39. CHAPTER 39
CILLIAN
My thumb dug harder into the knot at the back of his neck, the one that never fucking left. He wouldn’t look at me. Just stared out the window.
Fucking hell.
The whole visit I watched him shrink. Spine snapping straight the second Nathaniel stepped into any room.
Shoulders locked tight. Eyes flicking to his father’s face before every single answer, checking, always checking, if it was safe to speak.
My sharp-mouthed prince went quiet. Every edge sanded down until he sounded like a stranger wearing Moon’s face.
Under the table his hand kept finding my knee. Not for comfort. Pure control. Like one wrong word out of my mouth would blow the whole house apart and somehow become his mess to clean up.
He watched Yuna the same way, ready to catch anything before it could land wrong. Apologized for shit that wasn’t even his fault. Ate too little.
Even with me he pulled back. Fewer touches. Less bite in his voice. Less us. Like loving me out loud in that house was just another thing they could use to punish him.
They didn’t even have to yell. They only had to exist, and he folded. Twenty-five years of hearing that.
My thumb kept working slow circles over the same tight spot, pressing heat into his skin. I didn’t push. Didn’t demand he explain. Just let him feel the difference.
I wasn’t them.
And I wasn’t fucking leaving.
Moon’s teeth caught his bottom lip. “When we get married… can it just be us? Run away somewhere,” he added, almost whispering.
“Whatever you need, baby.” I dug my thumb deeper into that knot. “Though you’ll disappoint my mother. She can’t wait to meet you. Pretty sure she’s already planning the whole fucking thing.”
One corner of his mouth trembled. “Your family sounds really good.”
“They are.”
The car went fucking quiet.
Then, so quiet I almost missed it, he said, “They told me I was an embarrassment.”
My thumb stopped. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. I yanked the car onto the shoulder and killed the engine. My hands shot out, clamping hard around his jaw and yanking his face toward me.
“Hey. Look at me.”
His hands flew up, grabbing my wrists, nails digging in as he tried to shove me off.
“I don’t want you seeing me like this,” he rasped. “I never should’ve brought you here.”
I didn’t let go.
I gripped harder, thumbs pressing deep into his cheeks, forcing his head still while he strained and pushed against me. I was done. Done watching him crawl and shrink and apologize for breathing in that house.
“No. Fuck that.” My voice dropped low, the accent cutting sharp. “All this shame crawling through you? You’ve got nothing to apologize for. Nothing to be ashamed of. Fuck them. Fuck every last one of them.”
I leaned in until our foreheads slammed together, eyes burning into his, breathing hard through my teeth.
“What you and I are doesn’t concern a single one of those cunts.
I will turn this car around right fucking now, walk back in there, and tell every single one of them exactly where they can shove their legacy and their opinions.
I swear on my mother’s life, Moon, nobody gets to hurt you.
I’ll put every last one of them in the ground if I have to. ”
His hands tightened on my arms, still pushing, but weaker now. “No—wait,” he whispered. “Let’s not go back. Please.”
I kept one hand on his jaw, thumb stroking rough over his damp cheeks, chest heaving.
“Then stop fucking hiding from me,” I growled. “Give it to me. All of it. I’ll fucking kill it for you.”
A moody Korean track filtered through the radio. I reached over and turned it up without letting go of his face.
“Listen. It’s your favorite.”
Moon let out a small, dry laugh and finally looked at me, eyes glassy. “How do you even know that?”
“Because I pay attention.”
I glanced at him once more, then pulled back onto the road. His family was still in the car with us, even miles away.
“Thank you.”
I kept his hand in mine. The radio playing low. We didn’t talk. Just the road, his fingers laced with mine, and the kind of silence that didn’t need filling.
Miles slipped past. Moon didn’t move until the coast did.
“Wait,” Moon said suddenly, sitting up straighter as the coastline came into full view. Salt air through the open window. “Are we getting on a boat?”
“Yep.” I grinned, turning into the private marina. “I arranged it. We’re going to Jeju Island.”
“Jeju?”
“I rented a villa. Private. Just us. No staff.” I parked and killed the engine. “Thought we deserved somewhere that’s actually ours for a few days.”
Moon stared at the sleek boat waiting at the dock, then back at me. His mouth twitched. “I’ve seen this horror movie before.”
“Relax.” I reached for his hand. “The guy chasing you already caught you.”
