Page 18 of Somebody's Watching Me
Something that was already his.
She just didn’t know it yet.
Reaching around, he pulled his shirt off, needing to feel the air on his skin. He would be nearly naked by the time they finished, so he might as well get started.
The condo was dark, leaving only the glow of the monitors. His heart hammered with anticipation as he waited, beating in time to the seconds passing at an agonizingly slow pace.
Yet the doors remained closed, and Rowan’s lips twitched. She was punishing him. Earlier in the week, she had gone to dinner with someonenew, and her date’s credit card kept declining when it came time to pay the bill.
A terrible thing, really.
Unfortunately, this was the third date in recent months to run into this predicament, and he had a feeling she was finally catching on.
But even angry, she couldn’t stay away.
The phone on his desk pinged with a message.
Ready?
The word had him unzipping his jeans to free himself from the tight strain against the material. Fridays were his favorite day of the week. Fridays were just for him.
He snatched the phone up to text a reply.
Ready.
Ever so slowly, the balcony doors opened one at a time to reveal a solitary chair in a shadowed bedroom. It sat on the edge of the door frame, and out of sight from anyone who might be wandering around the grounds or second-floor balcony.
Not that Haven had many residents these days. Not like when Rowan first learned of its existence. After the capture of Tobias Miller, his Aunt Viv told him the whole sickening truth, and at first, he’d found it hard to believe.
But as he and Annabeth became first friends, and now… this, Rowan accepted that as fantastical as it sounded, the truth behind the Fairweather family story was very real and rivaled his own family’s drama.
Which was crazy because he thought no one could beat the McIntyres in the family drama department.
Rowan laid the phone on his bare chest, keeping it close to answer the call that would eventually ring through. His beautiful girl liked his voice in her ear when she fell apart. She needed to hear the words he would someday whisper when he took her in real life.
Soon.
This frustrating wall she’d built between them was wearing on his patience. Wanting her from the moment he laid eyes on her through Haven’s security system, Rowan had been all in from the start. Annabeth had stepped onto the porch to water the plethora of plants spread across every available space, and it was as if his heart stopped. Calibrating the security cameras from his office that day irrevocably changed his life forever.
And the nearly transparent dress she had been wearing had nearly done him in entirely.
Feeling horrible for spying, he immediately exited the feed. However, the urge to see her overrode his better judgment, and he started logging in daily. He would listen as she talked to the plants or all those freaking cats around the house. There were even times when he found himself having one-sided conversations right along with her.
But the days of talking to himself were over. Replaced first by casual chats before transforming into long, in-depth moments where they truly came to know one another.
Annabeth Howard was everything he wanted in life. The only thing left to do was help her see how special this thing between them could be.
On the screen, the chair remained empty, and when she still didn’t appear a few minutes later, he texted her.
You’ve tortured me enough. Come out.
Next to the chair was a small folding table, or Annabeth’s workbench, as they called it. A place where she kept toys of various shapes and sizes at the ready. Tools she used on herself while he watched. Leaning forward, Rowan looked over the inventory with a grin. Hot pink seemed to be the theme for tonight.
His phone buzzed with Annabeth’s name glowing brightly. Answering the call, Rowan remained silent until she spoke.
“How many dates have you gone on in the last month?”
Oh, yeah. She was pissed.
