Page 55 of Shadows of Obsession

There's a pause before she answers.

“Luna, you got carved up in your apartment by some psycho making wooden dolls, made a deal with a Polish mob boss, moved, found a new job, and now another guy's after you?”

I know it's a rhetorical question because I’ve been asking myself the same thing.

I never escaped. It was just an illusion.

"Babe, I know you didn’t want this, but Luna, you're already in this world. At least this time you have someone on your side.Someone who seems willing to do a lot to ensure you're okay. But if you don't feel anything for him..."

"It's not about that," I interrupt in a whisper.

A confession I'm making out loud for the first time.

"OMG, I knewww it! How could you not fall for those eyes. And that protective mafia vibe. Where do I find one? No, actually don't tell me. With my luck, I'd end up with Igor's twin brother." And now we're both laughing.

This is why Roxy knows everything about me. Because she helps me sort through my thoughts.

Anuska enters the room with a sandwich, and I tell my best friend we'll talk later.

"Listen to your instinct, Luna," is all she says before hanging up, and I know exactly what my intuition is screaming.

That I'm safe. That for a reason he doesn't even understand himself, he has this fascination with me. And that as long as he's beside me, everything will be okay.

At that moment, the door opens and he appears in the doorway. His sweater is stained in several places with scarlet spots, and I know it's not paint. And on his neck, there are traces of coagulated blood.

I don't know when my legs get out of bed, but I rush toward him and take him in my arms. It's the only logical action I can find, and although I'm wearing just an oversized T-shirt and socks, I don't care if Anuska sees me. I need to feel him close and convey exactly what my words can't. One hand spreads across my back while the other gently lifts my face from his chest. Even with those few inches between us, I can see the dark shadows under his eyes - those stormy gray eyes that always look like they're hiding a tempest.

"Leave us," he says in a neutral tone without taking his gaze from me, and I feel Anuska pass by us and close the door.

All I feel right now is that I want to stay pressed against him.

"Are you okay?" he asks, almost in a whisper, while my mouth is so close to his that I feel like every breath of mine automatically becomes his too.

I want him to kiss me.But I know he won't make that move.

"You're the one with blood on you."

I try for a relaxed tone. I literally can't take my eyes off him. The way my heart beats because he's near should alarm me, but I don't care.

"It's not mine."

That's all he offers, and I nod slightly because I know what he's telling me. It's his way of testing me to see if I'll run at his confession.

The old Luna would've run, no matter how much she wanted him. But this Luna knows something different - when you're living in a world of monsters, it helps to have one watching your back.

Roxy is right. I ran from this world, and somehow it still caught up with me.

When I'm with Roman, my mind calms down. This man, who I know came from torturing someone, but who compliments my perfume. This man, who I'm almost certain told Felix how I like my coffee even though it's still a mystery how he knows that in the first place. This man, who held me in his arms and whispered my name until I recovered from my panic attack.

So, I do something the old Luna wouldn't have done. I do something for the current Luna, who feels nothing but warmth when she looks at this man. Both physical and emotional.

And I don't give him time to back away when I rise on my tiptoes and softly touch my lips to his. His entire body goes rigid, and I love that I have this kind of power over him. Trying to calm my own nerves, I take his lower lip between my teeth.

That's all it takes for his gaze to become a hurricane and envelop me completely. I close my eyes because the sensation of the kiss overwhelms me.He overwhelms me.

I thought the first kiss might have been luck. That the next kiss couldn't possibly be this complete. To feel him seemingly fusing his lips with mine through this kiss. How my soul wants to leave my body just to get closer to his.

It feels like we've done this so many times before by how in sync we are. I feel like I've kissed him a thousand times by how his lips seem to know mine.

---