Page 54 of The Butterfly Killer

It ached, but the pills Roman gave him each morning helped with the pain. It also made the rest of his body feel like a sack of fluff. However, that wasn’t the reason for his…boredom. He didn’t want to name what it was—that would only make it worse. He wanted to fight it for as long as he could because if he fell for it…

He wouldn’t be able to fight Roman. He’d waste away and let Roman win.

Roman stood beside the chair. Marcus watched him for a second from the corner of his eyes, but he eventually turned back to the wall again.

He jumped when Roman’s hand settled on the chair beside his head. Roman’s face lowered.

Marcus’s breath hitched as he felt Roman’s breath over the shell of his ear. Goosebumps rose along his arms and his hands clenched. He shook as he tried to keep as still as possible though he wanted to shoot up from the chair and get as far away from Roman as possible.

There was an even more unsettling feeling growing in his gut. It was connected to the stupid thoughts he had. Ones that questioned what would happen if he turned his head and pressed his?—

“You don’t look fine.”

Roman’s voice had a slight rumble to it. Either it was from fatigue or he’d woken from a nap. It tickled Marcus’s ear even worse than when it was just his breath ghosting over his skin.

He wanted so badly to flinch away, but he held still. It was miraculous he was able to have such control over his body whenhe felt like he was going to melt into goo because of how bored he was.

“You asked about my leg not me,” he said, trying to sound unaffected. However, there was a slight tremble that made its way into it. He cleared his throat and pulled the blanket higher over his chin.

Roman moved around the chair, his hand sliding over the back of it. He lowered himself to a squat next to the chair and looked up at Marcus with a tilted head and a little smirk on his lips.

Marcus couldn’t help it as he sent a glare the man’s way.

“What the fuck will it take for you to leave me alone?” He clenched his teeth as he asked the question rolled in a threat they both knew he couldn’t fulfill.

Roman’s eyes squinted with amusement though the smirk didn’t grow. It was that uneasy expression that made the fucked up feeling in Marcus’s gut simmer. It felt like adrenaline, but it was so much more than that.

Roman reached out and grabbed Marcus’s cheek. He pinched the flesh between his thumb and forefinger. Marcus did jerk back this time. He smacked at Roman’s arm which retreated.

Roman let out a laugh. “I was getting a little worried I’d broken your spirit without trying. It’s good you’re still fighting. I need you kicking and screaming up until we leave.”

Marcus gave a disgusted look. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Roman’s brow rose. “Is that a rhetorical question?”

Marcus fumed. If he had feathers they would be bristling. The anger came faster than ever before. It might be his boredom that made him feel so out of control. These emotions he was dealing with were building up to a point he felt he was going to explode if he didn’t get them out.

Marcus grabbed Roman by the collar of his shirt and yanked him forward. He had no idea what he’d been planning to do. He realized only when Roman was falling toward him that he changed his mind. His eyes widened as he thought too late about not attacking Roman.

Roman landed with his arms on either side of Marcus’s head. The recliner tilted back as both of their weights almost toppled the thing over.

Marcus stared at Roman’s seething face in shock at what he’d done. He looked down at his clenched hand that stretched out Roman’s shirt collar. He yanked it away. The fabric of the shirt was ruined, the collar stretched out so much it looked like a scoop-neck.

Roman glanced down at his collar. He huffed through his nose softly and closed his eyes for a brief second. When he opened them again, there was a change in that gaze that made Marcus’s stomach invert on itself.

“I-I—” He stuttered as he tried to think of something that would calm Roman down. Though, he already knew Roman was beyond calming down.

Roman’s hand shot to Marcus’s throat. He squeezed hard enough to leave Marcus gasping. He twisted in the chair, trying to get out of the strong grip, but in this position, he didn’t have the leverage to make it out of the chair.

As darkness ate away at the corners of his eyes, he felt a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. He stilled in shock as he felt himself hardening in his pants. He looked away from Roman’s eyes, his cheeks heating as he started to lose consciousness.

Roman’s grip lessened as Marcus became weaker like pudding in his grip. He looked ready to say something when he noticed how strange Marcus was acting.

He lifted away from Marcus. He didn’t fully remove his hand, but he stopped squeezing.

Marcus gasped. His breaths were wheezes. His throat ached and it felt like he was breathing through a straw each time he took a breath. He made the mistake of looking at Roman’s face. The second he met the man’s eyes, he stiffened as something electric zipped through his body.

Roman stroked Marcus’s throat absentmindedly which didn’t do Marcus any favors. He gulped, feeling it against Roman’s hand. Roman’s eyes flickered to Marcus’s throat as he must of felt the swallow.

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