Page 10 of Peep

Finally, I land on the camera feed named Jay. I scan the reception to make sure no one is around. My heart rate picks up as I take in the perfect view of Jahmar’s bed, side tables, and mirrored wardrobe. There’s nowhere to hide. I can see everything he’ll get up to in that room. My cock twitches behind my snug trousers. I’ve not seen anything yet, but knowing I might is exhilarating. Thoughts of Jahmar laid out on that bed with his thick thighs spread, slamming that purple dildo in and out of his hungry hole is enough to make my cock fully thicken.

“Anders, get off yuh phone an’ du some wuk,” Femi playfully scolds.

I flinch, quickly logging out of the app. Fuck, for someone who participates in mild stalking, I let too many people creep up on me.

“Sure, ok. Sorry.”

“Wah happen? Yuh look paler dan usual.” Femi chuckles and squeezes my shoulder as she passes by.

“I’m good. I’m gonna do my walk around,” I mumble, climbing to my feet and darting out of reception.

I need to get a grip, and it starts with removing that camera. What the fuck was I thinking?

Chapter 6

Jahmar

You’d think I’d get used to these awful hours, but nope. My body feels like a sack of rocks. Even lifting my hand to rub my itchy, bloodshot eyes takes a momentous effort. I have to keep reminding myself this won’t last forever. I just need to build up enough courage to face my final patient, and then I can put that dark part of my life to rest.

There’s a flutter in my stomach as I enter Emeralds. Anders eyes dart up from across the front desk. His pupils instantly blow out, hiding those sky-blue irises as he takes me in. He drops hishead and mumbles something I can only guess is insulting while shuffling paperwork.

He warned me off and told me to keep it professional, which only increased my intrigue. I spent most of my shift trying to dissect our last interaction. Something had his hackles rising when I joked about him being in my apartment.What are you hiding, Anders Erickson?

I approach the desk and casually lean against it, allowing a smug grin to stretch across my face as Anders huffs and puffs like an angry lion cub. I strum my fingers on the dark wood, hoping it will make him crack and speak to me. Unfortunately, he’s more stubborn than I thought, and he continues scanning a leaflet like it’s the most fascinating thing in the world. I lean closer to see what he’s reading and puff out a laugh.

“If you’re ordering, I’ll have chicken chow mein.”

Anders finally graces me with a deadly look, eyes pinched into tiny slits while grinding his teeth. A fire builds in my stomach before heading further south. Fuck, why is he so hot when he’s furious?

“Did I not make myself clear earlier?”

“I don’t think asking you to order me a takeaway falls into the unprofessional category. I’m a tenant, after all. Whatever happened to customer satisfaction?” I tease, giving him an eyebrow flash to add extra insult.

He releases a blaring groan I’m sure is supposed to make him sound exasperated, but over the last six months, I’ve realised it’s the sound he usually makes before his walls crumble.

“Why do you have to be such a pest?” he complains, returning to the takeaway menu. There’s no way he’s ordering this early. It’s 7 a.m., but if it helps him keep that indifferent persona intact, so be it.

“I could ask you the same. Why were you snooping around my apartment?” I joke, hoping I’m well off the mark and his reaction earlier was coincidental.

His breath catches, and the leaflet trembles in his slender hand.

Anders is silent for several moments before he sucks in a deep breath and looks me right in the eyes. I raise a quizzical eyebrow at him. He scrunches up the paper in his hand and slams it onto the desk, making me flinch. Here we go; let’s have it.

“I’m not interested in you, your apartment, or your sad little life.” His eye twitches as he says this—filthy little liar.

He abruptly leans back from the front desk, composes himself, and forces a smile.

“Hey, Lena,” Anders cheerfully greets the daytime concierge, who must’ve sneaked in behind me.

“Hiya, sorry I’m late, love. There’s already traffic at this time. Hi, Mr Walker, you getting back or heading out?” Lena rambles, hair flying everywhere like she just ran a half marathon.

“You’re three minutes late, don’t sweat it.” Anders rolls his eyes. At least I’m not the only one on the receiving end of those looks.

“Hey, just got back, bloody knackered. Can’t wait to get into bed,” I pleasantly reply while watching as Anders’ brows shoot up. He quickly recovers, fumbling to log off the computer.

“I bet, love,” Lena says, smiling at me before heading into the break room off the side of the front desk.

Anders stares at me blankly until the door slides open again, welcoming two cleaning staff. The commotion must reboot his brain because he comes from behind the desk and joins Lena in the break room.