Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Julian’s eyes never left Emily. Even as she sat across from him in the cozy café, laughing softly at a joke, the world around him seemed to fall away. Everything else blurred—his thoughts, the background noise, the clink of cups and saucers. It was only her.

His hand curled around his coffee cup, the heat grounding him, but the hunger he felt inside only seemed to grow. He wanted her—wanted her in a way that made everything else seem irrelevant. His every glance, his every word, was designed to keep her within his reach.

It wasn’t obsession anymore. It was something deeper, darker. He could see it in the way her lips curved when she smiled, in the way her fingers brushed against her hair when she grew nervous. Every little detail about her was etched into his memory, a map he could trace with his eyes closed.

But Emily didn’t know. She couldn’t. Not yet.

He leaned in closer, his voice low but steady, “I don’t want you to be afraid of me, Emily. I only want to understand you.”

Her eyes flickered, uncertainty flashing across her face. She was still holding back, and it irritated him. She should be past the games by now. They had both crossed a line, one she refused to acknowledge. He could see it in the way she looked at him sometimes, like she was wondering whether he could ever truly be trusted. But he wasn’t interested in trust—not the way she thought of it.

It wasn’t love, not in the typical sense. But it was everything to him.

Her voice was quiet when she finally spoke. “I know you care, Julian. But I don’t know what you want from me.”

She didn’t get it, not yet. “I want you, Emily,” he said, leaning in a little further. His tone was almost too smooth, calculated. “In every way possible.”

A shiver passed through her, but she didn’t pull away. That was progress, he told himself. Small steps.

But he needed more than this.

“I don’t want you to just give in to me,” Julian said softly, his fingers tracing the edge of the table. “I want you to want me. To need me. Because I’ll never let you go.”

Her breath hitched, and for a moment, her guard slipped. He caught the glimmer of something—something that wasn’t fear, but something more complicated. Curiosity. Desire.

And that was the moment.

Julian reached out, his fingers brushing hers for the briefest of moments. He watched as she froze, the subtle tension in her posture telling him everything he needed to know. She was as drawn to him as he was to her, but she was afraid.

Afraid of how far this could go.

Afraid of how far he was willing to push her.

But she didn’t pull away. And that was enough for now.

His voice dropped to a whisper. “Emily, I’ll make you see that there’s no escaping me.”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***