Downfall: Kingdoms of Sin, Book #1

by Aster, Willow

  “Be still,” he whispers. “Tell that pussy of yours to settle down so I don’t blow my load before we even get started.”

  “You have the dirtiest mouth,” I moan.

  “If I said everything I thought, you’d run.”

  “And yet here I am, pinned underneath you.”

  He grins and starts moving again, his hair a whirlwind around him after I held onto him for dear life. “You feel too good,” he moans. “I’m not gonna last, it’s been too long.”

  I feel a sick satisfaction that he’s coming undone. If that’s what he even means. I push the thought aside and let my body enjoy the sensation of him filling me up completely. I don’t think anything in the world could feel as good as this does right now.

  His pace quickens and he leans up on both elbows. “Are you ready? I don’t want to do this without you.”

  He slams into me, and the bed drives into the wall again and again and again. Faster, faster, faster. I’ve never felt like this. I close my eyes, sinking fast.

  “Look at me,” he demands. “This is you and me right here, no one else, nothing else exists but you and me.”

  I cry out and he follows, a sharp moan before whispering into my hair, “You’re mine, Eden Catano. Whether you want to be or not, you’re mine.” His lips reach my ear. “And I’m yours.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Luka makes good on his promise and then some. In the early hours of the morning, we drag a blanket onto the balcony and while the sun comes up, he rocks into me from behind.

  Throughout the night each time before he pulls out, he’s whispered, “This was my favorite time.”

  He says it again now, and I sleepily say, “Mine too,” before falling into an exhausted sleep.

  A few hours later, I wake up to him moving me back to the bed.

  “The sun was getting too strong out there. I don’t want you to get sunburned.”

  I kiss his arm and go back to sleep. When I wake up, he’s not next to me and I feel a sinking dread. Did I make a mistake?

  I stretch in bed and love every tired muscle, grinning when I think about all the ways we had sex last night. I think my favorite was the last time…just when I think it can’t get any better, each time exceeds the last. The dining room table was fun too though…

  He comes in a few minutes later, pushing a cart of food.

  “Basile set all of this up for us. He paid off the guy who brought us up last night, food for today…dinner tonight. We’re set to stay for a few nights if you’d like.”

  “Sounds good to me.” I sit up and he grins when he looks at me.

  “Your hair is extra crazy right now.”

  “That last shower and then sleeping on it.” I laugh, suddenly shy, remembering the two times we were in the shower. “How are you awake right now?”

  “I have enough stamina for the two of us.” He winks. “Hungry?”

  He lifts the lids and there are waffles and omelets and fruit.

  “Coffee and then I can function again.”

  He pours a cup of coffee and hands me the cream and sugar. When I take my first sip, my eyes close and I groan.

  “There she is.” He chuckles and I open one eye. “I live for your moans.” He leans down and kisses me, putting my coffee aside and leveling his face with mine. “Last night was legendary. Did all of that really happen?” His eyes widen and so do mine.

  I nod.

  “I thought so. What the fuck? Today we’ll have to outdo that…I don’t know…are you up for the challenge?”

  I shake my head.

  He straightens and puts my coffee back in my hand. “Here, drink up. You have to get some energy.”

  His phone starts vibrating on the bedside table and he lifts his head up to the ceiling. “I made Basile swear he wouldn’t disturb us.” He picks up his phone and frowns. “Well, this is cryptic. He says we need to get home as soon as possible.”

  “He doesn’t say why?” I shift to the side of the bed and put my feet on the floor, taking one more sip of coffee. “Can we at least eat?”

  “Let me call and see what’s going on.” He dials the number and waits. “No answer. Why don’t you eat and I’ll keep trying to reach him.”

  I shovel in a few bites and feed him a few, but we’re both too anxious to keep eating.

  “I think we should get home. If everything is okay, we can always come back later today, right?” I have a déjà vu moment the second the words are out of my mouth.

  He nods. “Yeah, I think you’re right. I’ll make sure Harmi’s ready.”

  I’m sad to leave our sanctuary, but the promise of coming back makes it a little easier. I grab one of the muffins and pick off bites for both of us as we’re going down the elevator. The man who led us up last night is there waiting and I wonder if he got any sleep. He takes us through the office hallways and out the back where Harmi is waiting.

  Harmi nods briskly and drives us back to the estate in a hurry. I hold on and Luka asks him to slow down more than once. A sense of foreboding builds the closer we get. Basile still hasn’t answered his phone. When we pull into the driveway, Brienne is waiting and she ushers me out, her face solemn.

  “Do you know what’s happening?”

  “No one will tell me anything,” she whispers.

  Luka threads his fingers through mine and kisses my hand before opening the door to go inside. His parents, Basile, and Mara are there, like they’ve been waiting for us to arrive. Cece steps toward me and puts her hands on my shoulders, leading me away from Luka and into the living room where she sets me down on the couch.

  “What’s going on?” I ask, looking behind me for Luka.

  He sits on the other side of me and looks at Titus. “Will someone please tell us what is happening?”

  “There was an accident early this morning—” Titus begins.

