Page 45 of His Coveted Obsession

“I have no concept of what is too soon or not for love.”

His laugh was self-deprecating. “Yeah, me neither. I’ve never been in love before.”

“Good. I want to be the only one ever. But while I understand the concept of love, I can’t feel it, Thomas.”

His brows furrowed, and he frowned, which I didn’t like. “What do you mean?”

“I’m incapable of feeling such things.”

Thomas thought about my words in silence as his hand trailed along my face, down my throat, and along my shoulder. “Hmm, I don’t agree. Maybe you don’t understand entirely what it feels like, but you express it all the time. There are many ways to love.”

“Luca said something similar.”

“Luca? Who the hell is Luca?”

I grinned at his jealousy. Now he understood that inner rage. “Another family member. But explain how I express it.”

“Phew, I was about to get all pissy because you said you’ve never been with anyone else.”

I kissed the tip of his nose. “I do enjoy your jealousy.”

He looked up at me with wide blue eyes, but they weren’t just wide. Thomas was giving me a look that was more than worship. Was that love? Was that how it looked? His hands roved across my chest and over my arms. “To answer your question, you take such good care of me, and you protect me, like you would hurt anyone who harmed me. Not only that, but you need me and want to be around me all the time.”

“Because you give me things, and I feed off your desire for me. You also meet all my needs. That’s all.”

He huffed a laugh. “Isn’t that what love is? It’s about give and take. I take from you. You take from me. We both give back to each other to keep those transactions going, right?”

“I suppose…”

“I get what you’re saying. We haven’t known each other for long, but I’ve learned that you’re different. You think differently, behave differently, talk differently… Why wouldn’t you love differently? Those things, especially, were what drew me to you; that, and your straightforwardness. Maybe you don’t feel the same way I do, but I think you like me and want to be around me.”

“I do. You’re right about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I would hurtanyonewho ever harmed you. They would pay dearly.”

His smile was sweet and tender, his eyes filled with adoration. “See? If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”

“The one thing that pleases me most is that I have your love. That means I have all of you… heart, soul, and mind. It’s mine to covet.”

“Definitely… all of me, Superman.”

I leaned down to kiss him quickly before helping him up. “You look tired, so you need your rest.”

I led him back to my bedroom, both of us still naked. “Do you need to shower?”

“Do I have to have one?” he yawned, swaying where he stood.

“No.”

“Sorry, I get up so early, so I get tired early.”

I said nothing as we slid under the cool sheets. When I held out my arm, he curled into me, resting a hand on my chest and a leg over my thigh. My arm wrapped around him as I watched him doze off, his fingers twitching on my chest.

Was he right about love? Maybe I’d gotten it all wrong. Between what he explained and how Luca explained it, maybe therewere different forms of love. I still couldn’t feel it, not like others could. Before, I hadn’t cared. Now I did.

I had a surprise for him, but since he was already out, it could wait for the morning.

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