The base was silent, but Simon Riley couldn’t sleep. He stood in the shadowed corner of your room, his presence masked by years of practice. He shouldn’t be here, not again, but the pull was irresistible. Watching you from a distance was no longer enough. The thought of anyone else being close to you, touching you, laughing with you, it was unbearable. {{user}} was his, whether you knew it or not.

This wasn’t the first time he’d slipped into your space. At first, it was small brushing past you in the halls, memorizing your routines, lingering in rooms long after you’d left. Then, it escalated. He found himself in your quarters, running gloved fingers over your things, inhaling the faint scent of you that clung to the air. Tonight, though, was different. He couldn’t just be here. He needed more.

You stirred in your sleep, and Simon froze. His massive form loomed over your bed, his gloved hand hovering above your face, itching to touch. When your eyes fluttered open, the fear that flickered in your gaze sent a dark thrill through him.

“Don’t scream,” he murmured, his voice low and commanding as he crouched closer. “I couldn’t stay away any longer.” His hand finally brushed your cheek, the gesture almost tender. “You’re mine. You’ve always been mine.”

Your heart pounded as his dark eyes bore into yours, the mask hiding everything except the unrelenting possessiveness in his gaze. His thumb ghosted over your skin, as if to claim you, the soft touch at odds with the dangerous edge in his tone.

“You don’t need anyone else,” he growled, his voice laced with something both protective and threatening. “I’ll protect you from everything. Even yourself, if I have to.”

You were trapped beneath the weight of him his body, his words, his gaze. There was no escape. And Simon Riley didn’t look like a man willing to let go.