#mouse fic

“Ever heard of personal space Mouse?” Jay teased, nudging his friend away and taking the ipad from you at the same time. 

“I ran trace on every number from the last three days, nothing connecting them to the other perp.” You replied, drawn back into work as quickly as you’d been distracted. 

It wasn’t the first time someone had given Mouse grief about his lack of spatial awareness but it was the first time that you noticed the missing presence hovering behind you. It wasn’t the kind of hovering your stepdad used to do, a sort of stalking invisible pressure at your back constantly making you feel like you were going crazy. Mouse’s tendency to stand too close felt more like someone had thrown a blanket over your shoulders, a soft kind of comfort that grounded you back to reality when you felt like your head was spinning…a hazard of the job sometimes.  

It wasn’t any secret that you had a soft spot for Mouse. Maybe more than a soft spot, as Jay had been quick to point out when he realized you were crushing on his best friend. (If “crushing on” was the correct term to use when you were both grown adults in your late 20’s). Either way, you liked him. You liked going to work and seeing him in the office and you liked when he invited you for a beer after shift and you liked when subconsciously invaded your personal space.  

Except there had been a lack of that since Jay teased him about it. A noticeable lack, at least to you, when you went to him with information and he just stayed behind his desk. He didn’t crowd into your space to look at the file in your hands or lean too close over your shoulder to show you something on the computer. There was a palpable distance between the two of you for almost an entire week before you finally decided to say something.  

After shift, when he was down in the tech room, staring at computer screens and drinking a beer. “Can I join you?” You asked, tapping your knuckles against the top of the counter that separated the two of you.  

Mouse leaned back in his seat, head tilting so he could see you, “oh hey, uh, yeah…” he sat up and reached for a bottle, holding it out, “be my guest.”  

“Thanks,” you took the rolling chair beside him and the bottle of beer, grateful for the opportunity to relax, even if there was something you wanted to talk about. It was an odd subject to broach. After all, how did you tell someone that you liked them standing too close.  

“You alright?” Mouse asked, spinning his chair back and forth as he watched you.

“Yeah...” you nodded, taking a sip of your beer before putting it down on the desk, “can I ask you a weird question?”

“Sure...but I might give you a weird answer,” he replied, the hint of a lopsided smile tugging at him lips.  

“You’ve kinda been...hanging back, I guess...I mean, usually you’re like,” you gestured vaguely with your hands, “right there. And now you’re not.”

“Oh,” he gave an empty laugh, if only to ease his nerves as he took a sip of beer, “uh...I don’t know.” He shrugged.

“I was just gonna say, I know Jay gave you shit about it but I don’t really mind.” You replied, “I just mean, I kinda...like...you being close and all.” For a well-respected detective you felt like a high schooler trying to tell the guy you liked that you liked them. Maybe Jay was right, maybe you were “crushing”.

Mouse nodded, that smiling creeping back even more prominently this time around. “Good to know.” He didn’t say anything else about it that night and neither did you, enjoying a six-pack in silence until finally both of you decided to head home.  

The next day at work though, as you stood in the breakroom getting a refill on your coffee, Mouse came in, crowding right into your space to show you something on his phone. He was watching you as you took the phone out of his hand, scrolling over the page that he had pulled up before looking at him. “What’s this? Is this for a case?”  

He shook his head, “thought we could get dinner there, if you want.”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”  

-

Laying on Jay's sofa bed staring out at the midnight sky he could feel restlessness seep into his bones and he began to look around. He noticed the scarcity of things in Jay's living room in the scattered light from the street lights through the partially closed blinds. The lack of personal belongings didn’t surprise him, even though he’d never actually seen inside Jay's apartment until tonight and he wasn’t present enough to look around at Jay's space when he had been ushered in a couple of hours ago. Always declining Jay’s attempts at having him come over felt safer ever since he moved out of the apartment they previously shared right when they got back from overseas. Mouse couldn’t let himself cross that unspoken boundary. That boundary kept him safe, and more importantly, it kept Jay safe, and now he had broken that rule. Not just bending the rule but completely destroying it, Mouse couldn’t make himself relax. He knew Jay was just down the hall, probably asleep by now and waking him was not an option, but neither was getting up and leaving his apartment no matter how strong that urge was right now. Jay would freak out if he were nowhere to be found when he woke up or if he heard his door close in the middle of the night and he had caused enough hassle in the detective's life, putting him in enough danger. So he stayed put, forcing himself to stay on the sofa and he sat up and pulled the blanket tighter around him as if that would prevent him from feeling like he was going to explode. If he could just wrap himself tight enough in the blanket he would prevent all the pieces that were broken from falling away completely.

