The click of the door felt final. Anna leaned against the wood, her lungs tight as she tracked Anthony. He was sprawled on the couch, shirtless, a slow trail of smoke curling from the cigarette between his fingers. The amber light caught the hard lines of his chest, and Anna’s teeth sank into her lower lip. He looked like a predator at rest.
His gaze snapped to hers. He didn’t just look; he prowled over her with his eyes.
“When you said you were going to... punish me,” she whispered, her voice fracturing, “what did you mean?”
Anthony didn't answer immediately. He snubbed the cigarette out, his movements slow and agonizingly deliberate. He stood, stalking toward her until the heat radiating from his bare skin hit her like a wave. The air in the room turned thick, electric. He hooked a fi
