I swallowed hard, my chest tightening. “Sometimes, people just don’t know how to love,” I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “But I want you to know that you are loved, Freya Sinclaire.”

She sat up, looking at me, searching my face. “Do you?”

“Of course I do,” I admitted without hesitation. “Do you?”

She smiled softly. “To the moon and stars.”

But would that be enough, Little Star? When you see just how dangerous I can be?

I’ve shown you the dark. But what if there’s something darker inside me?

Would you still love me?

Would you still choose me?

Would you stay for me?