The air in the car seemed to still.
Liam's fingers tightened on Arik's shoulders.
Arik did not look away.
"The moment you accept me like that," he continued, voice low and rough enough to make Liam's stomach tighten, "the moment you choose me fully, physically, while clearheaded and wanting it…"
His thumb moved once against Liam's throat, fingertips sliding under his shirt collar.
Liam stopped breathing.
"It will end with you marked."
The words landed with the force of a vow and a warning.
Arik's eyes remained on his, bright and devastating in the dim car.
"I will not pretend otherwise," he said. "I will not lie to make myself seem safer than I am. I can hold back now. I can stop now. I can let you climb off me, reopen my work, and return to the palace as if I am not thinking about the taste of your skin."
Liam's breath left him shakily.
Arik's hand settled at the back of his neck, fingers threading into his hair with painful care.
