Page 73 of Coerced Kiss
He only looks at me with a tight-set jaw.
Something in his obstinate, non-faltering gaze sets my instinct on high alert.
“What are you doing in my apartment, Saverio?”
Still, he doesn’t reply.
Why do I get the feeling it’s because he knows I’m not going to like the answer?
Striking out fast, I snatch the box from him. He could’ve easily prevented me from taking it by simply raising it above his head or wrenching it out of my fingers. I can never win against him in physical strength. Yet he didn’t. He allowed me to grabthat box either because he doesn’t care that I know what the content is or he thinks the fight isn’t worth it.
Holding my breath, I peer inside. Electronics fill the bottom. Between a crow’s nest of wires, button-sized microphones peek out as well as the lenses of … cameras.
My heartbeat picks up as betrayal rushes hot through my veins. When I lift my head, he meets my eyes unflinchingly.
“You spied on me,” I say in a breathless whisper.
That’s what he came to remove—surveillance equipment.
He doesn’t deny the statement. He only stands there and looks at me with a stony expression.
I take a step backward. “You son of a bitch.”
“Anya.” His voice holds a warning. “You know why it was necessary.”
It never crossed my mind. Shit. I’m such an idiot. I really am no match for him, not on any level.
“You… You intruded on my privacy,” I say, shaking with the injustice of the invasive act.
“Does that shock you?”
I clench my fingers around the box. “You bastard.”
“Are you upset with me or about your naivety?”
Tears of anger burn behind my eyes. “What about your house? Are there cameras there too?”
His answer is gruff. “It’s not necessary. We had the chat about obedience. I think you understand what’s at stake.”
My eyes flare as a thought hits me. “Did you watch me while I was naked?”
“No,” he says, his manner frank.
I search his face, looking for the lie, but he watches me with a serious, open expression, allowing me to see the truth.
“Why not?” I’m not sure if I believe him. “Why didn’t you?” I challenge him with a question, mocking his alleged chivalry. “Wasn’t it tempting?”
He closes the distance between us, stopping so close to me that the box is trapped between us. His pale blue eyes play over my face as he says in a soft but dark voice, “The first time I look at your naked body, it won’t be through the lens of a camera. The day you shed your clothes for me, I’ll be close enough to smell you.” Bending down, he inhales deeply as he presses a promise on my ear. “To touch you. To taste you.”
I backtrack so fast I almost drop the box.
A lazy smile tilts his lips as he reaches out and gently but firmly takes the box from me. “My question to you is why areyouhere?”
I’m still reeling from what he said. What hemeant. “I told you I was going to come over to give Livy notice.”
Wait. Why am I explaining myself to him?
“I remember.” He gives me a half-smile. “My men informed me that you were on your way, but this isn’t Livy’s apartment, is it?”