Page 72 of Lethal Infatuation

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "I like you, a lot." Her breath hitched and she looked at me with pureshock plastered on her face. "And the thing that scares me more than vulnerability is how I feel about you. I'm obsessed with you,mikrí petaloúda. I'd do anything for you, I'd die for you."

"Nicolas," she said softly.

"You've set me alight from the inside out, and the truth is, I'd happily burn for you." Her lips parted slightly. "For years, I haven't felt anything. Then you come along, and all I'm able to do is feel. You're my weakness."

"How do you think I feel about you?" she questioned, and I watched her intently. "Before you, I hadn't been with anyone for years. Then you come along and just completely tossed my world upside down."

"I told you, you'd be my ultimate demise, yet you breathe life into me. I'm utterly bewitched by you, my soul belongs to you," I whispered.

The atmosphere crackled with tension and unsaid words. Words that I struggled to utter. I've never been the vocal type. I displayed my emotions through actions, but I needed to tell Gabriella exactly how I felt.

"You wanted to know whatmikrí petaloúdameans?"

"Yes, tell me." Her wide eyed, the curious expression tugged at my heart strings. Curiosity killed the cat, but I find that trait about her so adorable.

"Little butterfly." Her eyes sparkled. "You always flew away from me. Whenever I thought you were in reach, you'd disappear. I'd try to catch you, yet you were too fast. But now I've got you trapped."

"Am I really trapped if I chose to be here with you?" She wrapped her arms around my neck. This woman was cut from a different cloth, that's for sure.

"No, I suppose you're not trapped then, but I've still managed to catch you." I placed my hand on her lower back, pulling hercloser. "Do you know which insecteatsbutterflies?"

She peered at me through those thick, long lashes and shook her head. "No."

"Spiders." I buried my face into the crook of her neck and bit down harshly on the soft flesh, making her arch into me. She gasped, holding me tighter. "With a combination of stealth and camouflage, they will often pounce on a bee orbutterfly."

Her breathlessness drove me insane. "You've already pounced on me."

"Exactly." I sucked on the area in her neck I had bitten, sliding my tongue across the red mark. "With my construction of intricate webs, I've managed to ensnare you. So unsuspecting, so easy to prey upon."

Her body became rigid by the simple action. "That's one of my irrational fears," she said softly.

"What is?" I finally met her gaze.

"Spiders." I could feel her shuddering.

I laughed softly, but then I realised the important topic I needed to discuss with her and the smile slowly disappeared from my face. "There's something I need to tell you."

Her smile slowly faded and it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I didn't like it when she frowned, especially if I was the cause. "What's wrong?"

I sighed. "The bullet wounds I have." God knew the last thing I wanted to do was discuss this with her, of all people, but it was crucial that she was constantly aware of her surroundings. "I worked on a case a few months ago. We were in the process of arresting the perpetrators when a shoot-out occurred."

She caressed the spots where I was shot, I could feel her warm hands right through the shirt fabric. "Then what happened?"

"We managed to take down all except one, and that's the manthat shot me. Ares was my partner at the time and fired off a few shots, but the suspect managed to escape. We've been looking for him ever since." I paused. "It was a set up. They knew we were onto them. We had backup, but the man who got away still outsmarted us."

"Oh my God," she gasped softly. "Do you at least have some leads regarding his whereabouts?"

"No, unfortunately not. But that brings me to my next point. His last known location was London. Kayden managed to track down his location using his IP address."

"So he's in London right now?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"We don't know that for sure, because we've detected his location in several other cities, but it seems to be false positives. Now the reason I'm sharing this information with you is because Kayden found images on the suspect's server when he tracked his initial location."

"What kind of images?"

"Pictures of you and I in Cabo." Gabriella's jaw fell slack and she dug her nails into my shoulder. I could instantly sense her fear and pulled her even closer. "I promise I'll keep you safe. I won't allow anything to happen to you, but I also need you to be vigilant at all times, especially when we're not together. Can you do that for me, my love?"

Her body trembled and she nodded. "Is this the reason you taught me self-defence?" After our first session, we've practiced multiple times thereafter. I needed to ensure she knew the basics in case anything happened.

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