His grin’s too wide, reckless fire spilling out of him. He’s still waiting, still pushing, still daring me to snap the leash he tied around his own throat.
I let the silence burn a second longer, then cut it clean.
“Go back to the boys before I forget my manners, pup.”
The word lands heavy. His grin snaps into a scoff, lips curling, pride flashing hot under all those bruises.
“I’m not a pup.”
I hum, eyes pinning him where he stands. My head tilts, hair falling forward, mouth curling at the scar.
“Prove it.”
The rooftop is chaos—Cole chanting curses at the skyline, Shane trying to balance beer cans into a pentagram, Mats pretending he’s too good for all of it. But between us? It’s silent. Taut. The air stretching, his breath catching, my restraint pulled thin.
He came to me. He asked for this. And now I’ve thrown it back into his hands.
His grin trembles, reckless but not unsteady. His voice cracks around it, but he still asks, soft, hungry—
“How?”
The word hangs between us, swallowed by the chaos on the roof. The boys are loud—Cole’s chanting something obscene into the night, Tyler’s being dragged into another round of shots he doesn’t want—but none of it matters. All I hear is him. All I see is Mercer standing too close, looking up at me like he’s begging for orders.
So I give him one.
“If I told you to get me a hat trick,” I ask, “would you? Even if it’s difficult?”
“Yes, sir.”
No hesitation.
My lip curls faintly. “If I told you to skate through Haverton’s defense until you collapsed?”
“Yes, sir.”
“If I told you to bleed for me?”
“Yes, sir.”
Each answer comes faster, instinctual. He doesn’t even blink. Doesn’t even think. The leash is already tied too tight.
I let the silence stretch, then tilt my head, narrowing my eyes. “If I told you to let me kiss you right now, would you?”
His breath catches—but his answer doesn’t.
“Yes, sir.”
No pause. No stumble. The word rips out of him raw, desperate, shameless.
Heat curls low in my chest. He doesn’t see what he’s giving me—every yes, every surrender, every piece of himself handed over without realizing the cost.
So I press harder.
“If I told you to get on your knees for me?”
“Yes, sir.” His voice shakes, cheeks flushed, but it’s still instant.
“If I told you to let me wreck you?”
