The safehouse smelled of cedar and antiseptic, which should have been relaxing,but instead, it pushed heavily on the chest of Nalia as a weight. She remained close to the window awirling round the lamps like ghosts. Her hands wer her. It was real. Legal. Clean. But it had one burden she had not counted on, which was power, but Adrian sat onthe other side of the room, as usual. His black eyes were observing her, as though they were reading all his thoughts, all his apprehensions. The small scar on his collar-bone flashed back a second time, as a reminder that his and yet somehow, she was seeming to be drawn into it.Thou art excessively cogitate, he said at last. His voice had broken the silence, and it was low and controlled. "Worrying will nNalia didn't respond. She did not know how to argue and cry. The night accident, the van, the easy h, and the adrenaline had throbbed down her veins in a manner that made her skin itself run.Adrian got up and came to her. It was a kind of movement, predatory, nearly, but beneath it all was a gentleness w near enough that she could feel the heat of his body.Do you know what is at stake, Nalia? he asked. Your father did not only have a story. It's a debt. A you want to be or not.She swallowed hard. "I understand. But... why me? Why protect me? Why kiss me?"He gave a slow, measured smile. "Because I can't help myself. And because... even despite all, I pick you. But you have to make your own choice as well.Her pulse spiked. She wanted to run. She wanted to push him away. But her body betrayed her. All insresistible.You are not aware of what you are doing to me, which is what I am whispering.Yes, I do, he said, patting a strand of hair that had fallen over her face. His fingers lingered. "And I don't care."Her knees were weak because of the confession, which, though quite quiet and deliberate, was made. S tension, the attraction, the danger, all of it wrapped around her like a thread which she could never slice.He leaned closer. Their lips met. Gentle at first, testing. Then,stronger, more emphatic, each kiss even utteredthreats and vows without speaking.His chest was against the hands of Nalia. Strong, solid. Her mind said to all, her body turned traitor, and was drawn, needed, attracted towards him.As they separated, breathing one another in, he said, there is no going back now. Not for either of us."The remainder of the morning had been a blur. Nalia barely ate. She was confused in her head with th that was out there, and her sister waiting in the flat. In the afternoon, she compelled herself to go back to campus. She had some lectures to attend to, a project to make, and now, there was no longer only her destiny under her control.Lita stood outside the hall,waiting with a worried expression on her face. "You look... different," she said. not only exhaustedNalia hesitated. Is she to report to her friend Adrian? About the van? About that kiss that had shak She remained confused about what to tell Lita at that moment."Nothing," she said finally. "Just tired. Busy."Lita didn't look convinced. "Uh-huh. Sure."The lecture hall was smaller and more suffocating indoors. Dr. Kato walked among the students, watching them asa predator does. He stared at Nalia more than he had ever done, and she shivered. He knew. Of course, he knew. But knew what exactly?She hung around the library after the classes, hoping to have some time by herself. She scarcely saw Adrian come out of the side door, as though he had been made out of the shadows.You are late, he said, in an edge but calm voice which made her pulse quicken."I had lectures," she replied.Naturally, he said, getting nearer. "But you're safe now. At least for today."She would have liked to speak to him about how he happened to know about the men, why he cared, what his real intentions were, but he was too close to talk. His presence was powerful, compelling, and she was attracted against her will.Adrian touched her, fingertips touching her. "We need to talk," he said. "Privately. Somewhere safe.Nalia's stomach twisted. She wanted to say no. She wanted to run. She went on, however, pushed on by desire.It was in some dawdling streets, at a little cafe that he owned, to which no sign was attached, and The scent of the air in there smelled of roasted collowed. She was nearly normal, at least as she had never been before that day.Adrian was sitting opposite her, so closethat you could not tell whether the table was separating them. His dark eyes were sweeping over her You see how dangerous it was now, he said? "And you understand me."I believe I do, she thought tremulously."Then you have a choice," he said. "Trust me fully or not at all. But when you come to my real world, you can never get out.Her chest tightened. She had always believed her life was characterized by study, work, and responsibility. But Adrian's world was bigger. Darker. And terrifyingly alluring."I... I choose," she said finally.A small smile flashed through his lips, which he did not even attempt to read. "Good," he said. Thenss that promised and warned, burnt and repressed.As they separated, a mixture of breaths, London made the fog cling round the windows like a veil. Naed the line. One more step and her life would not At least a part of her that part which she had been attempting too long to deny had already become lost to him.In the alleys, there were moving shadows outside. Figures watched. Plans were being made. The men who had gone to get the debts of her fathernating as he was, Adrian Lucien shortly would display how far he was prepared to go in her defence.Nalia clasped her hands against her breast. The sweetness of his kiss remained. Her danger had come And despite this fear, despite the unknown, despite the darkness pulling her in on all sides, she smiled.And the fact that someone had entered her life to claim her and not to take away her life in the for was something novel to her.And she was unable to turn away.
