I should feel exposed. Violated. And the sick part, the dangerous part, is how much I like it.
Not the idea of being stalked. The reality of being seen and known this fully.
“Since when?”
He steps closer, still not touching. Just a gravitational pull that makes me forget what I was even asking.
“Since right after the second note.”
My pulse stutters. “You’ve been watching me since the start.”
He lets the weight of it hang between us—what it means to stalk a woman that long without her knowing. To track her footsteps. Memorize her rituals. Learn the shape of her silence and the frequency of her fear. To become fluent in a life not yours to touch.
He saw everything. And I’m not recoiling.
I’m throbbing.
I turn to face him, tilting my chin up, meeting his eyes without blinking. “You watched me sleep.”
“Yes.”
“You saw me undress.”
“I’m well acquainted with every inch of your body.”
A sharp breath escapes me.
“You watched me masturbate when I was alone. And you got off on it.”
He doesn’t smile. Doesn’t flinch. Just nods once. “I did. Often. Do you like knowing that?”
I want to deny it and keep some shred of moral high ground, butthe heat in my belly betrays me. The ache between my legs won’t let me lie.
There was a part of me that sensed his eyes on my skin some nights. A part of me that moved slower, bent farther, and undressed with more deliberation. I was performing for an audience I couldn’t see but could sense.
Of course I didn’t know for sure, but I suspected. And I think some part of me hoped.
Now, looking into his eyes—hunger coiled beneath restraint—I realize I was never the one holding the reins here.
“You like having my eyes on you, don’t you?”
The words scrape my throat raw. “I do.”
He pulls me against him—not painfully. Just enough to saymine.
“Mmm… that’s my good girl.”
I tremble as he leans in, his mouth brushing mine.
“I watched because I couldn’tnotwatch.”
He kisses me, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth, then releases it.
“I stalked you because I’m obsessed.”
My knees weaken, and my breath stutters, my body pressing into his. I’ve been starving for this.
“I watched because you’re the most dangerous, beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And I wanted you before I was sure of how far I’d go to have you.”
