Page 124 of His To Erase
That voice—Jesus. It slides over my skin like smoke and settles between my legs like it pays rent. I hate how fast it happens too. How my body reacts like it’s his problem to solve. Wait, what did he just say?
I blink, trying to keep my spine straight. “Was that supposed to scare me?”
“It’s supposed to make you think.”
“I’m not here for philosophy,” I bite. “I’m here because you don’t know how to stay the fuck out of my life.”
He stares at me and the look in his eyes is lethal. “You think it’s me.”
It’s not a question.
“Don’t act like it’s a reach,” I say. “You’ve shown up out of nowhere. You’ve been in places I’m at. You’ve been circling me since day one like—like you’re waiting for something.”
There’s that fucking smile again. I wish I wasn’t paying such close attention to him, and wouldn’t notice the way his shirt clings to every cut line of his chest. Or the way he smells—like cedar and violence. I also wish my thighs weren’t currently pressed together right now.
“That’s cute,” he murmurs, eyes gleaming. “You think this is about you.”
My jaw tightens.
“It’s always going to be about me when I’m the one being followed.”
His gaze sharpens. “You sure I’m the one following?”
I step in, close enough to feel the heat coming off him. My heart’s pounding like a threat against my ribs, and it’s getting harder to tell if I want to hit him or kiss him.
“Then what the hell are you doing here?”
He leans in, just enough to steal the air between us. “Watching.”
“Why?”
His voice drops. “Because someone needs to.”
I blink. That wasn’t the answer I expected. But it’s not a denial either. My pulse stumbles—just a beat—but I recover.What’s that supposed to mean?
“Who else would send that photo?” I hiss. “Who else knows where I live? What I wear? Who I’m with?”
Something flickers behind his eyes. And for the first time, I think—fuck—maybe I’m actually onto something here. He straightens slowly, and it’s fucking lethal because he towers over me.
“Must be someone close, then,” his tone is smooth, but there’s something behind it. “Someone you let in.”
My jaw clamps shut. That lands too hard and way too close to the truth I don’t want to admit. He’s saying it like it’s my fault someone crawled through the cracks and started pulling threads.This is what I get for letting anyone in at all.
I bite the inside of my cheek. Hard. Well, he can fuck right off. This isn’t my fault.
“I didn’t let anyone in,” I snap. “They just… found a way.”
He studies me in silence. It’s the kind of still that says he’s cataloguing every word I’ve ever said and storing it for later. Every fucking blink feels like a risk with him.
“So, because I look at you, and know what I’d do if I had you,” he says, “you think I’m…?”
The air leaves my lungs in a rush. I try to recover but I fumble—my whole nervous system flares like it’s on fire and he’s theone holding the match. My skin is too tight and my throat is now too dry. Suddenly I’m back to picturing what he’s capable of…in bed.God, Ani, not now.
“You don’t even know me,” I manage, though it sounds more like a dare than a defense.
“Don’t I?”
His voice drops another octave, and my insides do that awful traitorous thing where they clench in all the wrong places.
