Page 66 of In Shadows We Dance

Her window opens easily. Amateur locks for people with so much to hide.

The camera hangs around my neck as I sneak inside, and I give my eyes a second to adjust to the darkness. She’s curled on her side, one hand tucked under her cheek, looking so fucking vulnerable it makes my blood sing.

Click.The curve of her hip beneath thin sheets.

Click.Hair like spilled ink across her pillow.

Click.My boot scraping the floorboards, making her eyes snap open.

“Hello, pretty Ballerina. Did you miss me?”

She jerks upright, pressing against the headboard, the sheet pooling around her hips. Her tank top reveals bare skin, soft, and my fingers itch to touch.

Click. Her pulse thrumming at her throat.

Click. Her eyes darting, calculating the distance between us and the door.

"Don’t bother." I step in front of the door, blocking her escape. "We both know you’re not calling for Daddy. Too many questions you’re not ready to answer."

"How did you get in?"

"Through the window." I take a step closer. She shrinks back. "Like I have every night this week. You sleep like a princess."

The lie lands perfectly. Her eyes widen, scanning her room for signs of intrusion, trying to remember. I lift the camera, capturing her panic.

"You’re lying."

"Am I?" I turn the camera display toward her. The photograph from this morning—sunlight kissing her skin. "You look so peaceful when you sleep.”

I show her another photograph. “Sometimes you whisper my name."

She draws her knees to her chest, trying to make herself smaller. But I’ve seen too much. I own too much of her to let her hide now.

"I saw you today." I sit on her bed, the mattress dipping, drawing her closer. "Watching that couple. Touching that dress." My eyes find hers. "Realizing how suffocating it is to be invisible?"

"Stop—"

"Stop what? Telling the truth?" My fingers catch her chin, tilting her face to mine. "Aren’t you tired? Tired of staying hidden? Tired of being nothing?"

She stops breathing.

Click. Confusion frozen in her gaze.

"You don’t know anything about my family."

"Don’t I?" I lean in, brushing my nose against hers. Her breath shudders, warmth mingling with mine.

“I know how your father checks the locks three times every night,” I whisper. “How your mother only shops at stores without security cameras.That’sgetting harder by the day, isn’t it? Which is why you’ve been assigned to do the grocery shopping now. How every bill is paid in cash, on time, leaving no trace.”

“That’s not … you can’t …”

I brace one arm against the headboard, leaning closer. "Can’t what? Watch you? Follow you? Know you? I’ve been doing it far longer than you think. Since before that spilled drink."

It’s a lie, but it doesn’t matter. It gives me the reaction I want. Her breath catches, a soft little exhale that fuels me. I lift the camera hanging from my neck and snap the moment.

Click. Her pupils dilating, wide with disbelief.

Click. Her lips part, ready to deny my claim.

---