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CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE ROSE AMARA'S POV Ethan flips me, so I'm lying underneath him, and I squeal, clutching his shoulders. The sound slowly fades as he slides his fingers under my eyes, wiping away the tears. 'Why are you crying when I was the one beaten up?" "You think I liked that? Do I enjoy seeing you like this? You asshole. Jerk—" My words are cut off when his lips capture mine with a raw hunger that steals my breath away. I taste the metal on his cut lip and attempt to push it away so I don't aggravate it, but Ethan thrusts his tongue between my teeth, swirling it with mine as if he's been starving for my taste. The pungent smell of lust and something more potent permeates the air as he robs me not only of my breath but also of my sanity. He smashes every brick I carefully placed around my heart to the ground and walks all over it. Each kiss, each touch feels like a declaration, a claim on my very soul. He nibbles down on my tongue, and the sharp sting of pain quickly heightens my arousal before his head pulls back. 'You don't f-cking push me away." "You…don't understand…" I'm panting so harshly that it's a miracle I can get those words out. 'I understand perfectly. It's you who doesn't. You're my wife. My. F-cking. Wife. Do you understand what that word means? It means we belong together, not far apart." 'But—" "No fvcking buts." His fingers latch onto the corners of my underwear, and he pulls them down my legs. I could fight or push him away, but what's the point when I'm burning for his touch? There has always been an explosive chemistry between Ethan and me. I denied it and tried to escape it, but the fact remains that it's existed since the first time Uncle River introduced him to me. Back then, I thought he was only a conceited killer; I had no idea he'd invade my whole world in no time. If I had known, I would have acted differently and avoided being tangled up with him. But even as I think this, a small voice whispers that I wouldn't have been able to change anything. Ethan's fingers tease my cl-t as he kisses my throat, his teeth nibbling on the sensitive skin before he sucks it into his mouth, no doubt leaving a mark. I wrap my arm around his back, clawing with every sharp bite of his. That only makes him pick up his pace until my whole body is stimulated to the point of no return. "After this…you'll leave," I murmur, unsure whether it's directed at him or to reassure myself. The sound of his zipper echoes in the silence of the bedroom, and I drag in a breath, repeating, "You'll leave…right?" My voice catches when he thrusts balls-deep inside me. Even though I'm soaking wet, Ethan is significant, and the stretching is real. How could I forget how he can fill me until he's the only thing that matters in the world? He slides a hand underneath me and lifts me up so he's sitting, and I'm splayed all over his lap. Holy shit. If I thought he was filling me earlier, the depth right now is unlike anything I've felt. I wrap my legs around his waist and dig my nails into his shoulders. I think I'm going to orgasm, and he hasn't even moved yet. When he does move, every powerful stroke feels different, almost like he's touching me for the first time. His thrusts leave the confinements of my body and hit something different inside, almost as if he were fvcking my soul. "There will be no more goodbyes between us, Princess." He speaks against my neck, his voice raspy, aroused, and angry. I pull back, still looping my arm around his nape, and stare at his face…his beautiful, ethereal face that's now bruised and bloodied. Ethan powers into me with the same depth, but his pace slows. Maybe he also wants to stare at me. Perhaps, like me, he feels that our joined bodies are only a bridge for our battered souls. My fingers stroke the skin of his cheek lightly to not hurt him. 'I'm sorry." 'For what?" 'For what happened to you. No child should ever go through that." 'I thought you were sorry for poisoning me." 'You know I did what I had to do for the brotherhood." He wraps a hand around my throat and cages me firmly in place. 'How about your fvcking husband?" "Because you're my husband, I wanted you gone." I stRosen against his hold and seal my lips to him before he can say anything else. I kiss him slowly, tentatively, as if I have no clue how to kiss. Truth is, before him, I never took the time to learn. I hardly had any interest in the other sex or sex in general. Still, he somehow became my most profound, darkest desire—the one I couldn't survive without and who might also kill me simultaneously. Ethan's rhythm picks up, and he rams inside me with the urgency of a man who has nothing behind him or before him, so he can only live in this moment. Our tongues and teeth clash, and I keep tasting the metal of his blood, but if it hurts, he doesn't pull away. His urgency matches mine. I can taste the desperation in his kiss and feel the unbound obsession in each thrust. It doesn't matter that I said goodbye or that this is only temporary. All I can do now is get lost in him and pray there will be no way out. His fingers tighten around my throat, and I simultaneously feel my walls clenching around his dick. He's all over me, inside me, around me, and it's impossible to escape his hold. The piercing blue of his eyes captures mine as his touch leaves the confinement of my skin and shoots straight into my chest. He said I poisoned him, but he's the one who poisoned me. He's the one who's firing an arrow at my heart, and I have no way to stop it because he destroyed my fortress. The orgasm hits me like a slow-burning explosive. I moan, shaking, as tears slide down my cheeks. Ethan kisses them away as his abs tighten, and he spills inside me. I'm tempted to close my eyes to soak in the sensation, but I don't. I prefer watching him instead, even if his face isn't the same as usual. We're both panting, his breaths mingling with mine and sweat covering our skin. I lay my head on his shoulder, but I remain silent because the moment I speak, everything will end, and I will have to return to the bleak reality where he really has to leave. And this time, I am curious if I can handle it.