  My hand goes straight to my throat. “Jadon—is Jadon okay?”

  “As far as we know, your brother and sister are fine.” Titus clears his throat and clasps his hands together. “Eden, I am sorry to tell you this…so sorry. Sweetheart, your father was killed in a car accident this morning.”

  I jump up and Luka does too, his arm around me and I shrug it off. I turn around wildly. “What do you mean? No, that can’t be right. It wasn’t him. No…that can’t be true.” I shake my head and look at Luka, my eyes blurring so much I can’t see his features. “Basile, tell me. I will only believe it if you say it. This has to be some kind of sick joke.” My face crumbles and Basile holds me up as I fall toward him.

  He hugs me to him and says quietly, “I’m sorry to say that it is true. We made sure there was proof before telling you.”

  The agony that pours out of me—I can’t keep it in. Luka helps me back to the couch and tucks me into this arms. I cry and beat my fists into his chest.

  “I can’t breathe.” I look at him panicked. “Get me out of here. Please.”

  He doesn’t hesitate, he lifts me up and carries me out of the room.

  When we reach my room, he sets me down on the bed and looks at me with all the despair I feel in his eyes.

  “I need to go home. I need to see my family. Where is my mother? Why isn’t she telling me this?”

  “I’ll arrange it immediately. We’ll go as soon as possible.”

  “Is this really happening? A car wreck? My father has the most responsible driver. I—”

  He strokes my hand while I ramble. All the thoughts are flooding my mind at once.

  “I wonder if Jadon knows yet—he probably wasn’t even home when it happened. I need to get home to Ava. She needs me.” I start hyperventilating again and he helps me gradually slow my breathing.

  Basile peeks in the room and says, “The jet can take you home as soon as you’re ready. We will be following when we know about the funeral arrangements.”

  I sob into my hands and nod.

  “Thank you, Uncle,” Luka says. “She’d like to go right away.”

  H
e walks over to Basile and I know he’s trying to say it so I don’t hear, but I do.

  “Are we sure…does this all check out as an accident? Alidonia didn’t have anything to do with this, right?”

  “It’s been filed as an accident due to icy roads,” Basile says under his breath.

  I wipe my face and look at both of them in a daze. “You have everything to gain now that my father isn’t in power.”

  The color drains out of Luka’s face. “You don’t think we—”

  I stand up and move toward him, wiping my nose. “Sebastian has never once had a wreck. He wouldn’t allow them to go anywhere if he thought it was too risky, and if he deemed it safe, then it was. My father has always trusted him with all of us. And who would gain from this besides Alidonia? You.”

  “If there were any foul play involved, it would be Vance Farthing, not my father!” Luka looks at me in a panic and then turns to his uncle. “Right? Tell her we had nothing to do with this.”

  Basile tightens his lips together and bows his head. “The tension between our three countries has been tumultuous at best. We are not directly involved—I can’t imagine Titus ever sinking to that level—but to say we are not indirectly involved, I cannot.”

  My blood runs cold. “That is a lot of nothing you’re spewing, Basile. I think maybe you don’t fully know what your family is capable of.”

  “Eden, please don’t jump to this…let’s get you home and find out more about it.” Luka holds his hand out to me and when I don’t take it, he drops it limply. “I vow to you that if I find out my father is involved, I will make him pay. You have my word.”

  “Again with your word.” I shake my head and turn around, numbly gathering my bag. I place my phone in the side pocket and pass them, standing by the door. “I have everything I need at home. I’m ready to go.” I look at Luka. “You should wait and come with your family.”

  “You are my family,” he says.

  My eyes fill with tears again.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The flight home is long and fitful. I lie on the bed, my back to Luka, unable to stop the tears from falling. He holds me until I sit up and need to breathe and then I lie back down again, feeling like I’m going to lose it if I have to stay on this plane for another second.

  Neither of us talk. I eventually fall into a restless sleep, exhausted from our night together and all the crying I’ve done since. I wake up to the pilot saying we’re about to land. We go into the main cabin and buckle up. Brienne sits there stoically and asks if I need anything. I shake my head and thank her.

  Before we get off the plane, Luka puts his hand on my shoulder. I turn to look at him.

  “I want to be whatever you need. I’ll follow your lead, but know that I’m here and I want to walk through this with you.”

  I bite my bottom lip to keep it from trembling so hard and nod. “Thank you, Luka.” A tear spills over and he wipes it with his thumb.

  I turn around and we walk off the Catano family jet. A driver that I don’t recognize picks us up and also Perez, my father’s right hand. Perez hugs me and his eyes fill with tears as he expresses how sorry he is.

  The roads are clear and I wonder again about the ice Sebastien supposedly lost control on…it doesn’t ring true. But I don’t bring it up in the car; there will be time for that once I’m home.

  Home…I can’t believe I’m back. I was so excited to bring Luka here and now that we’re here, everything feels wrong.

  “It’s beautiful,” he says quietly as we drive through the snow-tipped mountain peaks.

