Page 44 of Ghost

Ghost thinks I’ll break. He thinks I’ll back down. I won’t. We’ve been playing this game for over a year, and I’m ready to see what’s at the end of it. Especially now that I know tomorrow is no longer promised.

The Twisted Kings could decide I’m not worth the trouble.

The man who hired me a year ago could finally catch up.

Right nowis all I have left.

“Well?” I hitch an eyebrow.

Ghost leans back, jutting his chin. “Come here, Luna.”

Relief floods my chest as I walk up to him.

I’m the one who started this. I pushed him to see if I could make him break, but now that he’s caving, the control is starting to shift. The gleam in his pale eyes callsout to me, and even if I’m the one stripped of my clothes, he has all the power.

I walk until I’m standing between his legs, and only then does he lean forward. He snakes his arm around my waist and pulls me onto his lap so I’m straddling him.

We tease the same line we did the other night at the party. I sink down, and my core settles over the hard length bulging behind his jeans. Digging my fingers into his shoulders, I’m met with the unrelenting tension he always holds inside him.

I think about what Tempe said. These men are hardheaded and stubborn, but I’m determined.

Ghost has been watching me for a year. Keeping this distance like it can keep me safe. But whatever forces are out to get me found their way in anyway. He might think he’s dangerous, but so is everything else in this world.

Leaning forward, I brush my lips against his. But instead of claiming the kiss, he wraps a tattooed hand around the front of my throat and holds me a breath away.

“What’s wrong, Ghost?” I rock in his lap, basking in the low growl rumbling in his chest. “Scared if you kiss me, you won’t be able to stop?”

He brushes his lips over mine. “What you’re asking for is gonna get you hurt, beautiful.”

“I can get hurt either way.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” With his free hand, he grazes my thigh, trailing inward until he’s brushing his knuckles over my pussy.

“Why are you always trying to keep me safe?”

“Because you’re the kind of girl who deserves a hell of a lot more than you get from life, Luna. You deserve to feel good. To be worshipped. To be treated right.”

“You’re the first person to think that.” My voice cracks, and it’s nearly a whisper.

The moment the words are out, I wish I could take them back.

“I’m not.” Ghost peels my panties to the side, rubbing his thumb over my slick core. “But it’s a shame if I’m the first person to say that to you. You, Luna, are so pure you’re unholy. So beautiful it should be a sin. And your smile…”

He dips his hand down and drives two fingers inside me, stealing my breath.

“Pure fucking sunshine.”

“Marcus.” I moan as he rolls his thumb over my clit, driving his fingers deeper.

His hand holding my throat tugs me in so he can lick my lower lip. A graze of his teeth turns into a trail of kisses that pepper my jaw and throat. Everywhere except where I need him.

His fingers pump in, but I need more. I need everything.

“Please, Marcus. I want to feel you.” I roll my hips in his lap.

“I want to feel you too. More than you know.” He kisses the side of my neck, gripping my throat tighter as I start to ride his hand. “But I’ll settle for this.”

His fingers sink deeper as I rock in his lap. I’m desperate to feel him in every way, but I accept this is what he’s offering. It’s all he’s capable of in this moment.

---