Estella’s POV:
Darius’s lips were warm, hesitant at first, as if he didn’t quite believe I’d kissed him. But when I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled him closer, that hesitation disappeared. His hand came up to cradle the back of my neck, his thumb brushing over my nape in a touch that felt both reverent and desperate.
I parted my lips, allowing him inside my mouth until the taste of him and the heat of his body were all I could focus on. When he whispered my name, almost like a prayer, my whole body shuddered with delight. Every lie, every wound he had inflicted, dissolved in that moment.
He broke the kiss first, pressing his forehead to mine.
“Does that mean yes?” he whispered. “Are you giving me a chance, my star?”
“Yes,” I laughed through a sob. “It means yes.”
Darius lo
