My heart stumbled over itself. Like four beats missed—at least. But his eyes didn’t waver. Not even for a second, as if he meant every word.
They hardened slightly the moment I parted my lips to spew what he assumed was nonsense. And before I could help myself, I stepped closer, my voice finding me before logic could stop it.
“Did you just admit to stalking me?” I demanded. “You rented this house just because I did. You bought every other property so I wouldn’t have anywhere else to go.”
I moved another step, even knowing I shouldn’t. This should be the moment where I stayed away from him, away from those eyes thathad not blinked once since he looked up at me “What are you? A serial killer? You just said I’m the one you want.”
He pushed off the counter with a calmness that made my blood runcold. There was a quiet, stalking grace to the way he walked, like he knew exactly how fast to move to trap something already panicked.
Fuck.
I backed up immediately, my pulse roaring in my ears.Don’t touch me,my mind screamed.Don’t come near me.I remembered too well what had happened last time. How I’d frozen. How his hand had touched me and my body had obeyed him before it obeyed me.
But that wasn’t the worst of it.
Now I knew he wasn’t human. And if I ever let him touch me again, I might never crawl my way back from whatever power lived in his skin.
Still, no matter how far I edged away, he came forward in an impossibly calm manner.
I glanced back, only to realise I was just three steps away from the wall. Unless I turned for the stairs right now and locked myself in my room, he’d corner me.
And he might touch me.
Swallowing, I took another step back. Then I fisted my hands and bolted for the first step. Successfully, my foot landed on the second step as well, but another couldn’t touch the third step because a large arm wrapped around my stomach like a chain and lifted me clean off the ground.
Just like that.
I gasped, gripping his sleeve on instinct, my back hitting his chest for one breathless second. It happened in one blink. One terrifying blink.
Then, just as quickly, I was spun and was pressed right against the wall I’d tried to escape.
My feet found the floor, but I couldn’t feel them properly. My lungs struggled to sync with the jackhammer of my heart. I could barely breathe, let alone speak. Words filled my mind, screaming and blaring, but none escaped my mouth.
He leaned in, one arm braced on each side of me, trapping me between his body and the wall. No part of him was touching me, but the weight of the close distance between us, the heat of him, and just him in general overwhelmed me.
I couldn’t even look him in the eye. I wouldn’t. Because if I did—
“Look at me.”
My heart flipped.
“Stay away from me,” I said, forcing the words through my tight throat. “Don’t touch me.” I didn’t want to touch him either.
“Look at me.”
I shook my head.
Then his voice deepened, like he didn’t fancy disrespect. “Sanora.”
The sound of my name on his tongue shot through me like a drug, one that left goosebumps racing over my skin, blooming at my spine, curling into my core and igniting something I didn’t have a name for. My stomach clenched, my legs ached to run, but they’d turned jelly
I whispered, “How do you know my name?”
“Look. At. Me.”
“How long have you been watching me?” I whispered again, panic fighting its way back into my chest. “Who are you?”
He moved, lifting a hand from the wall and reaching for my face. I jerked.