A smile tugged at his mouth.
The captain cleared his throat politely. “I’ll help with the bags, sirs.”
He was professional and quiet after that, loading everything efficiently before leaving us alone on deck as we pulled away from the mainland. Moon stood at the railing, wind tugging at his hair, watching the island grow closer. I slid my arms around his waist, chin resting on his shoulder.
“You good?” I asked.
He leaned back into me. “Yeah. Just… a year ago I would’ve never let myself want this.”
“Good.” I kissed his jawline. “Keep wanting it. I’ll make sure you get to.”
***
Moon dropped his bag by the door. His gaze swept the open space. “All this… for us?”
“Yeah.” I stepped behind him, arms locking around his waist. “I’m planning on fucking you in every single room. On every surface. Outside on the beach, where anyone could see if they got too close. I want you dripping with me everywhere in this place.”
Moon’s breath caught. He spun, eyes wide, then kissed me hard, mouth demanding, teeth clicking.
“Let’s start here,” he said against my lips.
He grabbed my hand, pulled me with him, hopped onto the wide kitchen counter. Legs spread so I stood between them. Mouths crashed again. Fingers twisted in hair, nails digging scalp. His thighs clamped my hips. Our cocks strained against fabric.
He yanked at my shirt buttons, frantic.
I caught his wrists, pressed slow kisses to the racing pulse there.
Moon’s eyes flashed. “Why are you stopping?”
I smiled against his skin. “No rush, baby. We’re completely alone.”
“Yeah, but you said all the rooms, every surface, the beach. We only have three days.”
I dragged my mouth down the side of his neck, then along his jaw. “Have I turned you into a monster, Hyun-seo?”
Moon shivered, head tilting to give me more. “No.” He swallowed. “I’ve always liked having sex with you.”
I pulled back enough to lock eyes. “Oh, baby. Talk dirty to me.”
Moon shoved hard at my chest. “Actually. Wait here.” He jumped off the counter, legs unsteady, and disappeared down the hall.
I stayed rooted, cock throbbing. A low laugh scraped out. “That dildo better not be bigger than me.”
“Relax.” He sounded almost smug. “You'll like this a lot more.”
He returned with one hand behind his back. I leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “Well. You’ve piqued my curiosity.”
“Close your eyes.”
I did. The counter creaked as he hopped back up. “Okay. Look.”
I opened them. Moon sat there, legs parted, holding out an open box. Inside: a sleek platinum band.
“I hope you like it,” he said, cheeks flushed.
“May I?”
He nodded fast. “It’s for you.”
I lifted the ring. Inside, clean engraving: ? ??.
His lashes lowered. “It means my person. Maybe not as romantic as yours, but… you’re my person.” His voice dipped defensive, almost cute at the end.
I kissed him hard. Then softer on the cheek, down his neck. He yanked me in, arms locking tight around my neck, bodies slammed together on the counter edge.
“Can I put it on?” he breathed against my shoulder.
I handed it back. He slid the band onto my finger.
“There.” He grinned, unable to hide it. “You're officially mine.”
He looked at the ring, then at me.
I grabbed his face and crushed our mouths together. Tongues sliding. Teeth nipping. His legs wrapped around me, heels digging hard.
I slid my hands under his ass and lifted him off the counter. Moon clung tighter, legs locked, mouth never leaving mine. We slammed into the wall. I carried him up the stairs, his fingers yanking my hair, hips grinding the whole way.
We hit the bedroom. I dropped onto the bed with him still wrapped around me. Unable to stop touching each other.
“I want to take my time with you.”
Moon nodded fast, lips swollen. “Okay.”
Everything I’d done had led here. For the right to have him like this. And he gave me a ring. My person. I was his. Through and through.
I kissed down his throat. Bit one nipple until he arched. My hands gripped his thighs, spreading them as I kissed lower, stomach, hip bones, inner thighs. He twisted under me, nails digging into my shoulders. I held him there. Every mark meant he was safe. He was mine.
We stripped fast. Pants and underwear kicked aside. I pushed Moon onto his back and settled between his spread legs, face inches from his cock and hole.
His thighs twitched. He tried to close them.
“Baby,” I murmured. “I’ve seen all of you. This hole is mine.”
I slicked my fingers and pushed one inside. He tensed.
“Why are you tense?”
