Page 87 of Ghost Ribbon

That I was dangerous. That I was capable of ending a life over something as small as irritation. That I was exactly the kind of person his mother had probably warned him about when he was growing up.

He was right.

But instead of pulling away, he stayed where he was. His fingers curled lightly around the small black ribbon at his waist as he asked the next question.

“…If I annoy you… will you kill me?”

I turned to face him fully then.

The city lights painted half of his face in gold while the other half stayed in shadow. His curls moved softly in the wind.

“For one,” I said, voice low, “you could never annoy me. And two…” I took a single step closer, closing the small distance between us. “Even if you did… I’d never do that.”

Marco stared up at me. “Why not?” he asked, barely breathing.

I reached out and caught his chin between my fingers, tilting his face up so he had no choice but to keep looking at me. My thumb brushed slowly across his lower lip as I spoke.

“Because you’re mine, little star.”

I stepped in even closer, until our bodies were nearly touching. The wind whipped around us, but I barely felt it. All I could focus on was the way his pulse jumped beneath my fingers where I still held his chin.

“You belong to me,” I continued, voice possessive. “You’re carved into me.”

My thumb pressed a little firmer against his lip.

“I don’t kill what’s mine. I keep it. I protect it. I ruin it. And you…” I leaned in until my mouth was barely an inch from his, my breath brushing against his skin. “You’ve been mine since the moment I first saw you.”

I let my hand slide from his chin down to his throat, fingers resting lightly over his racing pulse.

“So no, Marco. I’ll never kill you. Not when you annoy me. Not when you fight me. Not even when you look at me with those wide, terrified eyes like you’re still waiting for the monster to show its teeth. Because the truth is…” My voice dropped even lower, heated. “I like your fear. I like the way it mixes with the way your body reacts when I touch you. But I hate the part of it that makes you think I would ever end you. That part makes me want to burn the world down until you understand one simple truth.”

I brushed my lips against his, barely a kiss, more a promise.

“You’re not something I’ll ever let go of. You’re not something I’ll ever grow bored of. I’ll keep you until the stars themselves burn out. Do you understand me?”

I pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, my hand still resting possessively at his throat.

“So stop asking if I’m going to end you. The only thing I’m going to do is have you.”

Marco’s breathing had turned heavier, those quick little gasps slipping past his parted lips as he stared up at me.

I looked down at him, eyes dragging over every inch. The way the shirt dipped low enough to show the delicate line of his collarbone. The way his curls fell messily across his forehead. The way his pupils had already started to blow wide.

He looked wrecked already, and I hadn’t even touched him properly yet.

“Now I think you should run, little star.”

Marco’s breath hitched hard. He blinked up at me, confused and flushed.

“W… why?”

“Because I’m really fucking horny right now,” I murmured, “and if you don’t run, I don’t think I’ll stop at just my fingers this time. I’ve been hard since the second you walked out here in this fucking shirt. So I’m giving you five seconds. Five seconds to turn around and run back inside like a good boy… before I rip these pretty clothes off you right here on this rooftop and fuck you.”

I let the words hang between us, watching the way they sank into him. My cock was so hard it hurt, trapped behind expensive fabric.

“I’ll count to five, Malyshka,” I warned him. “One.”

He didn’t run. He just stood there, breathing too fast, eyes locked on mine like he was trying to decide if I was serious.