Chapter 34: A New Arrangement

My breath catches in my chest. For a moment, there's something in Luca's eyes - a spark - that makes me think he means to kiss me. I stiffen, but he stops a couple of feet away from me.

"Yes, we do need to talk," I hear myself say.

He hesitates for a moment - a very, very long moment. His eyes bore into mine, and behind the exhaustion I see something that for a brief, terrifying instant brings butterflies to my stomach. My lips tingle slightly as I remember the way his mouth tasted last night. Even though I know better, part of me still wants to taste it again.

But he doesn't move. And whatever it is that I see in his eyes disappears again.

"I trust you've seen the internet," he says.

I nod. "And I thought Cataclysm: Aftermath would be the first time the world saw me half-naked." It's supposed to be a joke, but I don't quite pull it off.

"We have a problem," he says, rubbing the side of his neck. "A big problem. This sort of publicity was not in our plan. I've been up all night t