Chapter 18
Desire
I turn off the highway toward the “lion’s den,” as Aurora has taken to calling my house.
Good name. I like it. My princess sits motionless in the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window.
I promised to show her my darkness, but today, she saw her own as well. The darkness that gave birth to her.
I need to understand why her mother handed her own daughter over to Alistair. My one hypothesis reeks of even greater rot. I call Laurent and ask him to cross-reference additional DNA samples.
We stop at the front steps. I get out of the car and order the escort vehicles that followed us to leave.
The convoy backs away and disappears through the gate.
I took precautions, just in case, though Jefferson is unlikely to risk another attack right now.
That bastard is probably wondering whether I figured out it was him who sent those clowns in masks, but God knows who else Zack might have hired with the last of his money.
I walk around the hood and open Aurora’s door.
She flinches, as if just now realizing where she is.
As we climb the porch steps, my gaze sticks to her figure: the yellow silk of her dress teases with a slit at her thigh.
Fuck, she’s so unbearably beautiful in her sorrow that my jaw clenches.
It takes monumental effort to keep my hand on her lower back instead of hitching up her hem, digging my fingers into her ass, and fucking every last thought out of her head except for my iron grip.
In the foyer, my phone buzzes—a message from Steve. He reviewed the security footage: Chloe indeed led the Asgardians in. How? The bitch was wearing Zack’s shitty collar.
Me: Find her.
“Desire.”
“Yeah, babe?” I look up.
“You want to leave,” Aurora says.
I sigh. I don’t want to leave, but Asgard must be punished, Zack needs to be found and smoked out of his rat hole, and Jefferson is overdue for a trip to hell.
“Don’t go.” Her lips tremble.
I hate myself for what I want: to shut that crimson mouth with my cock, to thrust into her, to fuck moans out of her until she’s hoarse, until she forgets her own name.
I want to burn everything out of her consciousness—her worthless mother, Zack, this entire rotten world—so I become her only truth, seared into her memory.
“What are you feeling right now?” I ask as gently as I can, keeping my beast on a leash.
Stepping closer, I touch a golden strand of hair. She presses her lips together, and my hand moves lower, wanting to squeeze her magnificent tits until it hurts, until she cries out. I want her here and now, to be afraid of me again and to come, shuddering on my cock. I’m a bastard, I know.
“I feel caught.” She looks up at me, a universe of pain swimming in her eyes. “And at the same time …, safe. With you.”
My hand freezes.
“I feel protected. Guarded,” she continues, doomed to be the eternal prisoner of my lust and a plaything for my cock.
I let her speak, absorbing every word—it’s sweeter to me than any music. Aurora is my obsession, my personal heaven, but to her, I am a fortress. That is my role.
“You rule this fucking Kingdom alongside me.” I summon the last shreds of my will to pull back. “And right now, I’m going to defend it. I’ll be back by morning.”
“No, I’m not letting you go” comes from behind me.
“Aurora …” I turn around and freeze.
She’s slipped off the straps, pulling the cups of her bra along with them. Rolling her shoulders back, she advances on me, and there’s no trace of that fragile girl left in her gaze.
“This is our last night before the wedding. Don’t disappoint me with your choice,” she demands, her hands planted on her hips.
“You want me to unleash the beast?” The blood boils in my veins.
She slowly runs her palms over her nipples, teasing me. “Are you still not getting my hints?”
I lunge at her, dig my fingers into her face, and try to cover her lips with mine, but she dodges, making me chase her kiss.
I growl at the game, grab her ass, and hoist her up in one motion.
She wraps her legs around my hips, locking them behind my back.
I bury my face in her breasts, greedily feasting, sucking, and biting her hardened nipples until her moans fill the foyer.
I carry her to the bedroom, not watching where I’m going.
In the dark, she hits her shoulder on the doorframe and cries out, but that brief sound of pain only fuels my madness.
The next second, I throw her onto the bed.
Aurora throws her head back, arching her body and offering her neck to my mouth.
I blaze a trail of furious kisses down to her collarbone, and my teeth sink into her tender skin, making her shudder.
“Desire …, make me forget everything! Everything but you!” she nearly sobs, weaving her fingers into my hair.
“Fuck, Rory,” I groan, ripping the hem of her yellow dress with a bang. The thin flaps fly to the floor, exposing her belly and the lace of her panties. “That’s all I want—so I’m the only one left in your world.”
I move lower, planting a kiss on her navel as I rip open her panties. Everything inside is burning with impatience: I can’t wait for the moment she gets pregnant. I hope it has already happened.
“You’re still wearing my semen.”
She thrashes on the sheets. I spread her knees apart and caress her tense clitoris with my tongue while she grinds over my face.
Aurora arches her back, her breath coming in a ragged rasp, and squeezes my temples with her legs, holding me down, not letting me pull away while the orgasm shakes her from the inside.
I greedily drink her moans along with the secret dripping from her pussy.
Finally, I push up and hover over her, capturing her face in my palms. After pulling down my pants, I thrust into her, filling her to the limit.
Her eyes mist at first, losing touch with reality, but after a moment, they clear up.
Now, there is no place in them for either her mother or the past. It’s just me, thrusting into her cunt.
“To hell with the Vances. Tomorrow, you’ll be Sterling,” I growl against her lips, taking her breath away. “Forever. Mine.”
“Yes …, yours …” she breathes, and the word sounds like a vow at the altar.
She comes again, wrapping her arms around me, and I enter her as deeply as possible, pouring out a powerful stream. I give my all to her, wishing that every drop of my seed will be anchored inside, giving us a child who will bind us tighter than any chains.
Aurora moans as our tongues meet in a kiss. When I finally pull away, she takes a deep, shuddering breath, like a drowning woman who has miraculously emerged from the abyss to the surface.