five
Zane
A smug smilestugs at my lips as I watch my little Annie getting ready for bed. She's smiling, and it fills me with a sense of pride that I'm the one who put that smile on her face.
She has a dreamy look in her eyes, and I feel something I've never felt before take wing inside my chest.
Hope.
It's a light, floaty feeling that's completely foreign to me.
I don't quite know what to do with it.
I was the perfect gentleman with Anne. I held the door open for her, paid for her coffee, asked her about herself as if I didn't already know everything, walked her to her door. I was dying to kiss her, and there was a moment there when she turned those pretty blue eyes up at me that I thought she wanted the same.
But she just met me today, and I don't want to rush things. I don't want to spook her.
Plus, I'm honestly afraid once I get my lips on her, there will be no going back.
I don't know if I'll be able to stop myself from owning her completely.
I didn't do more than hold her hand or place my palm against the small of her tiny back, and even those meager touches were enough to have me stiff as a board in my pants.
I frown and feel that tightness return to my chest, though, when I think about Anne asking about me. Of course she'd been curious to know more about me. What I did for work. I told her I was a consultant, which isn't a lie. I just didn't specify what kind of consultant. How old I was. Thirty-two. Ten years older than her. She didn't seem to mind, thank fuck.
I run my thumb along my bottom lip as I contemplate how our relationship is going to go. Relationships are built on trust and honesty—or so I've heard.
How am I ever going to tell her how long I've been watching her? My stomach sours just at the thought of her finding out about the cameras I have in her apartment. I know my Anne, and I know she's not going to be happy about that if she finds out.
So, what do I do? I finally have the girl of my dreams within my grasp. Do I keep my obsession from her forever? Won't she run as far away from me as she can get if she finds out how I've invaded her privacy?
A cold sweat starts to break out on my forehead just at the thought of it. I couldn't ever let her run away from me. I'd have to track her down and kidnap her. I can't live without her.
I can't.
I get anxiety if I go too long without checking the cameras to see her.
Once she’s tucked safely into bed, I close the feed and head out to take care of a few jobs.
First, though, I have a little stop to make.
To a certain young teacher who had the audacity to touch what's mine.