The rules had been clear and simple: friends with benefits, no strings attached, freedom to be with anyone, do anything. It was an arrangement built on mutual understanding and detachment.

But now, he was tearing those rules apart.

The room fell into a heavy silence as Josh’s voice cut through the stillness.

"I want you." The words were simple enough, edged with a softness that you never really saw. "We’re not seeing other people. I don’t care what the original terms were. Do you want to know why?"

A hard swallow disrupted the delicate lines of your throat. "Why?"

"Because you're mine," he murmured. "Let another man touch you, and you'll see just how easily I can end a life as quickly as I can save one."