Standing up, the slightly rough blanket still wrapped around him as if it was holding him together as he wandered silently into Jay’s kitchen just off from the living room where he had been residing on Jay's sofa bed. He was intensely aware of the fact that everything that surrounded him was Jay's. He was wrapped in Jay's blanket, trying to sleep on Jay's sofa, about to rummage through Jay's kitchen and even wearing Jay's clothes. it had been too late to deal with packing up his very few belongings according to Jay. Which led him to be surrounded by all things Jay and that was a lot, almost too much, it was destroying every single boundary that he'd put up over the past few years. Trying not to let himself sink into the comfort that could bring, Mouse forced himself to remember this is all temporary. It would be so easy to fall back into the shared routine that was once second nature to them both. He knew this. This is temporary. The easy silence as they both moved around in their own routines. Temporary. The words of comfort they once offered each other in the middle of the night when the dreams got too real. Not allowed. Not anymore. The quiet comfort that was found in sharing space with someone so familiar with how you operate. Not safe. Not anymore. He knew he couldn't allow them to fall back into that routine again. He was still on shaky ground with Jay after he had withdrawn out of that routine last time. He couldn't let himself get that close to Jay again, not while he wasn't sure he'd be able to stick around again, it wouldn't be fair to either of them. He couldn't let himself get too comfortable, he couldn't allow himself to get used to sharing a space with Jay again like they had done overseas and when they first got back. Jay was in a good place now and allowing himself to enter into that space would mess things up for Jay and allowing that to happen was not something he could ever be okay with.

Entering the kitchen he looked around the space, Jay had always been very particular about leaving anything that could be conceived as clutter lying around, and he understood, that they had it drilled into their brains that they were always to only have the bare minimum with them in the rangers, anything in excess could slow you down or cause you potentially fatal problems down the road. It wasn't an easy message to shake off. Even back here away from the war. Stepping forward, Mouse moved towards the cabinets and was about to start looking around for a glass so he could get himself some water. At least that would give him something to do with his hands. Staying still had never been a strong suit of his. Under the right circumstances, ones in the war provided plenty of, he could do it, and he could be as still as if he was a statue, but now that he was back home in the relative safety that it provided that stillness made him feel like he was straight back into that danger.

"Why exactly are you standing in the kitchen at 1 am?" The familiar voice startled him out of his thoughts. The voice was lower and riddled with sleep than he was used to hearing by now. Meetings with Jay were strictly daytime now unless Jay called him at 3 am having woken from a nightmare. But those times had fallen few and far between as the years went on. It was another rule Mouse had unconsciously implemented, day time was safer. The light of the sun pushed away all those parts of himself that he could only show in the dark.

"Was going to get some water" Mouse replied looking over his shoulder to see Jay casually leaning on the door frame.

"You know you actually have to move to get water, it's not just going to appear in your hand because you're standing in the kitchen '' Jay's reply came back eliciting an eye roll from Mouse who turned around and continued staring at the cabinets. Looking at Jay right now was not going to help him get his thoughts in check.

"I know" he replied, "where do you keep your glasses?" The words felt strange as he said them, the unfamiliarity of Jay's kitchen layout had thrown him into this spiral. He knew it was such a small thing, but it was just a stark reminder that he had let them drift this far apart. Mouse knew that was on him and he could feel the tightness around his chest at the thought.

"Cabinet above the sink, grab one for me too will you?" Jay replied his tone calm and collected and Mouse felt envy flood him. Jay had always been good at acting like things felt normal like everything felt okay. Pushing himself to move, Mouse walked to the sink and reached for the cabinet, the blanket falling down his arm but staying mostly in place around him as he noticed the shaking in his hands as he picked up the glasses. He places one down before filling the other just over half full so he wouldn't spill anything before handing it over to Jay, his shaking hands bumping into Jay's steady one.

Mouse turns back and fills up the second glass as he asks "how long were you standing there?"

"Bout five minutes" Jay replied and Mouse could feel Jay's eyes on him, weighing him down with all the questions he knew Jay was restraining himself from asking.

"Sorry If I woke you up, I was trying to be quiet" he apologized.

"You didn't" Jay replied quickly but his tone was still calm.

