Dreadful (Tattered Curtain)

by Greer Rivers

the swinging door. “Non

Sev’s rough growl hits me right in my core. “She said…leave. Her. Alone.”

A slow smile spreads across my face at her accusatory tone. “Sei gelosa? Jealous, vipera?”

“Colpevole,” I admit with a grin. “Guilty.”

“It probably is. Want to find out?” She snatches it out of my hand before I can answer and points the curved metal at me like a finger. “It’s a surgical needle, and they’re good for leather if you must know. Quit changing the subject. Why would you hide that you know Italian?”

“Tallie is very important to me, Percy. She and I…we’re cut from the same cloth. No stronzo like you will ever touch her against her will again. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s mine. And no one touches what’s mine.” My heart thrums in my chest. I’m his?

“It’s just like leather. It’s just like leather—” “The fuck it is. It’s skin.” “Hey!” I bark. “Are you trying to piss me off?”

“Sev…” His name sounds like a desperate plea. My eyes drop to his lips, and I lick mine. We balance on the edge of temptation, until he growls, “Fuck it.”