"That's the problem with me, Jemma. I saw that you were stressed and I hated it. I want to lock you up and keep you safe, but I also want to give you everything you've ever wanted."
"What do you think I want?"
"Safety. Stability. Someone who sees you." I cup her face with my free hand. "Someone who chooses you. Every day. Without hesitation."
Her eyes are welling up. "Konstantin."
"I know this started wrong. I know I took your choice away. But I'm giving it back now." I lean my forehead against hers. "Stay with me. Not because you're scared or confused or caught up in the situation. Stay because you want to."
"I do want to," she whispers. "That's what scares me. I shouldn't want any of this. But all I want is to stay with you."
"I love you."
The words are out before I can stop them. Before I can think. Before I can do the smart thing and keep my mouth shut.
"What did you just say?"
"I love you." Now that I've said it once, I can't stop. The words pour out of me like I've been holding them back. "I've loved you since the first time you smiled at me in that coffee shop. Since you looked at me like I was a person instead of a threat. I've been in love with you for months, and I'm done pretending I'm not."
"Konstantin, we barely—"
"Don't." I cup her face with both hands. "Don't tell me we barely know each other. I know you read romance novels on your breaks. I know you hum when you're concentrating. I know you tuck your hair behind your left ear when you're nervous. I know you keep your apartment at seventy-one degrees because you're always cold. I know you drink chamomile tea before bed and watch baking shows when you're anxious." I search her eyes. "I know you, Jemma. Maybe not everything. But I know enough to know I love you."
She's crying now. Actually crying. "You can't just fall in love with someone you've been stalking."
"And yet I did."
"That's not how love works!"
"Then tell me what this is." I take her hand, press it against my chest where my heart is racing. "Tell me what to call this feeling. Because I've never felt it before. This need to protect you, to make you happy, to keep you close. This absolute certainty that I would burn down the world if it meant keeping you safe."
She's staring at me, tears streaming down her face. "That's obsession."
"It's both." I lean down, my mouth close to hers but not quite touching. "It's love and obsession and possession all tangled together. And I'm not sorry for any of it." I close the distance, kissing her softly. When I pull back, she's looking at me with wide, vulnerable eyes. "Say it back."
"I can't."
"Say it. Even if you don't mean it yet. Even if you think I'm insane. Say it."
"I—" She swallows hard, and I can see the war in her eyes. Fear and desire. Logic and emotion. "I love you."
"Again," I demand.
"I love you." Her voice is stronger now, more certain. "I love you and I'm terrified and I don't know what that means but I love you."
I kiss her again, deeper this time. Claiming. When I pull back, we're both breathing hard.
"Thank you," I murmur against her mouth.
"For what?"
"For being brave enough to say it. For being here. For not running when you had every reason to."
"I tried to run. You kidnapped me."
"Best decision I ever made."
She laughs. It’s watery and slightly hysterical. "You're completely insane."
