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.”
Chapter 51
ESTRELLA
Roman was on me in seconds, pinning me to the bed, his legs holding mine open. Around us swirled nothing but his darkness. I reveled in the fact that he finally trusted me enough to become undone. The jagged swirls of blackness over his skin were like art on a perfect canvas, and those black eyes burned with a fire that threatened to turn us both to ash. I worshipped the heat.
He bared his fully extended fangs and leaned toward me, but I unsheathed the blade at my thigh, teasingly pressing it against his chest. I knew how he looked at me during training—my masochist loved the danger.
“Careful. Don’t make me use this.”
His smile was predatory. “Do it. Make me bleed.”
Before I could react, he lowered himself onto the knife. I held it steady as the blade sank hilt-deep into his heart. He chuckled, then sat back on his knees. “This brings me back.”
In one clean motion, he pulled the knife free, running that demonic tongue along the flat of the blade before tossing it aside. Blood poured from the open wound like a river, coating his chest and dripping onto my stomach. He wiped his hand over the gash, smearinghis tattoo with a crude blanket of gore. Then he covered my mouth with his bloodied hand, the coppery taste trickling between my lips.
He surveyed me with an intensity that threatened to burn me from the inside out. Maybe I should have feared that fervor, but it only fueled my desire. I couldn’t bring myself to care what that said about me; it simply meant we were perfect for each other. His hand left my mouth, and he smiled at the perfect bloody handprint now adorning my cheeks.
“Seeing you covered in my blood does things to me, babydoll.”
Though desire wound him tight, he barely moved, holding back even after everything. The thought that he might still fear pushing me too far hurt. I needed him to know I was ready to fall into that abyss with him.
I licked my lips clean and hummed happily at the taste, especially as his blood left a hot tingling down my throat that made my vision fuzzy. I reached up and drew a heart in the gore over his rapidly closing wound before sucking my finger clean. I giggled at the shock on his face.
