Page 4 of Scary Suitor

“I bought you dinner.” He perks up when I cast a dismissive glare at him.

Finny calls out, my name muffled by the door as she peers at the small window. She’s too far away to see us, but her rapping heels indicate she’s moving closer.

My mouth parts and Cassio swallows my scream. It’s a soft, tender kiss. One filled with passion and dancing stars behind him, gentleness not possible for a man of cruel actions. His hand around my small wrist ridicules me for not fighting, his lips smiling patronizingly against mine as he laughs at the weak trembles in my lungs, and the haunt of his massive size reminds me just how much stronger he is.

“The game isn’t over yet. You still have time, pretty.” His tongue swipes teasingly across my swollen bottom lip from his sharp bite.

I want to scratch his smug face or kick him in the stomach. Anything to prove I’ve grown and learned from his torment before I moved away, settling in this big city for the sole purpose of hiding from him.

I should’ve known better. He always seems to know where I am, as if I’m being followed and noted down to the minute.

History is going to repeat itself. But this time, I’m going to try harder to change it.

When I feel him smirk against my mouth, steering my gaze with his amused one, I sink my teeth into his lip. It’s payback, and I want him to flinch from the pain. My escape plan brings a grin to his face after the initial shock.

His tongue steals the drop of blood, green eyes darkening as hollow emotions brighten fervently.

“That’s it,” he whispers, mostly to himself. “This will be a lot more fun, don’t you think?”

He spares the small window a fleeting glance, noting Finny’s heels are louder as her curls bounce into view. Cassio walks away, stepping onto the concrete stairs without a single sound. As Finny pushes open the door, she catches the top of his head and his broad back before he disappears behind another set of railings.

“That was either a rendezvous moment with your secret lover, or I just saved you from a killer.”

I stifle a weak laugh and wipe the blood from my bottom lip, but her raised brows say otherwise. She doesn’t mention it, but I know she’s dying to ask.

“So, who is he?” she questions and holds the door open for me to leave.

“I don’t know,” I say truthfully.

I only know his name, his appearance, and that he’s the bane of my existence at the moment. I’ll join the trainee physiologist with my own existential life crisis.

I truly like this place. It’s safe, welcoming, and my neighbors were so kind to offer plenty of homecooked meals on the first day I moved in.

For someone who is practically on the run from aharmlessadmirer, I desperately took a stupid internet test about stalkers—I refuse to live like a recluse. With more connections, Cassio won’t be able to do anything dangerous.

Back when I was living at the old place, he came into physical contact with me a handful of times. None were life-threatening; he sneakily touched my arms or neck so covertly that I thought I imagined things because he blended in with people despite being a giant.

This is the first time he pushed boundaries this far.

“By the look of your face,” Finny concludes as she throws an arm around my neck to shove my face into her chest, “I’d say he’s creepy.”

That is an understatement, but my voice won’t work, so I go with another shaky smile.

“Yeah,” I croak, “I don’t know who that is.”

“If you’re really worried, you can ask the attendant to look at the records.” Finny rubs my back when she pushes the elevator’s button. Her eyes roam to the opening metal doors. “They log all key cards and pin access to the building. If you shed a tear, they’ll even let you see the CCTV.”

Cassio treads one inch on the safe side, so I’d hazard a guess he wouldn’t leave a digital footprint. Hence, trapping me in the stairwell.

“He’s probably just some guy wanting to smoke, and I caught him. I wasn’t going to report him.”

That convinces Finny as the elevator takes us to the designated floor.

“I’d report him for fire hazard,” she quips and skips out to the hall.

“Unprovoked pettiness,” I remark with a mischievous scowl.

Finny doesn’t care about the rules; she’s a troublemaker at heart, so she likes seeing people get in trouble. Often, it’s a mild nuance.

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