13. Luna

13

Luna

Stripping for Ghost wasn’t how I planned to approach him tonight, but at least it’s working. He hasn’t stopped staring at me since my shirt came off.

I knew he’d be angry I left the compound and that he’d be even more upset that it was with Venom. But I only did it to provoke a reaction. To see just how far I could push him before he would finally show me how he really feels.

I planned to confront him about how he’s been ignoring me. But after the door to the VIP room shut behind us, I had a better idea. Talking hasn’t gotten us anywhere up until this point, so I figured I’d try something different.

Ghost showed me his hand. He vouched for me to his club because he can’t deny the pull between us just like I can’t. I just need him to admit it.

His cool gaze falls to my chest, and even if it’s warm in this room, my nipples pebble at his attention. My T-shirt sits in a puddle across the room, and his stare has my skin burning up.

Ghost grips the back of the couch so hard his tattooed knuckles are white, and his thick arms ripple with tension. But he doesn’t move. He stays seated with his knees spread as he watches me. Not bothering to hide the bulge fighting against his jeans.

“Do you want me to stop?” I take a step forward, slowly walking off the stage toward him. “Are you worried someone can see us?”

I glance up at a camera in one corner of the room, then back at him, pulling my hair off my shoulders.

“No one can see us.”

“Except you.” I skim my fingers down my sides. “You can watch this back if you want, right? While you’re pretending you don’t see me—pretending you don’t care about me even if you brought me into this—you can play this back. You can watch what I’m doing as many times as you like.”

Ghost leans forward, planting his elbows on his knees. “We’re not doing this right now, Luna.”

“Are you sure about that?” I pop the button on my jeans. “Shouldn’t we at least benefit in some way before this all goes bad?”

“Nothing’s going to go bad for you. I promise.”

“We both know you can’t promise that.” I slowly unzip my pants, sliding them down my legs and kicking them off until I’m standing in front of him in nothing but a bra and underwear. “So, if this is all we have, shouldn’t we at least stop lying to ourselves and do something about it? Or are you really going to let me stand in front of you like this and pretend you aren’t affected? That you’re just protecting me like you do everyone else.”

“You’re not everyone else .”

I can’t help smiling. “Then what am I to you, Marcus?”

He swallows hard when I use his legal name.

It’s why I did it.

I want that reaction. I want his eyes on me as he swallows hard. I don’t just want Ghost; I want Marcus Jasper. If I’m going all in, then so is he.

“You think you can handle what you’re bringing on yourself, Luna? But you have no idea what it means to get involved with a man like me.”

“Try me.”

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 now is 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 calls out 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.

Maybe someday we can become more. Or maybe we’ll never get the chance.

“This is all I can give you.” He hums against my neck, rocking his thumb back and forth over my clit. “Fuck my fingers. Show me how you’d ride me if I let you.”

“Marcus.”

“Mm-hmm.” He tightens his grip on my throat. “Say my name again, Luna. Let me hear you.”

My nails rake the back of his neck as I pull him closer, chasing the pressure that’s starting to build. I scratch at his skin, desperate to rip us open so we can connect. But the walls are so thick I can’t scale past them.

“Please, Marcus.” I bury my face in the side of his neck, gripping the front of his cut as I ride his hand. “Please don’t stop touching me.”

One hand grabs my hip as he grinds me against him. His fingers sink deeper, and when he curls them, my vision darkens.

“Fuck, you’re perfect.” Ghost takes control of my body, forcing me to accept him deeper.

“Right there,” I moan.

It’s like he can read exactly what I need—exactly what I like. We’ve never been intimate, but somehow, he just knows.

His hard cock rubs against me as I ride his hand, but he refuses to break. He submits himself to this torture as he pleasures me .

“Take what you need from me. Let me feel that perfect pussy work for it.”

I wrap my arms around Ghost’s shoulders and grind against his hand, chasing my release. I ignore the distance and hug my body to him, imagining he’s giving me more than this. His thumb rocks over my clit, and my body buzzes as I come harder than I have in my life.

My soul hovers and Ghost claims it.

I’m floating outside my body as I shake, and he forces me to ride out every pulse of my climax.

Planting my hands on his chest, I pull back to look at him. I’m sure I’m a mess with how unapologetically I just used him, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

His pale eyes burn up as he slips his fingers out. But when I try to lean in and steal a kiss, he grabs me by the throat again.

Slicking his fingers down my neck, he leans in to lick my throat. To get a taste of what he won’t let himself have.

So close.

Yet, always so far.

“You’re beautiful, Luna.” His lips brush my collarbone, teasing me. “But I can’t have you any more than this.”

I meet his eyes, and I can’t help but tell him the truth. “Too bad you already do.”