"Okay" Mouse paused, silence pouring over the kitchen for a moment before he spoke again "why are you up?" Questioning if Jay had been as troubled by his own thoughts as he had been.

"No reason, just woke up, why are you?" Mouse eyed Jay's sleep-ruffled form, relief spreading through him when he didn't spot the remnants of a nightmare lingering. A sight he had hated and that he had grown accustomed to in the past.

Determining that he'd been told the truth, Mouse could no longer keep Jay in his sights so he looked back down at the glass he was holding, before answering "just the same." The lie was spilling from his lips before he really processed that is what he was going to say. He could feel Jay's stare burning into him as he placed the glass back on the counter and pulled the blanket back tighter around him. The move probably did not convince Jay that he had been telling the truth but the comfort of the steady pressure the blanket gave as he pulled it tighter made him feel enough to make that seem less important.

Breaking the silence Jay almost whispered "Mouse?" It prompted him to look up at Jay not trusting his voice would come out without shaking. As he met Jay's eyes he was stunned further into silence as Jay said "I've missed you," before effortlessly pushing himself from the doorway and walking back into the dark hallway towards his room as soundlessly as he had arrived.

Mouse could feel his head spinning as the silence took over the room and he was alone once more. Jay's words were floating around in his head as he was left alone in the kitchen and he tried to hold on to them in an attempt to not let the warmth that had spread through him dissipate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He woke to the clattering of kitchen activity muddled through the walls only slightly and the smell of bacon wafting through Jay's apartment. After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Mouse forces them open begrudgingly, wishing he could fall back into his sleep which was dreamless for once. However, he knew Jay, and that came with the knowledge that once Jay got started for the day he wasn't going to stop, and he didn't want to intrude anymore into Jay's routine than he had to. Things weren't how they used to be, he was a guest now. Jay was just being kind, trying to keep him out of trouble and Mouse didn't want to add any more burden to that. All he wanted to do was unload the burden, and if that meant waking up at whatever ungodly hour Jay decided was the start of the day then that is what he was going to do. He would be out of Jay's hair in a few days and he could unburden him entirely and also not have to wake up to the moon still casting a glow in the dark sky.

As Mouse pushes himself up so he is sitting Jay pushes the door open and enters the room looking down at the two plates in hand with a careful concentration that makes him smile tiredly. He had missed getting to see this side of Jay, but with the rules, he has so carefully constructed his time with Jay, only allowing Jay to see him when the light could send everything he was trying so desperately not to feel crawling off into the shadows out of sight.

But here Jay was, clearly not long awake with his hair still a little unkempt; a loose and crumpled black t-shirt and sweatpants presenting a much softer version of Jay than Mouse had let himself, bear witness to in a long time. He felt the twist in his gut as he forced his eyes away from Jay, his gaze falling back to his hands curling up into the blanket that had fallen looser throughout the night.

"Oh good, you're awake!" Jay's voice was far more upbeat than mouse thought anyone had the right to be at whatever god-awful time it was. "I made us breakfast."

"You didn't have to do that, I should -"

"Mouse it's okay, I wanted to" Jay's voice was calm, Mouse wished he could feel even half as calm as Jay sounded but instead he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

"I will do the dishes, okay?"

"If you insist" Jay's tone was playful, a lopsided smile gracing his face.

Mouse tried to replicate that lightness as he replied "I do," but the heavy weight of his guilt was clear.

The smell of breakfast became stronger causing Mouse's stomach to flip as the smell overwhelmed him, as Jay reached the sofa bed. Mouse brought his legs into a crossed position so that Jay could have the space to sit down and so that mouse could place his plate in his lap.

"Thank you" his voice sounded as small as he felt as he took in Jay sitting next to him.

The silence settled over them as Jay tucked into his breakfast and Mouse pushed his found around the plate. He was forcing himself to breathe in through his mouse to keep his nausea at bay.

Jay glanced over noticing the still full plate and his eyebrows furrowed in worry. “I could make you something else” he offered.

“No no, this is good thank you,” taking a bite for emphasis. Albeit a small one. “Just still waking up” he excused.

Mouse kept his head down and focused on taking controlled bites of his food. It was then he properly realized that Jay had made his favourite breakfast, that he had remembered that these were the only foods he could handle first thing in the morning. The ones that wouldn’t overwhelm him with their texture. His heart swelled at the realisation, his movements coming to a halt.

Jay noticed the sudden stilling of Mouse’s movements and looked over concerned but it just takes a few seconds for his movements to return so Jay leaves him be.

