Page 20 of Daddies Dark Desires (Forbidden Fantasies)
Not when she opens her curtains and stands in the window in full view from her neighbor’s outdoor camera. It’s not dark yet, but it will be soon. And she sits on the windowsill with her laptop as the sun sinks in the sky, giving me a better view of her.
Soon the window creates the perfect snapshot of her form, like a painting of loneliness and loss. She’s not alone though. I’m here. Watching over her.
I’ve been here a long time, tracking her movements, being her silent protector. Since she was born, I’ve kept tabs when Ryan was away. Never anything too invasive. Just for the peace of mind that came in knowing his family was safe.
For the last year, though, I’ve delved deeper into that role. Into guarding her when she’s alone. And she’s so often on her own. Left in an empty house. Walking the streets. Half ignored by her boyfriends. A novelty to her friends.
They all slipped away since Ryan’s death. In slow increments. Distancing themselves. Or maybe Harper has been the one to pull away.
I can’t often access the audio, and I try not to invade her privacy so completely, but body language can tell me a near complete story.
The more the people in her life, the ones right there with her, slipped away, the more obsessed I’ve become with being right here.
She leans her temple against the window. No longer a brat. Just a lost young woman without the support system she deserves, something much better than my sitting in my office across the city.
Regardless of what she deserves, she’s got me. I’m not going anywhere.
I sit with her until she gets up to get ready for bed. She closes the curtains like a good girl, and I’m cut off from her, but still, I watch.
After a little while, I test her laptop and phone. The former is open, playing a movie, so I tap into her camera and disable the light that lets her know she’s being watched.
Harper is sprawled out on her bed, auburn hair fanned across her soft pink duvet. She worries her thumbnail in her teeth. The spaghetti-straps of her top fall down her shoulder as she props herself on the side.
She never wore that for Conrad, always opting for something a little skimpy. Risque.
The way she used to provoke him had me staying longer than I should have. Not that I had anyone to call me out for it. Noteven Grant or Trent know just how much I spy on Harper. How many of her intimate moments I’ve been privy to.
Once I spotted her tendency to derive punishment from her ex, to get him to watch her, let others watch, or explore in public spaces, I knew they were not a good fit.
I’m glad she’s finally let him go.
The question that lingers in the back of my mind is: would she be angry or turned on by the fact that I’ve seen her like that. That she has a peeping Tom, an unknown voyeur who can’t back off. Who invades her privacy every day.
She sighs on my screen, her chest expanding, pressing into the tight fabric around her breasts. Harper is slowly falling asleep. Her eyes drooping, head lulling.
Someone should be there to tuck her into bed. To pull the covers over her prone form.
It takes fifteen minutes for her head to fall, her arm sliding out under her cheek and her mouth parted with her soft breathing.
I stop her movie remotely and listen to her sleep.
Something inside me calms, knowing she’s safe and sound. The buzzing energy I’m used to battling when the sun goes down abates for the few hours I get before she stirs and closes her laptop.
Grant is on the fence about bugging her personal items. With doing as Trent has suggested, but it doesn’t deter me. I will bug everything I can get my hands on. I have no moral scruples to get in my way.
I pull up an encrypted email, quickly drafting a letter to Samantha about some new security equipment that I’d like to put in her house. A few abstract lines of jargon that she won’t understand but sound important.
What it really means is that I’ll be putting hidden cameras throughout their house. Sensors for when someone enters andexits their property. More security outside, too. I want access to every inch of the place.
I frame the request-slash-offer around keeping Harper safe after everything that’s happened. Now that she’s joined the family business. Now that she’s one of ours.
Can I stop by tomorrow while no one’s home to install it?
Samantha’s agreement comes in just before midnight, and I finally abandon my vigil in my office to gather supplies for the morning.
I’ll be hitting Harper’s place right as she’s arriving at the office.
7
