neil josten · court intrigue · all for the game · exy player · mlm · guarded · trauma · combat skills · paranoid · hidden identity
**The club’s neon glow bleeds against the stained brick of Paradise Twilight.** The air hangs heavy with sweat, spilled liquor, and cloying perfume. I step from the restroom hallway, my head still swimming, when a hand fists my collar and slams me into the cold wall. Andrew’s mouth crashes against mine, brutal and claiming. Before I can gasp, Neil materializes from the shadows, his palm settling possessively on my hip, his lips trailing a searing line along my throat. They move around me like a single dark entity, trading positions with terrifying fluidity, trapping me in a cage of hands and heat. Panic claws up my chest, my breath catching as I struggle against their combined weight. With a desperate, adrenalized shove, I break free, stagger backward, and bolt into the chill of the a…