Enforcing Boundaries

Chapter 6

Lachlan

Magnus was in my kitchen.

I mean, I know I invited him and all, so it wasn't really a surprise, but he was actually here. I had tried all evening to imagine him here at my table, in this space I had built for myself, and it had been impossible.

I took another bite and watched him as I chewed. Magnus caught me looking and smiled, dark eyes twinkling. Tingling heat spread through me from that smile alone along with a prickling awareness of my body in relation to his. I honestly never knew I could feel this way around someone. Or about him. When Magnus was around, he consumed me. When he wasn't, I felt an emptiness that never existed before I met him, like he opened up a space in my life that only he could fill. It was alarming. I didn't like the grip he already had on me, but I didn't want to pull away either.

"What is it?" Magnus asked.

"Hmm?"

"You're looking at me funny." Dark eyes pierced me, holding me hostage. For a long moment, I couldn't break free from the intensity of his gaze.

I rolled my eyes just to show any emotion other than the ones that were making me feel so vulnerable right now. "I was just thinking."

"About?" he prodded, and took another bite.

I cursed myself for agreeing not to lie to him. This was exactly the right moment for a little white lie, but a promise was a promise. "You. I don't understand how I feel this way with you."

His eyes lit with excitement – I had noticed that they did so frequently, and it always lit a corresponding spark of excitement in me. "Feel what way?"

I shook my head. "Gonna nope out of that one," I decided.

"Aw, c'mon! Lachlan, don't tease me like this! Want me to go first?"

One look at Magnus told me he was being perfectly serious. I knew I was gaping at him, but the twist our conversation had taken was breaking my brain. Magnus took my staring as some kind of confirmation, because he said, "I think you're wonderful. I know we haven't known each other that long, but already a day without seeing you feels like a waste. A few words from you can turn around even the worst day. I want more from you, Lachlan. More talk, more time. Just... more."

Everything fled my mind except the fluttering of my own heart and Magnus' eyes fixed on mine. He smiled a little. "I said I wanted more words from you, not fewer."

That startled a laugh out of me. "Sorry. I just wasn't expecting... this."

"You weren't expecting me to tell you how I feel about you? Lachlan, wasn't it obvious? I see you every day."

I shook my head. "No... I mean, I wasn't expecting to find, well, whatever this is when I moved back here."

Magnus leaned forward and kissed me. When he pulled away, he said, "I always knew I would find you."

My heart beat quicker. How could he be saying things like this? "You don't know me that well yet, Magnus," I reminded him.

His happiness faded a bit and he shrugged. "Lachlan, I know what I feel." He casually scooped another bite into his mouth as though he wasn't shaking me with every word.

I couldn't eat. Not when I felt how unbalanced our conversation had become. Magnus gave too much. I had suspected he was the type for a while now, and every day with him only convinced me more. I glared at my plate while I searched for the right words to balance the conversation without giving him too much in return.