Chapter 42: Chapter 42
Music Recommendation: Earned it by The Weekend.
......
"Fuck it," Dominic murmured, and in the next breath, his hand cradled the back of her neck with a gentleness that contradicted the fire in his eyes.
Celeste barely had a second to think before his lips met hers.
It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t wild. It was... worship.
Her eyes fluttered shut as his mouth moved with reverence, like he’d missed the taste of her for centuries. Her fingers curled around the front of his shirt, clutching him like an anchor. The yacht swayed gently beneath them, but her world was already spinning.
Dominic kissed her like she was sacred. Like her lips were scripture. Like he was built only to adore her.
She kissed him back with everything she had. There was no more fear in the kiss, neither shame. Whoever was hiding nearby with a camera could get their front-page shot. Hell, she hoped they captured her smiling with her entire soul, and her arms tangled around Dominic as if she was afraid he’d disappear again.
Let them watch.
"Come with me," Dominic breathed against her lips. His voice was hoarse, alongside his tensed body. "I want to see you. All of you."
He swept her into his arms, and she gasped softly in surprise, instinctively clinging to his shoulders. He carried her below deck. The lights inside the yacht dimmed as they entered his private suite. Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the endless sea, as the moonlight casted shadows across the sleek furniture.
Dominic was all she saw.
He lowered her gently onto the bed like she was spun from silk, then dropped to his knees.
"Stay still," he whispered, his voice low and reverent. "Let me look at you."
Celeste’s breath caught as he began to undress her. He didn’t rush. He peeled every layer off her body with aching slowness, as he kept tracing her exposed skin with the tips of his fingers, like committing her to memory.
He traced every freckle. Every soft curve. And every hitch of her breath.
"You’re unfair," he whispered, his mouth brushing the inside of her thigh this time. "You ruin me."
Her skin erupted in goosebumps, and she reached for him, but he caught her wrist and pressed a kiss to her palm.
"I’m not done," he murmured. "Not until I’ve worshipped every inch of you."
He kissed his way up her body, leaving a trail of fire behind. He kissed her hipbones. Her ribs. Her sternum. He paused at her collarbone, kissing it twice like it held a secret he wanted to understand.
Her chest rose and fell in shallow gasps, her fingers trembling where they gripped the edge of the sheets. She felt like a painting, being brought to life by his touch.
"Dominic..." she breathed, already dizzy from the weight of his devotion.
His mouth reached her neck, and he hummed softly against her skin. "I know," he said, as if he could read her thoughts. "You’re everything."
He made love to her first with his mouth and hands. He was tender, slow, and coaxing. Sighs and moans left her lips like music. Then, when she trembled in his arms, he shifted her gently, guiding her onto her stomach.
"Trust me?" he asked softly.
She nodded without hesitation.
He kissed the base of her spine, then reached for something behind him. Silken cords.
She didn’t flinch.
He took her wrists and drew them behind her back, knotting them with an ease that spoke of control. He never stopped watching her face, as if asking again and again, Are you sure?
And Celeste’s eyes said yes every time. They were soft, trusting, and dazed with affection.
When he finally entered her, her stomach was pressed to the bed, and her hips tilted back for him. Her breath caught in a broken whimper.
The sensation was overwhelming—like he filled every corner of her. It felt like their bodies had finally remembered how to be one.
He whispered her name again and again as he rode into her from behind. His voice was shaking for the first time ever.
Her arms were bound, but she’d never felt more free. She melted into the mattress, letting him take her higher with every roll of his hips, and every ragged groan in her ear.
Her knees trembled, and her head spun, but he held her steady. His hands always anchored to her hips, and his mouth at her spine.
"Celeste," he whispered hoarsely, pulling her into him with a low grunt. "You’re driving me insane..."
She gasped, writhing under him. Her skin slick and glowed in the moonlight. "Then lose your mind for me." She realised another breathless moan.
He growled softly and leaned down, teeth grazing her shoulder. "I already did, baby. The second you walked into my life."
Her release hit her like lightning. It was sharp, electric, and impossible to contain. She cried out his name, trembling, panting, and lost.
Dominic followed right after, wrapping his arms around her bound wrists and pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck as he groaned her name in surrender.
When they both collapsed, their bodies tangled together. Their breath were heavy, with hearts wild. Dominic didn’t move.
He undid the knot at her wrists gently, kissing her skin where the cord had touched. Then he turned her over and gathered her into his arms, holding her against his chest like she was too precious to let go.
Celeste blinked up at him, skin flushed, lips swollen, eyes dazed.
"That felt like..." she began, but words failed her.
He smiled faintly, brushing a damp curl away from her cheek. "Yeah. I know."
Silence settled between them for a while.
"Stay with me," he murmured, voice deep with exhaustion and something more vulnerable. "Not just tonight. Don’t shut me out anymore."
Celeste looked at him, her lashes heavy, but her eyes were clearer than they had ever been. "I’m terrified of how much I want you."
Dominic tightened his hold around her, pulling her close until their foreheads touched.
"It’s you and I against the world, baby," he whispered for the 100th time that night. "And I swear, I’ll never stop fighting for you."