Moon stayed quiet, breath shaky. “Habit. My body’s still waiting for the punishment that used to come after wanting this.”
I licked a slow stripe up his inner thigh, tasting salt and him. “Not this time. Not while I'm breathing.”
His thighs jerked hard against my shoulders. His ears went red. He made a broken, embarrassed sound in his throat, then slowly loosened under my grip.
“That’s it. Relax for me.”
Moon’s fingers tightened in my hair. A soft sound escaped him.
I spread his legs wider, added a second finger, and curled them. His hips jerked. One hand fisted the sheets.
“Just fuck me already,” he gritted out.
“Mmm, no.” I curled my fingers. “You close, baby? Gonna come just from my fingers in your ass?” I licked his balls, dragged my tongue up his cock. “Let me feel you fall apart. This hole gripping me like it never wants me to leave.”
Moon moaned, broken. “Fuck, Cillian—”
I took him in my mouth, sucking deep while my fingers worked. He came hard, thighs shaking around my head, a wrecked sound tearing out.
I pulled off slowly, grabbed the lube, and slicked my cock. Moon lay there panting, flushed. I pushed his legs up and back, folding him open. Our eyes locked.
I pressed in slow. The tight ring resisted, then gave. His eyes fluttered shut.
“Fuck,” he exhaled. His fingers dug into my arms as he forced his body to relax around me. “I don’t want gentle. I want you, the dangerous one I’m marrying. Show me you own me.”
I drove in hard. Moon yelped, body jolting, clenching tight around me. “Does it hurt?” I growled, already pulling back and slamming in again. Moon whimpered, the sound melting into a moan. “Keep going—”
“You like it when it hurts, don’t you?” I pinned his wrists above his head. “When I take control of this body.”
My hips snapped harder. Mine. Finally fucking mine. No legacy could take him. No one could touch what I’d bled for.
I released his wrists. One hand wrapped around his throat and jaw, fingers pressing just enough to feel his pulse hammer. The other braced beside his head. “Look at me while I fuck you. I killed for you, a chroí. I’ll kill again.”
I grabbed the headboard with one hand, using it for leverage, and drove into him harder, deeper, the bed slamming against the wall with every thrust. His legs wrapped tight around my waist, heels digging into my back.
He yanked me down by the neck, mouths crashing together.
The kiss was messy, teeth and tongues, his moans vibrating straight into my throat.
It drove me fucking insane. I fucked him through it, hips snapping, until I buried myself deep and came hard, filling him while we were still tangled in the kiss.
We kept making out, slow and lazy now, bodies locked together. Then Moon pushed at my chest, legs loosening. “Oh god, I need to breathe.”
I pressed my forehead to his. He held my stare, our breaths mingling. “Are you ashamed of what we just did?”
Moon shook his head, eyes soft but certain. “No.”
I kissed him again. “Good. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
I pulled him tight against me, arms locked around his back, and we stayed tangled like that for a long minute, hearts still racing. Only then did I ease out of him, watching my come leak down his thigh.
“Fuck, you’re a sight for sore eyes,” I murmured.
Moon flushed darker, turning his face into the pillow.
I grinned, climbing off the bed. “You look good blushing too.”
He grabbed a pillow and hurled it at me. It missed by a mile. I laughed all the way to the bathroom.
When I came back out, Moon was on his stomach, hugging the pillow, eyes closed.
I crawled onto the bed and dropped beside him, running a hand down his spine. “Come on. Let’s clean up, then hit the beach. Bring some alcohol, a blanket. Just like Saint Lucia.”
Moon cracked one eye open. “Mmm… We might see more constellations tonight.”
I laughed. “Yeah. I’m not sure about the shopping cart, though. That one’s only spotted in Saint Lucia.”
Moon’s mouth twitched. “Maybe we’ll discover a new one tonight then.”
“I’ll bring wine, grapes, cheese, crackers. You get the blankets and pillows. We’ll be down there for prime constellation watching.”
His eyes glittered. I moved closer and drew him against my chest until he melted into me. He buried his face in my neck, arms locking around me.
“A chroí,” I murmured against the top of his head. “I love you so much.”
“Fuck.” He rubbed at his face. “Look what you keep doing to me.”
He quickly brushed at his face, wiping away tears. I caught his wrist, thumb stroking the damp skin.
“Nah. You’re beautiful. Happy tears are allowed. I’m okay with happy tears.”