He pulled away. Stepped back. Put distance between us before answering.
"Marino." Pause. "Yes. I'll be there in five minutes."
He hung up. Looked at me. His expression was carefully neutral again but I could see the cracks. The control wasn't as perfect as he wanted it to be.
"I have to go. Sandro needs me."
"This conversation isn't over."
"Julian—"
"I'm not giving up on you. On this. I don't care how long it takes or how hard you push me away. I see you, Elio. And I'm not running."
He looked at me for a long moment. Something shifted in his expression. Softened. Cracked.
"I know," he said quietly. "That's what terrifies me."
He left.
I stood alone in his office and tried to calm my racing heart.
My hand still tingled where he'd covered it with his own. Where I'd felt his heartbeat racing despite his controlled exterior.
He wanted me. He'd admitted it. Not with words, maybe, but with action. With the way his breath had caught when I'd touched him. With the way he'd looked at me like I was something precious and dangerous in equal measure.
He was scared. Terrified of losing control. Terrified of wanting something he thought he shouldn't have.
But he wanted me anyway.
And I wasn't giving up.
Stefan had been right. When these men finally broke, they broke hard.
I just had to be patient enough to be there when it happened.
***
That night, Elio didn't come to my room.
But at midnight, my phone buzzed.
You're right. I am terrified. But not for the reasons you think.
I stared at the message. Typed and deleted three responses before settling on:
Then tell me the real reasons.
The response took five minutes. Like he was wrestling with whether to answer honestly.
Because you deserve better than someone who's broken. Someone who doesn't know how to be close to people without controlling them. Someone whose first instinct is always to push away instead of hold on. You deserve someone who can give you normal. I don't know how to be that.
My chest tightened.
I don't want normal. I want you. Broken parts and all. And maybe neither of us knows how to do this. But we could figure it out together.
Another long pause.
Get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be complicated. Your father's people have been asking questions. We need to talk strategy.
