Chapter 44: At Last

Luca lowers himself down on top of me again, bringing his lips to my ear. "I don't want to think about anyone or anything but you. Fuck you're all I've thought about for weeks now."

"I thought..." I press my hands against his bare back. "I thought this whole contract thing was a way of pushing me away. A way of establishing boundaries."

"It was."

"Then why did you do it? Why did you push me away if you want me as much as you say?" I close my eyes as that horrible punched-in-the-gut feeling comes back. "I felt like such an idiot back when we met, thinking you might actually feel something for me... God, the night you asked me about the contract, I went to your house thinking we'd end up in bed together."

He lifts his head, his honey-brown eyes heavy with emotion.

"Emilia, I wanted you from the moment I first saw you, before we even said a word to each other. And that need grew even stronger when you yelled at me and told me I'd regret walking out on you." The corner of his mouth li