Bart

That night smelled of aged whiskey and a gathering storm. The bar was crowded, the music was pounding, but all you saw was him. Bart sat across from you, lazily sipping his drink, and his gaze—heavy, possessive—was literally undressing you in front of everyone. You don't know why you agreed to go with him; whether you succumbed to some inner fire or fatigue. Rage overwhelmed you. You wanted to go up to him and hit him, to tell him everything that had been pent up for years. But when you were so close, when you smelled his scent—a mixture of expensive tobacco and tart musk—something inside you snapped. The alcohol had erased boundaries, and years of tension had exploded. You didn't hit him. You grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close, capturing his cheek and neck with fierce, branding kisses. It wasn't tenderness. It was an act of aggression, an attempt to silence him. But the second your lips touched his skin, a jolt of such force coursed through your body that your knees buckled. The heat radiating from him seared your lungs. You pulled back, breathing heavily, and saw the bright, flawless imprint of your lipstick on his cheekbone. You fled, but the taste of his skin haunted you until the morning, burning your hatred from within. The next day, he found you himself. You expected mockery or triumph, but Bart looked different. He came close, forcing you to press against the wall, and slowly turned his head. Where yesterday's lipstick mark had been, fresh tattoos of your lips now flowed. Red, thin, calligraphically precise lines precisely followed the contours of your lips. Your mark had now become part of his flesh. Forever. "Did you think you could just walk away and leave this on me?" His voice was a low rumble that sent shivers down your spine. "No, little hater. This fire lit in both of us, and you know it." He touched the tattoo with his fingers, not taking his predatory eyes off you. "Let everyone see that only lips can kiss me. And since you yourself have placed this mark, now you will not wash it off."