Mouse makes it through about half of the plate before he knows he can not physically handle eating anything else so he leans and places his plate down on Jay’s coffee table before leaning back against the sofa bed. “I’ll clean up in just a minute, promise”

“It’s okay, there’s no rush,” Jay said, and Mouse could feel his eyes on him in that way that Jay had, the way that somehow let him see straight through him and know exactly where his mind was. It was always useful out in the field but sitting together in Jay’s apartment after years of Mouse trying to force distance between them was unsettling. He started to absentmindedly pick at his nails as he tried to pull his mask back over anything that Jay might be able to read. “You’re not a guest here Mouse, you will never be a guest in my life.” the words came out softly and if there had been anything else for Mouse to focus on he might not have heard them. But he did, and they caused his heart to stutter as he tugged on the inside of his lip, the pain allowing him to keep some semblance of focus as things started to drift.

Mouse couldn’t bring himself to stay anything, not with his heart in his throat, so once again Jay broke the silence. “I never really understood why you left, things were getting better, we were getting better, getting back on our feet and then you left with only a note that said not to worry” Jay’s voice was soft, but the words were cutting Mouse’s heart into ribbons as if they were as sharp as knives. Jay breathed out a heavy sigh before continuing “You were always on my mind, I was always hoping you were okay, basically all I'm trying to say is, I was always hoping you’d come back home, and I know you didn’t exactly choose this but I'm glad you’re here.”

With every word, Mouse felt the pressure build inside of him, and the crawling on his skin intensified. This conversation was too much for him to digest this early or maybe ever but definitely while he was still trying to wake up properly. “Jay” he choked out hoping he didn’t come across as broken as he felt, he felt truly in over his head as he lifted his eyes to meet Jays which were already boring into him causing Mouse to screw his eyes shut for a moment. It was all just too much. The intense stare, the rough blanket rubbing on his crawling skin, the words reverberating around in his brain. Mouse jumped out from the sofa, allowing the blanket to fall as he began to pace around jay’s living room, maybe if he could move at the same speed as his thoughts they would seem to slow down.

Everything around Mouse got fuzzy as he tried to focus on nothing but his breathing, he had lost Jay to the spinning room and the wind rushing in his ears. Reaching out, Mouse touched the wall in front of him, feeling the cool, smooth surface under his palm gave him a little sense of where he was. With the corners of his vision darkening, he allowed himself to use the wall as guidance to lower himself to the ground. His vision is a little steadier now and has a more solid position, his knees up to his chest, hands raking through his hair and pulling. The pain grounded him just enough to focus back on his breathing and to see the fuzzy figure in front of him.

The rushing of the wind was dying down enough that Mouse could make out that Jay must be speaking but none of the words were clear enough for him to process.

“Breathe,”

“... gonna be..."

“.. got this”

“...here.. Yeah, that’s it, deep breathes”

Jay’s voice was becoming clearer but Mouse kept his head down, unable to look at Jay's face, to see all the disappointment in his gaze would just send him spiraling once more.

“You’ve got this, you’re doing so good”

“I’m sorry” Mouse chokes out pulling a little on his hair.

“You have nothing to apologize for Mouse, I shouldn’t have said all that, not first thing in the morning, not when, i just, i’m sorry” Jay’s words sounded heavy and as he stumbled over the end Mouse lifted his head to glance at him. Jay was crouched down in front of him, looking like he wanted to reach out but he had to hold himself back knowing Mouse’s aversion for touch, not wanting to overstep. Not wanting to set of another panic attack right when Mouse was finally calming down.

Scrunching his eyes shut for a second, Mouse patted the ground next to him, gesturing for Jay to sit next to him. As jay did just that Mouse breathed out a sigh before leaning back into the wall, and letting his eyes focus on the plain wall opposite him, anything to not have to look at Jay, not while he says everything that he has to.

“I shouldn’t have left the way i did” his words came out quiet but with the silence surrounding them and the way there was only about an inch of space between them Jay was able to hear him clearly. “I just couldn’t, i couldn’t bring you down with me, not when you were getting better, and i was so happy for you and so proud of you and i just couldn’t”

“Mouse, we were getting better…” Jay sounded broken. He was fighting the urge to reach out and hold Mouse, being able to convince himself that he really was here and he was safe.

