Are You Ready?
Adrian
“I don’t have a death wish.” Cally lifts his hands in surrender, a nervous chuckle escaping.
Good, he should be nervous.
“You’re goddamn lucky you pushed her away.”
I crack my neck as I approach him, fire still burning in my chest—roaring, demanding release.
“She’s spicy, man. That chick has no interest in me. She did that all for you.”
He’s laughing and shaking his head as I reach him. We both look toward the building and see her turn the corner toward the elevators.
The anger I was feeling a few minutes ago morphs into something different. I glance at my watch. Twenty minutes. Enough time for her to think she’s in the clear—before I remind her she’s not.
“So, what’s next, man?” Cally stretches his arms over his head.
I pull my phone from my pocket and flip open the cam app. Lex is inside her apartment, her back pressed to the door. Even through the grainy footage, I can see the way her chest rises and falls, and if I were a betting man, I’d say that whole scene left her equal parts terrified and turned on.
She lifts the jersey over her head and lets it fall. The weight on my chest lifts—just slightly. She’s left in that skirt, fingers already unzipping, tugging it down.
Cally leans over to peer at my phone and sucks in a breath of approval, reminding me he is still here. I elbow him away.
No fucking chance he is seeing her like this.
Not him.
Not anyone.
I’ll rip his fucking eyes out.
“You’re so fucked.” He laughs.
“Get the fuck outta here, man. I need to teach her a lesson.”
My eyes are glued to her on the small screen as she unclasps her bra and drops it to the floor before entering her bathroom.
Cally’s voice fades as he speaks.
“Got it, bro. Don’t do anything crazy.”
She’s walking out of the bathroom toward the camera. Tits bouncing with her steps, hair pulled up in a messy bun.
“Yeah, yeah. Go. The. Fuck. Away.” I bite out.
Blood pounds in my ears. My dick throbs—aching, demanding relief.
His laugh is the last thing I hear before his SUV door slams shut, and he speeds off. I shift my gaze up toward her floor. I’ve memorized which balcony is hers. The living room light goes dark. On the screen, she’s already in her bedroom.
Showtime.
As I head back to my truck, I grab the backpack that has been stored there for the last few weeks. I am waiting for the perfect opportunity or excuse to use its contents. I loiter near the entrance long enough for someone else to arrive. I walk up behind them, keeping my head down and a distance that won’t trigger their fight-or-flight response.
Building security is a farce.
As I ride the elevator to her floor, I open the camera in her room. She’s lying in bed and— fuck, is she touching herself? I had planned to wait for her to fall asleep, but this is even better. I walk with purpose to her door, pulling out my keys and slowly slipping them into the lock. The new lock served two purposes. Providing me with the key, I need to simplify my entry and eliminate the ancient lock that made a loud clunk sound when turned, which was previously there. I ease the door to her place open. It is dark inside. The only light coming softly from under the door to her room. I’ve barely closed the door when her fucking cat runs up to me and loudly meows.
I freeze, grabbing my phone.
She is entirely still in her bed. I can see that her eyes are wide.
Fuck you, cat. You weird, inside-out little freak.
I kick at it with my boot, and it hisses at me.
I am going to throw this fucking thing off the balcony.
Movement on the video stream catches my attention. She is slowly standing up from her bed.
She knows I’m here, so I don’t bother to lighten my steps as I move toward her bedroom, eyes locked on the screen, seeing her register the sound. She stops moving toward her door and starts backing away from it. I pause just outside. The anticipation is killing me slowly, but I can’t resist drawing this out. Watching the way her body responds to her increasing fear. I swing my bag off my shoulder, letting it hit the bedroom door, and fall to the floor. She jumps violently, her arms wrapping around her bare chest.
“Hello?” She calls out.
Placing my hands on either side of the door, I let my head fall against it, making a soft thud sound. My dick is so hard that it presses painfully against the inside of my pants.
I wait. Working to control my breathing.
I wait. Watching her on the camera.
She doesn’t move for her phone. She stays where she is, and I swear her thighs rub together.
I wait until she starts to wonder if she imagined it all. Her shoulders relax a little, and that’s when I move. Reaching for the handle, I push the door open hard.
She gasps—a sharp inhale—flinching as the door slams into the wall.
Despite watching her on the cameras, I still lose my breath when I take her in. She’s wearing a tiny white shirt that’s so thin it’s transparent and so short that it just covers her full, round breasts. Her long dark hair is a mess around her. Bright, bold tattoos cover nearly every inch of her. Her chest rises and falls, and she instinctively wraps her arms around her middle as if she can hide from me.
Keep it together.
I take a step forward, and she mirrors it, stepping away. The movement brings a devilish grin to my face, and I take another.
Step.
I continue, watching her move back more and more until she bumps into the dresser on the edge of the room.
“Now, where will you go?” I ask. My tone is so low and dark that I barely recognize it.
Step.
Well done.
Her eyes shift around the room and then back to me. I keep advancing.
Step.
“You know. I pulled a lot of strings to get you those tickets.”
Confusion spreads across her face. She already forgot about the tickets.
Step.
“Called in favors that have been owed longer than I care to admit. Then you gave them away. Imagine the hurt I felt seeing those two fucking idiots in the seats I sacrificed to get you.”
Her eyes widen.
Step.
“Then, you show up in his fucking jersey. It’s a blatant disrespect. Could only have been worse if you were fucking him in the stands.”
Step.
“Adrian—”
My glare is so lethal that she stops instantly.
“His filthy fucking hands all over you. At my event. With my team watching as he defiled what belongs to me.”
Step.
The distance between us is negligible at this point. I can feel her breath rushing in and out and the heat coming off her skin. I look down at her body, licking my lips.
Step.
I am pressed against her now. I can feel her heart as it hammers wildly.
“But it was Colton. That was the icing on the fucking cake. You made a pass at one of my best friends. Knowing what that would do to me. Knowing what it would do to our friendship.”
There is a drawn-out silence between us. She holds my stare. Her blue eyes are darker than usual, almost gun-metal gray. She huffs an indignant sigh, breaking the trance those eyes held me in for a second. I slam my hands up on either side of her head, the sound of them hitting the walls making her jump again.
“So, Lex…” My head dips, voice a dark whisper against her lips.
“Are you ready for your punishment?”