I shouldn’t have lingered outside her building.
The night air was cold, sharp against my skin, but that wasn’t what made my blood pulse faster. My mind kept replaying the way she’d looked at me—surprised, curious, a flicker of something else I couldn’t name. Desire? Fear? Maybe both.
I was supposed to be the predator. She was supposed to be the bait. And yet…
Every step I’d taken beside her, the way my shoulder had brushed hers as we walked, the subtle shift in her posture when I spoke—small, unconscious movements—had left me wired. Alert. Hungry in a way I wasn’t supposed to feel.
I told myself it didn’t matter. It was part of the plan. Get close, gain trust, pry secrets. That was it. Nothing more.
But the truth was heavier.
Her laugh—it’d been quiet, almost drowned out by the hum o
