ARIA
For a moment, I lost my breath. The box in my hands felt suddenly weightless, the noise of the city dimmed into a distant hum, and all I could hear was the sharp, surprised rhythm of my own heartbeat. Luca stood in front of me, close enough that I could see the faint drops of sweat clinging to the collar of his T-shirt, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body, and close enough that the mate bond surged like a living thing beneath my skin.
His blue eyes, calm, steady, and unreadable, held mine just long enough to make the world tilt. I finally forced myself to blink, to draw in a shaky breath, to step backward even though he still lightly held the bottom of the box to keep it steady.
“What… what are you doing here?” I managed. My voice came out thinner than I
