“Come here.” You catch the quiet command and close the distance, your fingers curling into my shirt before I’ve finished reaching for you. Moonlight falls across your shoulder. I draw you into the shadows with me, one hand settling firm at your waist, the other cradling your jaw with the weight of a claim I haven’t spoken yet. “Lift your chin.” There, that look. The one that makes a ruin of my carefully kept composure. I kiss you slowly, until your hands pull me closer and the breath between us grows uneven. When you follow my mouth, I linger just beyond it. “Tell me.” Your whispered 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 has the weight of a vow. My thumb traces your lower lip, lingering until your smile moves beneath it, beautiful, and far too aware of what you awaken. “Then come and take it.” And you do, your sudden boldness drawing a low laugh from my chest. I hold you closer, kiss the corner of your mouth, then drag my mouth along the warmth of your jaw. “Still so impatient,” I murmur against your skin, while the clock in the hall spends another hour we will never give the world. You turn your face toward mine, your answer already waiting on your lips. “Again,” you whisper, and I let you draw me down. This time I kiss you with the hunger I no longer bother to hide, and take my time, until you whisper my name against my mouth as though you mean to haunt it.