Chapter 27 Astra
TWENTY-SEVEN
Astra
“When did you lose your mom?” Donovan asks. His voice is soft, almost sweet.
His fingers work through my hair, nearly soothing me back to sleep right here on his lap.
It’s a tough subject, but maybe talking about it will help me bring back the memories of her. I’m still holding out hope they’ll return. I know things with this curse are almost over, and if it ends in death, I would really love at least one real, vivid memory of her before I go.
“I was eight,” I tell him numbly. I feel a sense of loss, but it’s like my mind doesn’t understand why.
It’s very frustrating and confusing. At least I understand why this is happening.
It certainly would have been nice to know years ago instead of me developing some weird complex over it.
But… what can I do about it now? Nothing, so I’ll keep pressing on.
“Did you like living with…”
“The aunts?” I fill in for him. “Yeah.” A smile comes to my lips. “They were good to me. I miss them now.” Shame washes over me when I realize I’ve been so caught up in being out in the real world and I haven’t tried to get in touch with them. “I haven’t spoken to them since I left.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. My thoughts have been… muddled since I’ve been in the city. And I guess I didn’t want to talk to them because I was ashamed of what I had to do. I know they’d be so disappointed in me for agreeing to kill someone.” And there it is in a nutshell.
He kisses the top of my head.
I’m glad it’s dark so he can’t see me blushing.
What to do with him? This man that I once thought a monster, who is now holding me and asking things about my life… and kissing me sweetly when he can sense the sadness taking over.
This man… how I want him to be mine. I want him to be the prince in the fairy tales, but not quite like any fairy tale I’ve ever read. I don’t want him to change. I don’t want the perfect, nice prince. I want the dark prince. The one who will slay every dragon and demon, not just the ones after me.
Strong arms tighten around me as my lids flutter open. The light is streaming through the windows, and I can’t stop the smile from spreading across my face.
I roll over, only now realizing I’m back in bed. Donovan is here, his eyes thoughtful as he looks at me.
“Did you sleep at all?” I ask as I place my hand on his bare chest over his heart. I can’t tell if I’m trying to block out the symbol of the curse as a way to hide from what’s to come or doing my best to come to grips with it.
“No,” he answers me. His voice is soft yet gravelly. The way he’s watching me… it’s as if he doesn’t want to take his eyes off of me, and for some messed-up reason, it makes my heart warm.
I smile through the dark thoughts surrounding us.
This could be it.
And if it is…
“Take me out tonight,” I say, leaving no room for discussion.
It’s not a request, it’s a demand. A… last wish, one could say.
I roll onto my stomach and drape myself over his chest, resting my chin on my hand over his heart.
I’m trying to give him puppy-dog eyes, not sure if it will even work on him.
It’s one of those things I’ve seen done in movies and on TV so many times, but I have no clue if it works in the real world. “I’ve never celebrated Halloween.”
And it’s true. At least not that I remember.
The aunts would always celebrate the Shadow Moon, and we’d dance for hours in the front yard.
But Halloween was never really something they cared about.
Not that it would have mattered since we were in the middle of nowhere, and it wouldn’t have been as fun to dress up and ring the doorbell to my own house.
I might be playing it up a little, but I believe if this really is the end, we should make it a night for the history books.
Because… who knows? Maybe we’ll get the chance to remember it for a long time to come.
“Never?” he asks, his fingers working through my hair.
“Not one I can remember,” I tell him with a small smile.
I don’t want this to be a sad moment. “There were no cute, homemade costumes as a kid. And I never got the chance as an adult to wear something too small and revealing and be someone else for just one night. Like… a sexy nurse or a sexy devil. Or wear a skin-tight leotard and a pair of ears, and pretend to be a human version of some kind of cute animal.”
His grip tightens in my hair. His eyes turn dark. A deadly combination of lust and possession pins me in place.
“You will wear nothing of the sort,” he tells me. His chest vibrates with a growl, and I have to bite back a smile. “You will wear a costume that I deem appropriate. You will not leave my side. And when I say we’re done, we’re done. No complaining.”
I’m hanging on to every rule, waiting for him to say the actual words.
He’s demanding and controlling and bossy, but I don’t hate it.
Nope. Not when it seems like all of those things are for my own good, or so I imagine they are in his mind.
I bite my lip as my smile presses harder to show itself, even if it seems like the exact words aren’t coming.
“So… you’ll take me?” I ask with too much hope in my tone.
“I’ll take you,” he confirms.
I lean up, able to reach his mouth when he releases his grip on my hair. I kiss him and kiss him and kiss him. And when I finally pull away, I instantly bury my face in his neck. I breathe in, inhaling his sexy, smoky scent deep into my lungs.
His body relaxes with a sigh.
Then he’s wrapping his arms slowly around me. He holds me like I’m the most precious thing in the world and he can’t bear to let me go.
I feel strange tears spring to my eyes as he tightens his arms, pressing us closer together. Good tears, I’m sure.
He’s holding me.
I know it’s a little twisted and the timing is all wrong and the situation is… fucked beyond anything imaginable, but for one tiny moment in my possibly short life, I feel valued. I feel… cared for. Important. Someone who isn’t living in the shadows. I don’t feel alone.