“You were doing better Jay, i was doing better at pretending,”

“I… i didn’t know, I should have, i’m so sorry”

“None of this is your fault, i promise, i Just knew you were going to be better off, i didn’t want to mess things up for you, and i mean look at you Jay, you’ve made it into your dream unit”

“I’m always better when you are by my side, Mouse.” tears burned in Mouse’s eyes as he listened to Jay and he could feel the lump in his throat not allowing him to say anything. Jay continued, “Listen, whether or not I mess up is on me, it’s not on you. Just as it’s on you to not mess up your own, but we can be there for each other regardless.”

A silence settled over the pair as Mouse kept his focus on his breathing and keeping the tears at bay, even if they were burning to fall. Jay looked over at his best friend and his heart tore at the sight of him, he wasn’t used to this sight, not for a long time, not since they first got back.

“Look, all im suggesting is you stay with me for a while, we can have breakfast on my sofa bed, you will be safe here, Mouse please, just stay, i’ve missed you.” Jay pleaded and Mouse forced a nod. There hadn’t been a time since he left that jay hadn’t been on his mind, and he really did miss his best friend. He may have given everything up before but he just couldn’t bring himself to leave again, it hurt enough the first time. He didn’t know if he could survive it again.

After some time Mouse finally manages to say “I want you to know i really appreciate you doing this for me” his voice was tight with the tears that were still threatening to spill but he had to let him know.

It was an understandable mistake to make, but a fatal one nonetheless.

Because the fact of the matter was, Marcus Moreno was just as much, if not more-so, a deviant of mischief and mind games as you were. And it took surprisingly little effort for him to mess with your head, leaving your face hot, your body buzzing, and your mind empty of any thoughts except him.

The first time he’d shown you those cards was fairly early on in your relationship, at the first mission afterparty you’d ever attended. It had been nearly a three-years-long investigation, finally marked [CLOSED] after a month straight of undercover operations. The Heroics were gone for far too long and, of course, their families and HQ wanted to celebrate their return accordingly.

However, getting 100% of your ass getting handed to you by Invisigirl and her new girlfriend on the Chief of Staff’s absurdly large patio? Not quite what you called proper celebration. The…mildly drunken pride in you just wouldn’t back down from the challenge of a good card-n’-dice game.

You were enjoying yourself regardless, if a little bitterly, just thankful that your Marcus was at your side again. Though, beside you was somewhat of an understatement. It was more that he clung to you, in his own way at least. He had been shadowing you all day, since the minute the dropship touched down on the HQ runway that morning. Not that you were complaining. Obviously you had been doing some clinging of your own, and you simply couldn’t get enough of the way he liked to reconnect with you after a long or hard day: Touch.

And oh, touch you, he did. There was so much of it you’d missed these past few weeks, it felt like you were rediscovering each other all over again. Not even another alien invasion could pull the both of you apart for more than a few moments. Even now, Marcus was rubbing small, firm circles with his thumb into your back, and thoroughly enjoying the show of your competitive passion, watching with his fatigued, yet doting brown eyes. It was marginally better than the way he was looking at you while stroking your thigh earlier; even sober-you struggled not to jump his bones right then and there. But alas, you were almost certain he wouldn’t be in the mood for shenanigans like that after such a long op.

Assignments such as this were draining on the best of days, and that was just for the intel agents like you. You could only imagine how taxing it could be on someone in Marcus’s position. The look of exhaustion in his eyes — not to mention the dark circles beneath them — was likely only a glimpse into the physical and emotional toll taken. You were surprised he was still awake, let alone up and about as you attempted to get him to lay down. Multiple times.

Clearly, something else was eating him, though you couldn’t tell what for the life of you. All you knew was, beneath the layers of masking and the insistence over at least attending the afterparty — something about “responsibility to team morale” and some bullshit about “letting loose” — he had some other things on his mind, things that were making him restless enough to avoid, well, rest, and your presence helped to soothe those agitations, if only somewhat.

So, there you were, dutifully letting loose and desperately trying to convince your partner to join the game so you at least wouldn’t have to be humiliated alone. All you got in return was a quiet chuckle, the sound traveling from your ears, down your spine, and through your whole body, doing things to you that were not appropriate for the current venue. He certainly wasn’t making things any easier when he kissed your cheek and snickered about being “Just fine watching your defeat from the sidelines, thanks.”

You grumbled to yourself, but appreciated the view of his backside anyway as he stood up and wandered over to the cooler to grab another soda. The brainworm that formed in your mind came tumbling out of your mouth before your better judgment could stop it:

“What’s the matter, Moreno? Are you telling me you don’t have the dice?”

