Say Youre Mine
Lia should've stepped back.
That thought echoed faintly somewhere inside her head while Adrian held her face carefully between his hands.
But stepping away from him had become impossible weeks ago.
And now—
with rain pouring outside and his eyes fixed entirely on hers—
she wasn't even sure she wanted to try anymore.
"Don't look at me like that unless you're ready for me to completely lose control over you."
The roughness in his voice wrapped tightly around her spine.
Not threatening.
Worse.
Honest.
Adrian sounded like a man standing at the edge of something dangerous and trying desperately not to fall.
Lia's pulse hammered violently beneath her ribs.
"You say things that should honestly scare me."
Adrian's thumbs brushed lightly against her cheeks.
"They don't."
The quiet certainty in his voice made her chest ache immediately.
Because once again—
he was right.
She should've been terrified of how intensely Adrian loved.
Instead—
she kept leaning closer.
Kept wanting more.
Adrian studied her face silently for several long seconds.
Like he was trying to memorize every expression before restraint finally disappeared completely.
"You trust me too much," he murmured softly.
Lia swallowed carefully.
"You've never given me a reason not to."
The confession hit him immediately.
She saw it happen in real time.
Adrian's eyes darkened.
His breathing uneven for half a second.
Like her faith in him affected him more deeply than physical touch ever could.
"You have no idea what hearing that does to me."
His voice sounded rough now.
Wrecked around the edges.
Lia's fingers slid slowly upward against his wrists before resting lightly over his hands.
Warm skin beneath her touch.
The reaction in Adrian was immediate.
His jaw tightened sharply.
"You touch me like you already belong to me."
The possessiveness hidden inside the words wrapped tightly around her chest.
Not cruel.
Not controlling.
Something softer.
Something terrifyingly devoted.
The storm outside intensified.
Lightning flickered silver across the room while silence stretched between them.
Heavy.
Alive.
Adrian leaned closer slowly.
Close enough that his breath brushed softly against her lips.
"You know what the problem is?" he murmured quietly.
Lia's throat felt dry.
"What?"
His eyes lowered toward her mouth again.
Lingering.
"I don't know how to want you halfway anymore."
The confession shattered straight through her remaining composure.
Because Adrian sounded exhausted by the truth.
Like loving her had already consumed too much of him to undo now.
Lia stared at him quietly.
"You act like that's a bad thing."
A faint, ruined laugh escaped him.
"For you?" His thumbs brushed lightly against her cheeks again. "It might be."
God.
The honesty again.
Always the honesty.
Adrian never pretended he was harmless.
That was the terrifying part.
He knew exactly how obsessive he'd become.
And somehow—
he still looked at her like she was worth ruining himself over.
His hands slid slowly downward from her face to her waist again.
Warm palms settling possessively against the oversized shirt.
His shirt.
The sight visibly affected him.
A sharp inhale left him softly.
"You wearing this is still making me insane, by the way."
Heat rushed immediately through her chest.
"You keep repeating that."
"Because I keep looking at you."
The roughness in his voice nearly destroyed her emotionally.
Lia looked away briefly, overwhelmed again by the intensity of him.
Immediately—
Adrian's fingers tightened slightly against her waist.
"Don't."
Her pulse stumbled.
"You always stop me from looking away."
"Because I need to see your reactions."
The confession settled heavily between them.
Because Adrian watched her like every emotion mattered too much.
Every blush.
Every nervous breath.
Every tiny movement she failed to hide.
His gaze softened unexpectedly afterward.
Not less intense.
Just quieter.
"You know what I realized tonight?"
Lia's voice came softer too.
"What?"
The look he gave her made warmth spread painfully through her entire body.
"I've stopped thinking about this ending badly."
Her heartbeat skipped.
"What does that mean?"
Adrian's fingers curled more firmly against her waist.
"It means I stopped planning for you to leave."
The words hit harder than anything else he'd said all night.
Because suddenly—
Lia understood something terrifying.
Adrian had expected heartbreak from the beginning.
Expected obsession to destroy him eventually.
But somewhere along the way—
he started believing she might stay.
The realization cracked something open inside her chest.
Adrian noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
His eyes darkened softly.
"You looked sad just now."
"You sound like someone waiting for disaster."
A pause.
Then Adrian admitted quietly:
"I was."
The honesty nearly hurt.
Because beneath all the confidence and possessiveness—
there was still fear buried inside him.
Fear that she'd wake up one day and realize he was too much.
Too obsessive.
Too intense.
Lia lifted one hand slowly toward his face.
Her fingers brushed lightly along his jaw.
The reaction was immediate.
Adrian physically stilled.
Like even gentle affection from her still affected him too deeply.
"You really love me, don't you?" she whispered softly.
Silence.
Then Adrian leaned into her touch slightly before answering.
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No fear.
Just truth.
Raw enough to make her chest ache.
His eyes held hers steadily afterward.
Dark.
Possessive.
Completely ruined by her.
Then softly—
like confession dragged unwillingly from somewhere deep—
"Now say you're mine too before I completely lose what's left of my sanity tonight."