  When we pull up to our estate, every room in the house is lit up, something my mother usually doesn’t allow. Brienne stands protectively by me as I get out of the car and when I step inside the door, I fall into Ava’s waiting arms. Mother comes up behind her and puts her arms around both of us.

  When Mother realizes Brienne is standing there, she goes to her and holds out her arms. Brienne hugs her hard and it’s the first time I’ve seen her cry. Luka stands near me, and when Mother lets go of Brienne, he reaches out to her.

  “Lady Kathryn, I can’t tell you how sorry I am. Please let me know what I can do to help.”

  “You can start by finding out who did this.”

  He flinches but nods. “I won’t rest until I do.”

  “So you’re certain—” I can’t even finish the words, but my mother nods.

  “You and I both know Sebastien didn’t lose control of the car. It’s being looked into as we speak, and justice will be served. It’s the only ho—” Her face twists in pain and she puts her head in her hands, sobbing.

  Ava and I surround her and the rest of the day is spent that way. Stops and starts of tears in mid-sentence in the quiet lulls, and any time it hits any of us individually, we rally around the other and cry together. Jadon returns home in the evening and the tears start all over again.

  * * *

  Later that night, I am about to head to my room for the night when I hear Jadon and Luka down the hallway. Their tone is quiet but urgent. I stay on the stairs and listen.

  “Have you seen anything to make you suspicious?” Jadon asks.

  “I’ve been so wrapped up in your sister lately, so no.” He tugs on his hair in frustration and leans closer to Jadon. “Something Basile mentioned has me uneasy, though. He said something about not being able to say we were directly involved…but he couldn’t fully say if there was an indirect involvement. At the time I didn’t think it made any sense. That he was just talking off the top of his head the way he does sometimes, you know? But now I wonder if he was telling me exactly what he thought.”

  “That your father had something to do with it…and of course someone else did the dirty work, meaning how would we ever prove…”

  “Exactly.”

  “Fuck!” Jadon explodes. He wipes his eyes and stares down at the floor.

  I round the corner and Luka has his arm on Jadon’s shoulder looking at him intently. He looks the most sincere he’s looked since I’ve known him and I sag against the wall, the relief overwhelming me. I want to believe him. I want to believe with everything in me that he didn’t know anything about this. He hears me and turns around, rushing over when he thinks I’m about to fall.

  “I’m okay,” I tell him. “I’m just…thank you for not listening to me earlier, for coming with me. I-I’m glad you’re here.”

  Jadon puts his hand on my arm and gives me a tear-filled smile. “This one cares about you a lot,” he says. He smirks despite his watery eyes. “Don’t ever go easy on him though. He needs to be kept on his toes.”

  “Hey!” Luka stands up taller and puffs his chest out, but he’s grinning.

  Jadon chuckles and then they both sober up just as quickly. “You should get some rest. It will be utter chaos the next few days. Sleep. I will handle as much of the funeral arrangements as Kathryn would like, but I would imagine she has a plan for how she’d like it to go already.”

  “Let me worry about her.” I don’t want him to suffer any additional pain right now. My mother is hardest on her stepson.

  He gives me a weak smile. “You just worry about you. It’s a long trip from Niaps and we can’t have you getting sick again.”

  I hug him. “Always thinking of everyone else first. You just made the same trip I did. I love you. No matter what Mother might say to you in the upcoming weeks, Father was proudest of you and he had every reason to be. You are the noblest man I know.”

  He lowers his head and struggles to keep his composure. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

  * * *

  When I take Luka to my room, I turn awkwardly to show him where he can put his things, where the bathroom is…the towels. He comes up from behind me and puts his arms around my waist.

  “I’ll make myself at home, don’t worry. The way you and your family love each other is beautiful.”

  I lean my head back against his chest and feel
the tears starting up again. He sees my face in the dresser mirror and turns me around.

  “Let’s get you to bed. You must be exhausted.”

  I don’t have it in me to argue. I want a bath. I feel like I should check on my mother and Ava again…I need to see a picture of my Father…all these random thoughts pour through my mind all at once. But I listen to him and take his hand as he leads me to bed.

  He strips me down to my underwear and pulls back the covers. I crawl into bed and he covers me up. He takes his shirt and pants off and gets in next to me, pulling my back against his chest. I cry until I fall asleep and he holds me the entire night.

  * * *

  The next few days are a blur. I feel as if I’m sleepwalking through all of it. The funeral director comes to the house to make everything easier on us, and although his casket and resting place are already decided based on our lineage, we can choose the flowers, song selections, who speaks and who does not. My father’s hand and a few other advisors are staying close even though they are not given much say in these decisions.

  My brother has always been favored among the people and it drives my mother crazy. I have to set my foot down about him speaking because otherwise neither of them would agree to it. My mother because she isn’t ready for him to become the king, and Jadon because he doesn’t want to further aggravate her.

  “It’s important that they hear from you, Jadon. You will be the one leading us and it’s a necessary progression. I know it’s hard, but it’s what Father would expect of you; it’s what the people expect of you.”

  “Kathryn, can you agree to that?” he asks.

  She blows her nose and looks down at the table. “Yes.”