Marcus was never one to freeze necessarily — it wasn’t in his blood — nor was he prone to fight. But, try as you might, you couldn’t quite fit stalk into the classic ‘fight, flight or freeze’. His pace slowed, but never stopped as he gave you a subtle side-eye over his shoulder, that strange and unfamiliar thing that ate away at his conscience rearing its head in the darkness of his gaze. You couldn't tell what it was, but you could feel the power behind it. You knew you’d struck something in him when you spotted that slight tensing in his shoulders, flexing softly down his arms beneath that tight fucking t-shirt, good lord did you miss those—

You had to refocus. You’d be in for it later — or, so you thought — and just the idea alone was enough to pull your lips into a cocky grin. You’d missed teasing him — missed watching the way his body reacted when he knew he couldn’t act on his desires just yet, and not to mention the way you couldn’t help but squirm under what you knew were his eyes boring into you despite only seeing his silhouette in your peripheral. But all those things you missed, all the delicious thoughts that were rapidly forming in your mind had to wait. ‘Later,’ you told yourself, ‘later.’

For now, you honed in on the task at hand. As you dealt in for the next round and your tipsy mind assessed the cards in your hand, it struggled to register Marcus sitting back down next to you. You didn’t have the bandwidth to notice how much closer he was to you than before. You did take notice, however, of the sudden, steady grip on your free hand beneath the card table as it was slowly pulled from resting on your thigh, leaving plenty of time for you to pull away should you so choose. When you didn’t, your hand was gently settled into Marcus's lap.

It still took you by surprise every now and again, how big his hands were. His palm so easily encapsulated your own hand as he guided it down, down, right to where he pressed and curled your hand to cup—

Oh. Oh. Ohhhh wow.

His voice was already in your ear, quietly rumbling against your back, before you could out yourself by reacting: “Tengo algo pesados para que ruedes aquí mismo, pequeña. Y estos están más cargados que los dados Invisigirl sigue usando para estafarte. Deja esas cartas, nos vamos.”

If the shiver that raked down your spine didn’t give away the nature of his comment to everyone around you, the brief squeak that quickly bubbled up from your throat, accompanied by your deer-in-headlights face, certainly did. You were in over your head already, your thoughts racing around before barreling out the door to your mind and leaving it empty of everything but Marcus’s presence.

He must have had something stronger than pop when you weren’t looking, right? Tequila, wine, hell maybe even weed, something to curb his inhibitions. He never spoke to you like this, not out in public anyway, that– that was always your job, to tease and rile him up when everyone was–

Marcus briskly turned to get up once again, this time with you in tow, but when you didn’t immediately follow his motions, he paused, then settled back into his seat with an air of nonchalance that irked you. When he swiveled back to face you, directly this time, you locked eyes again, and it took your breath away. His expression remained unreadable, save for the prominent cock of his eyebrow. Your hand found his crotch again, though you still don’t quite remember how to this day.

Regardless, you had to restrain yourselves. This was a dangerous game you were playing, and you were not about to lose. You reigned in the melting, whimpering mess you were quickly turning into, settling for a not-so-subtle quiver. You felt the resulting throb underneath the denim you cradled in your palm, and– oh stars he was full, wasn’t he – gone for so long, likely far too busy, too exhausted to take care of himself, forced to suffer the ache of his– of hi– getting heavier by the week without you t– to d– to fill–

Your eyes darted to the bob of his adam’s apple as he swallowed a growl, feeling you feeling him, weighing him below the table. Those deep brown irises were giving way to the black of his pupils while they swept down your frame, dragging much, much slower on their way back up. He was really making a show of you, huh?

The rest of him remained viciously still, and when he met your eyes again, that cornered feeling in your chest quickly turned to pinned beneath the stare of this predator. That’s when you knew you were done for. Your pride was nothing but a remnant wisp in your mind, like a candle silently fighting against the wind. Only the animal inside you, the one he’d brought about when you started dating, remained. You felt frozen, helpless beneath his predatory watch, but in the best way possible, and it was almost as though Marcus could sense it. A corner of his mouth twitched up.

He leaned in towards you, which your body surprisingly arched into, rather than away from. That subtle grin turned into a full smirk that split his chapped, but still deliciously full lips while he watched you fight your own mind. It seems you still hadn’t fallen to him just yet, so he gave your inner brat something to chew on, adding at an amiable, casual volume:

“Unless you don’t have the dice?”