If I Say It, I Mean Forever
The room went completely silent after that.
Now say you're mine too before I completely lose what's left of my sanity tonight.
Lia's heartbeat turned violent beneath her ribs.
Because Adrian didn't sound playful.
Didn't sound teasing.
He sounded serious enough to make the air feel heavy.
Rain crashed softly against the penthouse windows while lightning flickered silver across his face.
And God—
he looked devastating.
Dark eyes fixed entirely on her.
Hands warm against her waist.
Expression stripped down to something rawer than obsession now.
Fear.
Hope.
Need.
Like the answer genuinely mattered too much.
Lia swallowed carefully.
"You make everything sound permanent."
Adrian's gaze didn't leave hers.
"With you, it is."
The honesty hit like a physical thing.
Because Adrian never treated this lightly.
Not the touching.
Not the kissing.
Not her.
Everything involving Lia had already become irreversible inside him.
The realization made her chest ache painfully.
His thumbs brushed lightly against her waist beneath the oversized shirt.
Slow enough to feel intimate.
Careful enough to feel dangerous.
"You're thinking again," he murmured softly.
"You just said something emotionally catastrophic."
A faint flicker crossed his face.
Not amusement.
Something softer.
"You still didn't say no."
The truth of that settled heavily between them.
Because Lia could've stopped this at any point.
Could've pulled away.
Instead—
she stayed.
Every single time.
Adrian studied her quietly for several long seconds.
Like he was trying to memorize this moment too.
Then softly—
almost hesitant for the first time all night—
"If I say it, I mean forever."
Her breath caught instantly.
Because suddenly—
this didn't feel like flirting anymore.
This felt terrifyingly real.
Adrian's eyes darkened slightly at her silence.
"I don't know how to love casually," he admitted quietly.
"You already figured that out."
The roughness in his voice wrapped tightly around her chest.
Because Adrian sounded vulnerable now.
Not weak.
Worse.
Honest enough to bleed.
Lia lifted her gaze slowly back to his.
"You really think I'd leave?"
The question came softer than intended.
Adrian went very still afterward.
Rain echoed softly through the room while silence stretched painfully between them.
Then finally—
"Yes."
The honesty nearly hurt.
Because he didn't say it accusingly.
He said it like someone preparing for eventual heartbreak no matter how deeply he loved.
Something inside Lia cracked slightly at that.
Adrian noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
His fingers tightened gently against her waist.
"You looked sad again."
"You sound like you expect people to stop loving you eventually."
A quiet breath escaped him.
"Most people do."
The confession shattered straight through her chest.
Because suddenly—
she understood Adrian more clearly than before.
All that obsession.
All that possessiveness.
It wasn't just control.
It was fear.
Fear of losing something once he finally allowed himself to care.
Lia's hand lifted slowly toward his face again.
Her fingers brushed lightly through his hair this time.
The reaction was immediate.
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
Like tenderness from her affected him more deeply than anything else.
"You really are dangerous," she whispered softly.
A faint smile touched his mouth.
"You still sound affectionate when you say that."
Heat rushed instantly through her chest.
God.
He noticed everything.
Adrian leaned into her touch slightly before opening his eyes again.
Dark.
Ruined.
Completely focused on her.
"You haven't answered me."
Lia's pulse stumbled hard.
Because she knew exactly what he meant.
Say you're mine too.
The words hung between them unspoken.
Heavy enough to drown in.
Adrian's hand slid slowly higher beneath the shirt against her back.
Warm palm resting against bare skin.
The touch made her breathing uneven immediately.
His eyes darkened at the reaction.
"There."
"What?"
"That look again."
His voice lowered.
"You melt every time I touch you now."
The truth of it nearly destroyed her composure.
Because yes.
She did.
Adrian touched her like she mattered too much.
Like every inch of closeness meant something sacred to him.
And maybe that was exactly why she kept falling harder.
The storm outside softened slightly.
Rain trailing against the windows in quieter patterns now.
Inside the room, the silence became softer too.
More intimate than tense.
Adrian's forehead rested lightly against hers once more.
Then quietly—
so quietly it almost sounded afraid—
"Lia."
The way he said her name made her chest ache immediately.
"What?"
His fingers curled more firmly against her back.
"Don't give me hope unless you mean it."
The confession ruined her completely.
Because Adrian Monteverde—
possessive, obsessive, terrifying Adrian—
looked genuinely fragile when it came to her feelings.
And somehow—
that honesty made her heart choose him completely.
Lia looked into his eyes for several long seconds.
Then softly—
before fear could stop her—
"I'm yours."
The reaction in Adrian was immediate.
He physically stopped breathing.
Not metaphorically.
Actually stopped.
Shock crossed his face too quickly to hide.
Then something deeper followed.
Relief so intense it almost looked painful.
His hand moved sharply against her back, pulling her fully against him while a rough breath escaped him.
"You have no idea," he whispered brokenly against her forehead, "what you just did to me."
And maybe the scariest part?
Lia was starting to realize she never wanted to belong to anyone else again.