LOGINLUNA POV Pale morning sunlight spilled through the tall arched windows of the master bedroom, casting a warm golden glow across the white sheets. I stirred slowly, stretching beneath the heavy duvet, and reached blindly toward the other side of the mattress. My fingers brushed over cool, empty linen. I opened my eyes and blinked against the brightness, letting out a soft, amused sigh. I did not have to guess where he was. As I pushed myself up against the pillows, a faint, pleasant ache settled through my hips and thighs. I threw my head back with a quiet groan. Killian Alatorre had the stamina of an absolute beast, and he had made sure I felt every single second of it the night before. I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress, the heated hardwood floors instantly warm beneath my bare feet. I reached for the plush white robe draped over the armchair, wrapping the thick fabric tightly around myself and tying the belt securely at my waist. Outside the tall glass panes, a ligh
He climbed back up her body. He kissed her forehead first. Then her closed eyes. Then her mouth, soft and lingering. She could taste herself on his lips. He settled between her thighs, the thick head of his cock pressing against her entrance. He didn’t push in yet. He just looked at her, gray eyes locked on green, waiting.“I love you,” he said quietly. “I’m going to make love to you now. Slow. I want to feel every second of it.”Luna nodded, fingers brushing his jaw. “Please.”He pushed inside her slowly, inch by inch, watching her face the entire time. Luna’s breath caught. Her fingers pressed into his shoulders. Her pussy stretched around him, tight and wet and perfect. When he was fully seated he held still, giving her time to adjust, forehead resting against hers. She could feel the slight tremor in his arms, the way he was holding himself back for her.“Am I hurting you?” he asked, voice strained.“No,” she breathed. “No. You feel… God, Killian. You feel so good.”He began to mo
She did. Her fingers worked his belt open, then the button, then the zipper. She pushed the trousers down. He stepped out of the rest of his clothes. When her hand wrapped around his cock—thick, hard, already leaking at the tip—he groaned low in his throat, hips shifting once into her grip. Luna watched his face, the way his jaw tightened, the way his eyes burned. She stroked him slowly, feeling the heat and weight of him, feeling the way his breath stuttered every time her thumb brushed over the head.Then he caught her wrist gently and guided her back onto the bed. He laid her down against the cool sheets and hovered over her on his forearms, careful not to crush her. Luna’s heart hammered against her ribs as she looked up at him. The silver light caught the sharp lines of his face, the soft openness in his eyes that no one else ever got to see.He kissed her forehead. Then the closed lids of her eyes. Then her mouth, soft and slow. She could taste the faint salt of her own tears on
The penthouse bedroom was quiet, bathed only in the silver glow of the city lights spilling through the massive windows.Killian carried her to the edge of the bed and set her down. His hands stayed on her waist, thumbs moving in slow circles through the silk of her dress. Luna felt the warmth of those hands, the slight tremor in them, and her own fingers curled into the front of his shirt as if she needed something solid to hold onto. Her heart was still racing from the garden, from the ring on her finger, from the way he had looked at her when she said yes.He leaned in. His mouth found hers.The kiss was deep and unhurried, carrying the weight of every lost year and every promise still unspoken. Luna’s lips parted on a soft sound she couldn’t hold back. Her hands slid up his chest, feeling the hard muscle under the fabric, and she kissed him back with the same quiet desperation. When he finally drew away, both of them were breathing harder. He rested his forehead against hers for a
Killian buried his face in her hair. His broad shoulders shook once, silently, and he just held her tighter.Luna pulled back just enough to look at him. Her hands came up to cup his face, her thumbs brushing over the wetness on his cheeks, and she shook her head slowly, smiling through her tears."You're my monster," she whispered. "You know that? I fell in love with a monster." Her thumb traced his cheekbone, soft and wondering. "But I fell in love with a version of you that no one else ever got to see. The one you only ever showed me. That's the man I'm marrying."Something in Killian's face cracked open.He looked at her for one long, suspended moment, and then she closed the distance and kissed him.The world stopped.It wasn't a gentle kiss, and it wasn't a desperate one. It was both. It was every day they had lost and every day they were about to get back. Their tears mixed on their cheeks, and neither of them pulled away. Killian's hand slid into her hair, cradling the back of
Luna's knees went weak. A sob broke out of her chest, and she pressed her hand back over her mouth, staring at the ring, then at him, then at the ring again, like she couldn't decide which one was less believable.Killian held the open box up toward her. His hand still wasn't steady. He didn't care."I don't want a life that you only visit," he said. "I want whatever time I have left on this earth to be yours. I want to stand beside you. Behind you, if that's where you need me. Wherever you want me, that's where I'll be." His voice was thick, but he didn't stop. "Every tear I ever put in these eyes..." He looked up into them. "I want to spend the rest of my life turning them into laughter. Into smiles. Let me try. Let me spend the rest of my life making up for the man I was, by being the man you taught me I could be."He drew a slow breath."Will you give me that honor, Luna?" he whispered. "Will you marry me, my love?"The wind moved through the roses. The lights swayed gently above
The room had a window.I stood in front of it, my fingertips pressed against the glass. Outside, trees swayed in the wind. Real trees. Green leaves catching afternoon light.I could see sky.I lifted my right hand and placed it against the glass beside my left. The gauze was gone now. The bandage r
Soft. Like silk. Just like Mama always said."You were vain," he murmured to my reflection. "You thought your beauty was currency. Thought if you looked pretty enough, someone would save you."Carmina cut the last long piece from the back.It fell.I was shorn.My hair stuck out in jagged uneven spi
The knock wasn't Volkov's.His knock was heavy. Controlled. A single firm rap that made the door vibrate.This was different. Sharp. Hollow. The knock of someone afraid to deliver bad news.I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the empty armchair in the corner.It was past midnight.Volkov had lef
[Third-Person POV]Don Dario Vitiello sat behind his mahogany desk, looking every inch the weary king burdened by duty.The study was dim. Just the green banker's lamp and dying embers in the fireplace providing light.Dante stood by the door, hand resting on the brass handle."Go to her room," Dari







