Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
"Constantine." Tears well in my eyes, spilling over.
"There's nothing I won't do for you. No law or oath I won't break. No fucking kingdom I won't destroy to keep you safe. That's not a sacrifice on my part, Aurora. Protecting you is the best part of my life. It's the only thing in this life I've gotten right." He brushes the tears from my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. "Your dad agrees. You're the joy in his life. That's worth protecting, no matter the cost."
I sit in silence for a long moment, sitting with his truth, trying to fit it into place in my crowded mind. I feel the same way about him. If our roles were reversed—if it were his uncle, wouldn't I do the same?
The answer is immediate and emphatic.
Yes. A thousand times, yes.
I'd sell my own soul to protect him if that's what it took. So how can I fault him for doing the same? How can I fault my dad? This is their choice to make, and I think I have to let them make it. Even if it means letting Brady die for his crimes.
If I have to carry that…well, Merry's cards always warned that my future held darkness. I think maybe this man is the darkness she saw in my future. And it's his pain I'll carry. If that's a curse, so be it. For him and for my dad, I'll clutch that mantle tight and wear it with pride. That's my sacrifice. That's my choice.
Chapter Eleven
Constantine
"Aurora," I breathe, linking our hands together above her head as I rock into her in slow, steady pulses. She's hot silk around me, driving me out of my mind. "I love you."
"Constantine." She turns her face up to mine, silently demanding a kiss. I give it to her willingly, unable to deny her anything. She owns me, body and soul. Especially in this bed when she's wrapped around me, letting me fuck her.
Christ. I spend half of every day in hell looking for her uncle…and half of every night in heaven, lost in her. It's been two days since she found out about him, and we still haven't found him.
Sooner or later, we will. I'll end his life for endangering hers. And then our future can begin. She'll never know pain again. Never know sorrow. This is what she'll know. Every fucking day until I leave this earth.
I nip her bottom lip, loving this position. I'm curled around her with her legs draped over my hip. I have complete access to her gorgeous body. I can touch her anywhere, see every part of her.
I run my hand down her abdomen, groaning when her muscles quiver beneath my palm.
She gasps, arching and mewling when I run my finger in circles around her clit.
"You want to come, starlight? I feel how close you are."
"Yes. Yes, Constantine."
How can I say no to that?
I shift positions slightly, allowing me to fuck her harder, deeper.
She cries out in bliss, her head thrown back.
God, she's a vision.
I watch her in rapt fascination as I stroke her clit and fuck her, driving her higher and higher. She takes me with her, marching me right to the edge before her sweet cry of release sends me plummeting over the side.
I growl her name, thrusting deep as she comes around me. My spine tingles, cum shooting up my shaft as my balls empty into her. She moans her way through it, saying my name over and over.
Perfect. So damn perfect.
"Marry me."
Her eyes fly open, still caught in the throes of passion.
"Marry me, starlight."
"Constantine…?"
"I mean it," I murmur, brushing my thumb across her bottom lip. "Marry me. It doesn't have to be today or tomorrow, but the way I feel about you isn't going to change next week or next year or ten years down the road. I'm yours, Aurora. I'll always be yours. Marry me."
"Yes."
"Jesus." I lean forward, pressing my mouth to hers in a hard kiss. I thrust into her again, already hard. Always desperate.
My phone rings.
Aurora groans.
"Hold that thought," I growl, grabbing it off the bedside table. I don't pull out of her. Fuck that. I fully intend to finish what I started. "What?"
"We found him," Dimitri says without preamble.
"Fuck. You're sure?"
"Positive. Marco and I are going in to subdue him before he bolts on us. I'll send you the coordinates. Get over here."
"I'm on my way."
Aurora freezes, her gaze flashing to mine.
I carefully avoid looking at her as I disconnect and set the phone aside. I kiss her gently and then reluctantly pull out of her, not willing to discuss her uncle or any of this bullshit while I'm still inside her.
"They found him," she guesses.
"Yeah."
She doesn't say anything for the longest time and then she sighs and rolls to her knees before crawling into my lap. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close. "Promise me that you're coming home safely."