//CLARA//

Casimir’s mouth were instantly on mine and the world fell away.

The kiss deepened, swallowed the air from my lungs, and when I opened my eyes again, we were no longer standing by the door. He had walked me backward without my noticing, his hands firm on my waist, his mouth never leaving mine.

The Bird of the Sea cut through the dark water with grace. Inside the master suite, the mahogany walls groaned softly, and the scent of expensive tobacco and salt air hung heavy in the dim light.

I was still in my wedding finery, though the veil had long since been discarded.

His hand lifted, fingers curling around the back of my neck. His tongue forced its way past my lips, tasting of the whiskey he’d drunk at the reception.

I moaned into him, my hands flying to his chest as he walked me backward until my spine hit the wall. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs, but he didn’t let me recover. His teeth grazed my lower lip, biting just hard enough to sting, before soothing the ache with a slow, wet stroke of his tongue.

"Do you know what this dress did to me the first time I saw it?" He muttered the words against my mouth, his hand sliding down to grip my hip, fingers digging into the flesh above my garter.

"I couldn’t sleep. Just imagining this moment. Tearing it off you."

I arched into him, my nails scraping over the hard planes of his chest. "Then what’s stopping you from destroying it?"

His chuckle was dark, triumphant. "Patience, little bird."

A fresh wave of heat pooling between my thighs.

His hand left my neck, trailing down to the laces of my corset. He didn’t rush. He tugged them loose one by one, his knuckles brushing the swell of my breasts with every movement. The fabric gave way inch by inch, until the corset sagged open, my breasts spilling free.

Casimir’s breath hitched. His fingers stilled. For a moment, he just looked at me, his gaze ravenous, like a man who had been starving for years and had finally been given a feast. Then his palm cupped my left breast, his thumb flicking over my nipple until it hardened into a tight, aching peak.

"Beautiful," he whispered, more to himself than to me.

Then his mouth was on my skin, his tongue swirling around my nipple before he sucked it deep. I gasped, my head falling back against the wall as pleasure lanced through me. His teeth closed around the sensitive flesh, biting just enough to make me whimper, before he soothed the sting with another slow, deliberate lick.

"Cas—" His name broke on a moan as his hand slid down, gathering the skirts of my dress and petticoats and tore them.

The sound of ripping silk was sharp, violent, and absolutely glorious. Pearls, dozens of them, hundreds, the ones Bartholomew had bragged about, the ones sewn into the bodice by trembling seamstresses under Aunt Cornelia’s watchful eye exploded across the cabin. They bounced off the walls, skittered across the floor, rolled into the shadows like tiny, fleeing witnesses.

I gasped. Not from shock. From the sheer, devastating rightness of it.

The dress was ruined. Irreparable. A carcass of silk and shattered dreams pooling around my feet.

And I didn’t care. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The cool air hit my bare thighs, but it was his calloused fingers trailing up the inside of my leg that stole my breath. Higher. Higher. Until they found the damp heat between my thighs.

"Fuck," he groaned against my breast, his voice vibrating through me. "You’re soaked."

I couldn’t answer. His fingers parted my folds, two of them sliding inside me with no resistance. My body clenched around him, my hips jerking forward, desperate for more.

He crooked his fingers, pressing against that spot inside me that made my vision blur, and I cried out, my nails raking down his back.

"That’s it," he murmured, his lips moving to my other breast, tongue flicking over my nipple before he sucked hard. "I love hearing you like this. Needy. Desperate. Mine."

His fingers pumped in and out of me, slow at first, then faster, his thumb circling my clit in tight, relentless strokes. My breath came in ragged gasps, my body tightening, coiling—

"Casimir, please—"

"Patience, love. Patience."

His teeth grazed my collarbone, his free hand tangling in my hair, yanking my head back just enough to force me to look at him. His eyes were black with lust, his lips wet from my skin.

"I want you inside me," I gasped, my hips rolling against his hand. "Now."

A growl rumbled in his chest. He withdrew his fingers, bringing them to his mouth. His tongue flicked out, tasting me, his groan sending another spike of desire through me.

"You taste like heaven and hell combined."

Then he was on his knees.

His hands gripped my thighs, his thumbs spreading me open as his mouth descended. The first lick of his tongue against my clit made my knees buckle. He held me up, his arms banded around my thighs as he feasted on me, his tongue swirling, flicking, pressing inside me before returning to my clit, over and over, until I was trembling, my fingers tangled in his hair, my moans filling the cabin.

"Casimir—fuck—"

His chuckle vibrated against me. "Louder."

I came with a cry, my body convulsing, my thighs clamping around his head. He didn’t stop. He licked me through it, his tongue slow and thorough, drawing out every last shudder until I was boneless, my breath coming in ragged pants.

Only then did he rise. His eyes burned into mine as he unbuckled his belt, the sound of the leather sliding free impossibly loud in the quiet cabin. My gaze dropped to his cock as he freed it. I reached for him, but he caught my wrist, pressing it against the wall beside my head.

"Not yet." He stepped closer, the head of his cock brushing against my entrance. "First, you’re going to take me just like this. Against the wall. With your legs wrapped around me and your nails in my back."

I didn’t argue. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he lifted me, my skirts a tangled mess around us. He guided himself to my entrance, the head of his cock pressing against me, stretching me open. I whimpered, my body still sensitive from my orgasm, but he didn’t stop.

He pushed inside, inch by inch, his jaw clenched, his breath coming in sharp bursts.

"Fuck, you’re tight," he groaned, his forehead pressing to mine. "Even after all this time."

I could only moan in response, my body adjusting to him, the stretch burning in the best way. When he was fully seated, he stilled, his hands gripping my ass, holding me against him.

"Look at me," he ordered.

I forced my eyes open. His gaze was dark, intense, his pupils blown with lust. Then he moved.

The first thrust was slow, deep, his cock dragging against every sensitive inch of me. I cried out, my head falling back, but his hand tangled in my hair, forcing me to keep my eyes on him.

"Again," I gasped.

He obliged.

This time, there was nothing slow about it. He fucked me hard, his hips snapping against mine, the sound of skin slapping skin filling the cabin. The wall at my back kept me steady as he pounded into me, each thrust sending me higher, my body coiling tight again.

"Yes—right there—"

I clawed at his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin. He growled, his lips crashing into mine, his tongue mimicking the rhythm of his cock. I could taste myself on him, the musk of my arousal mixing with the whiskey on his breath.

"Come for me again," he demanded against my lips, his hand sliding between us, his thumb finding my clit. "Now, Clara."

The command sent me over the edge. My orgasm crashed over me, my body clamping down around him, my cry swallowed by his mouth. He groaned, his thrusts becoming erratic, his cock swelling inside me before he buried himself deep with a guttural curse, his release spilling into me in thick pulses.

For a long moment, neither of us moved. Our breath came in ragged sync, our bodies slick with sweat. Then Casimir pulled back just enough to press a kiss to my forehead, his cock still buried inside me.

"Not bad for a wedding night," he murmured, his voice rough with satisfaction.

I let out a shaky laugh, my arms tightening around his neck.

"Only you would call that not bad."

His smile was slow, dangerous.

"Oh, little bird," he purred, his hips rolling experimentally, making me gasp as his semi-hard cock twitched inside me. "We’re just getting started."

He carried me to the bed after that, my dress a ruined pool of silk around my ankles as he laid me down on the rumpled sheets. Casimir loomed over me, his cock already hardening again.

"On your hands and knees," he ordered in a dark velvet command.