He moves closer, each step deliberate. Predatory. "You might not leave. Ever again."
My pulse pounds everywhere. Throat, wrists, between my legs.
This is it.
The moment we stop pretending.
I close the distance between us until I have to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. "Keep me then."
And I see it happen. The exact second his control shatters. His hands slide down to cup my ass, fingers digging in as he lifts me like I weigh nothing. My legs wrap around his waist instinctively, arms circling his neck.
"Do you know what you're asking?" His voice rasps against my ear as he carries me toward the bed.
"I know exactly what I'm asking." My fingers tangle in his hair, tugging until he looks at me. "I'm asking for you. All of you. Every piece."
He sets me on the edge of his bed, hands bracketing my thighs. The heat of his palms burns through my thin sleep pants. He towers over me, chest heaving, eyes black in the darkness.
"I'll ruin you." The words come out broken. "I'll want you every second. I'll need to know where you are, who you're with. I'll become everything you should run from."
"You already are." I reach up, tracing the sharp line of his jaw. "And I'm still here."
He catches my wrist, pressing my palm flat against his chest where his heart hammers. "This isn't practice anymore."
"Good." I use my free hand to pull him down until his forehead rests against mine. "I'm tired of pretending I don't want you. Tired of you pretending you don't want me."
"Want?" A harsh laugh escapes him. "Sophia, I'm drowning in want. I think about you constantly. You've invaded every thought."
His confession steals my breath.
"Then stop fighting it." I shift back on the bed, pulling him with me. "Stop finding reasons we can't. Stop protecting me from you."
He follows me onto the mattress, caging me beneath him, weight balanced on his forearms. His body hovers inches from mine, close enough to feel his heat but not close enough to satisfy the ache building inside me.
His mouth crashes into mine, and everything else disappears. His tongue sweeps against mine as one hand tangles in my hair, holding me exactly where he wants me. I arch beneath him, desperate for more contact, more everything.
But then he pulls back, breathing hard.
"It's late." The words come out rough, strained. His forehead drops to mine. "We need sleep."
Every nerve in my body protests. I want to push forward, to finally cross this line we've been dancing around. My hands grip his shoulders, feeling the tension coiled in his muscles.
I don't want to leave. Don't want to walk back to my cold, empty room where nightmares about my mother wait.
"Can I stay?" The question comes out smaller than intended. "Just to sleep. I just... I don't want to be alone tonight."
Lorenzo goes still above me. I watch him think, see the war playing out behind his eyes.
"Okay."
Relief floods through me. He shifts to the side, pulling back the covers. I slip beneath them. The bed dips as he settles beside me, leaving space between us.
For a heartbeat, we lie there in awkward silence. Then Lorenzo stretches his arm out.
"Come here."
I don't hesitate. I curl into his side, head finding the hollow of his shoulder, arm draping across his chest. His arm comesaround me, holding me secure against him. The steady thump of his heartbeat beneath my ear grounds me.
"This is dangerous," he murmurs into my hair.
