The question trembled between them, raw and frightened, as if he was confessing a sin he hadn't committed yet… but feared he already could.
And instead of adding weight to the Alpha's already crowded heart, Ryley's quiet, earnest confession did the opposite—
it unshackled him.
Clyde huffed out a scoff, one that nearly became a laugh, his hand sliding slow, soothing circles along Ryley's back.
"Then do it," he murmured. "Do bad things to me. Out in the open. Under the sun."
Ryley pulled back slightly, startled by the sudden shift in tone. His brown eyes widened, warm and bewildered.
"Why would you say that?"
Clyde's hand rose, fingers cupping Ryley's jaw with disarming gentleness as he leaned in, breath brushing the blond's lips.
"So I can break you," he whispered, voice low and deliciously dangerous. "Unmake you."
The air tightened around them. Cold outside, burning between.
