Chapter 50: More Than An Obsession

"Look at me," Luca says.

He reaches out with his free hand and cups my chin, raising my eyes to his again. "Look me in the eyes and tell me what you see."

I almost don't want to, it scares me so much. In his eyes I see a wild storm - and a promise that makes my toes curl. I try to look away again, but he won't let me.

"What's wrong?" he asks. "Tell me, Emilia."

"It's nothing," I say, then decide to start over. "It's hard to explain. Sometimes I feel like you and I are complete strangers, like we hardly know each other at all, and other times..." I swallow. "Other times I feel like you know me in ways that no one else can. That no one else ever will."

"And that scares you?"

My assessment must be right - obviously he knows me well if he can read me so easily. I nod.

"Frankly, it scares me, too," he says. "Terrifies me, actually." He laughs then, and the bright sound is almost jarring. "Emilia, I've spent most of my life avoiding these kinds of emotions. Lust, I can handle. Obsessi