“You will follow the rules,” he says, and by his tone, I can tell it’s not a question. Still, I feel the need to answer.
“Yes, I promise. You have final approval over my costume. I will not go more than five feet away from you. And when you’ve had enough like a grumpy old man, I will turn in as well.
” I lift my head just in time to see him roll his eyes as he snorts at my ridiculousness. I’m smiling so hard my cheeks hurt.
“Alright.” He clears his throat as his arms go slack around me. I reel in my glee, unsure of what’s coming next. “Go get ready. I know a place we can go for a costume. Might be slim pickings since today is Halloween and all.”
“Thank you,” I say as I get to my knees.
Before I crawl across the bed, I lean over to kiss his stubble-studded cheek.
He turns his head at the last second, and his lips brush against mine.
I feel his hot breath, and my lips part as I breathe it in.
I don’t resist when his mouth captures mine.
I don’t pull away when his hand makes its way to my hair again, and I feel it tighten in the strands as he holds me to him.
I don’t shut him down when his tongue invades my mouth like it’s on a mission to conquer everything it glides over.
No. I don’t even have the urge to do any of that.
My body is strung tight. I need him. I always need him. Always want him.
I can’t say if it’s some weird side effect of the curse or what, but I find myself not even trying to resist him. It’s like I feel for the first time in my life when I’m near him.
“Donovan,” I nearly groan as my body decides it has a mind of its own. I straddle him, leaning down to kiss him again as my hands become bold in their perusal of his body.
And what a body it is. He’s hard, and his skin is warm. My nipples pebble as I feel him growing firmer between my thighs.
There’s nothing between us. Nothing stopping me from letting him slide through my wetness. Nothing from stopping him from burying himself deep inside me.
I realize there’s not a single thing I wouldn’t do for him. If this is our last moments or just the beginning of a lifetime of them, I will stop at nothing to give him everything.
“Why don’t you thank me properly,” he rasps before dragging his tongue across my bottom lip.
With a firm hand wrapped around my hair, he pulls my head away. I love the way his eyes eat me up. How his thumb runs over my wet lip like he’s thinking of all the dirty things he wants to do to me. How he can’t seem to resist me as much as I can’t resist him.
I’m so turned on, and the smirk on his face says he knows it.
He presses his thumb into my bottom lip, rolling it out before sliding the tip into my mouth. I close my mouth around the digit and swirl my tongue around it. I feel a little insecure until I see the lust flaring in his eyes.
“Astra,” he whispers in a strained voice. “Don’t fucking tease me.”
He guides me down his body, and I rain kisses on every inch I slide toward his hardness.
I stop and stare. It’s so… beautiful? Can I say that? It’s big and thick, and looks heavy. The head is flushed red, and a pearl of clear liquid sits at the tip. I want to lick it, so I do, letting my tongue dart out to capture it.
He spreads his thighs wider as I settle on my knees between them.
I tuck myself as close to his body as I can, hunching over as I grab his shaft in my hand.
It’s hard and smooth. I barely bite back the giggle that tries to slip out.
I’m not laughing at him. It just feels… well, unlike what I thought it would feel like.
Truth is, I don’t think I’ve thought much about what it would feel like. I can’t help running my fingertips up and down it before gripping it lightly in my fist. I can’t quite close my hand around it, but that doesn’t stop me from giving it a few good tugs.
He sucks in a breath through his teeth, causing me to look up at him.
My tongue darts out again, and I lick the rim of the head of his shaft. His half-lidded eyes stay locked onto mine, emboldening me to open my mouth and take him in.
I nearly moan as he slides over my tongue. The weight, the silky skin, it’s more than I can take. I’m wet and aroused. I feel powerful as I close my lips around him and start to suck.
There’s something about being here. I feel like I’ve got the power. The power to satisfy him, but also the power to torture him. His pleasure is in my hands.
I think I like this feeling… a lot.
He uses both hands to carefully gather my hair up into a ponytail at the back of my head.
Once he has all the strands together, he holds my gathered hair firm enough to guide me, but not so hard that I feel roots being pulled.
And as he moves my head up and down, he’s doing it with a caring ease. Coaxing me but not pushing.
“That’s it, My Beauty. It feels so good,” he rasps out. “Suck me harder. Mmmm. That’s it.”
I can tell he’s getting close when his chest rises and falls faster.
I can also feel a static change in the air.
He pulses against my tongue. I don’t have a chance to think about what I need to do.
He spills into my mouth, and I choke when his hips suddenly jerk up and the flared head grazes the back of my throat.
But I don’t let it stop me. I swallow his salty seed down, loving how I get to keep a piece of him, even if it’s just for now.
“Damn, Astra,” he says, sounding breathless. His body sags into the mattress as I crawl back up it and let him take my weight. “That was…” He doesn’t finish, but the satisfied hum that follows is enough of a tell.
I kind of feel a bit of pride. Maybe it’s strange, but I don’t really care.
Donovan’s taking me out. He’s going to spend the day with me. And tonight, I get to experience Halloween.
It sounds like the makings of a perfect day.