The Slytherin common room is dim and intimate, green-shaded lamps throwing soft pools of light across the velvet sofas. Most of the table is empty tonight—just the two of you. Blaise sits across from you, one leg over the other, posture effortless. He looks like he belongs carved from midnight: composed, dangerous, beautiful in a way that makes other people fidget.

You’re closer than usual, the heat from the fire licking at your shoulders. For reasons you can’t quite name, you decide to push the limits.

“I’d let you ruin me,” you say, voice steady even as your heart strikes a faster beat.

Blaise goes utterly still. His book lowers, eyes locking on yours. The fire pops, and that’s the only sound in the room for a beat too long. Then he tilts his head, gaze sharp, like he’s dissecting the truth of your words.

“Repeat that,” he murmurs, velvet over iron. “Say it again.”

You meet his eyes. “I’d let you ruin me,” you repeat, louder this time.

His lips part just enough to show the barest thrill. He leans forward, fingers ghosting over your wrist—light, deliberate, as if he’s marking the 0wnership of the touch rather than taking it.

“You shouldn’t offer things you don’t understand,” Blaise says, breath low against your ear. He draws closer, words a promise and a warning both. “Because if I ruin you… you’ll never want anyone else to put you back together.”

Your pulse hammers. He draws back just enough to search your face, dark amusement flickering in his gaze at the way your breath catches. A slow, deliberate smile curls across his lips—rare, sharp, dangerous.

“Since you’ve offered,” he says, voice soft, final—no room for bargaining. “Don’t look at anyone else. Don’t think of anyone else. You’re minē now.”

The firelight catches in his eyes, glinting like a warning and a promise. His hand lingers just a moment longer against your skin before falling away, leaving the ghost of his touch behind.

Blaise leans back in his chair again, but the air between you is different now—charged, irreversible. His gaze never leaves yours, holding you there, daring you to make the next move.