Page 40 of Shadows of Obsession

?

A person doesn't simply disappear. Something doesn't add up in this story. I want to know everything there is to know about this individual, so I tell Lev to send me everything he finds. I look toward the source of my obsession and somehow I understand her ex.

The thought of having her and losing her would make me lose my mind too. I feel my heart pounding in my chest again when I see she's regained her calm.What's happening to me?

My thoughts scatter like broken glass while the migraine starts digging in, feeding my frustration. Life's gotten exponentially more complicated since she walked in.

At first, I told myself it was fascination - she's different from the women I leave in hotel rooms at dawn. But the more time I spend with her, I realize that while I crave Luna physically, that's not what shakes me most.

I convinced myself it was the challenge - making her surrender to me. Now I know I don't just want her body. I want all of her - mind, soul, everything. And that realization terrifies me.

"Let me take you home," I tell her.

I need to put distance between me and her, otherwise I know I'll do something I'll regret.

But I won't, says the beast's voice.

This is why I need my worlds separate. Luna sees glimpses of my demons, but if these glimpses scare her now, poor thing would break seeing the whole horror show.

“But it's only three,” she says, panic edging into her voice. Her hair's still messed up from when I carried her to the office. Another squeeze in my chest.Is this woman giving me heart problems? Is that why it keeps acting up?

“I know, but I need to leave, and you'll work better from home.”

A lie so weak even I don't buy it, and clearly neither does she - I see that spark light up her eyes. Inside, I'm grinning.

Show your claws, baby.

As if hearing my thought, she stands, meeting my eyes.

“If that's what you wish, Mr. Borisov.”

That fake smile I hate appears, and I feel a twinge of regret for sending her away. But logic says I can't keep her close. Not today. Not with all the violence I need to unleash.

I let her comment slide and grab my phone from the desk.

When she sees me waiting by the door, surprise crosses her face:

"There's no need to..."

I don't even let her finish because I don't have the patience necessary to argue with her.

"Take your laptop and come on, Luna."

Something in my tone or posture must tell her I'm not in the mood for protests, so she puts her backpack on and walks out the door.

Felix wishes us a good day, and I see Luna relax. Some of the tension in her shoulders dissipates, probably because Felix didn't mention anything about her episode. I need to give this man a raise for how he handled the situation with her.

The drive to her apartment takes place in absolute silence. I don't want to force her to tell me more than she feels she can tell me. I've scared her enough in all our meetings.

When we arrive, I signal her to wait for me to open her door. It's something I've seen makes her smile, and I need to see her smile for a few seconds so I don't start sticking my hunting knife in the first person who looks at me wrong.

When I open her door, exactly as I anticipated, a small smile lights up her face, and again those stupid chords in my chest jump. Clearly this woman makes my blood pump strangely in my body.

"Thank you," is all she tells me while moving to enter the stairwell.

I look around once and already know where Anton is positioned two buildings away. Apart from his presence, I don't notice anything wrong, but the feeling of being watched remains. I just hope it's my nerves from the last hour.

"Tomorrow morning?"

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