Page 29 of Redemption

Fuck!

I’ve only been watching her for a few weeks. I was a fool to think I could fully learn her habits in that time. Abigail is quirky, difficult to pin down. I should’ve known that I couldn’t rely on her to stick to any sort of schedule.

I quickly close the laptop, and my eyes can’t quite adjust to the darkness in the absence of artificial light from the screen. Her soft footsteps pad across the living room. In less thanthree seconds, she’ll enter her bedroom and find me here. She’ll scream for help.

And I’ll end up in a cage.

I grit my teeth and dive under her bed.

I will not go to prison.

Even if the prospect of hiding from her is somewhat preposterous. It feels intrinsically wrong to be cowering in the shadows, as though this delicate woman could pose any threat to me.

But I don’t have a choice. I’ll have to remain quiet and hidden until I can slip out of her apartment without being noticed.

That might mean spending the entire night down here.

My fingernails dig into my palms, and I draw in a deep breath as quietly as I can manage.

Can she hear my heart hammering? My blood is pounding in my ears.

If I felt like I was skydiving before, now I’m in freefall without a parachute. The peril isn’t just pretend anymore. If I’m caught…

I gnash my teeth and forcibly close off that line of thinking. Spiraling into anxiety won’t help get me out of this farcical situation.

I can’t do anything except remain still and draw in careful breaths. The adrenaline thrums through me, making my limbs shaky and my mind fizzy. It’s terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure.

I’ve never experienced anything this powerful, and even though I’m losing control, I revel in the intense new emotions. Ensconced in darkness, I allow myself to sink into the fear-soaked physical responses, marveling at the way my breath shudders in and out of my tight lungs.

Even this existential dread is a gift only she can give me.

I can hardly wait for the day I feel the opposite. How visceral will my pleasure be when I finally claim her?

The prospect causes my muscles to coil in carnal anticipation, and to my shock, my cock begins to stiffen.

Before I can fully process the fact that I’m getting a hard-on, she turns on the bedside lamp. Then her soft cotton, periwinkle blue dress drops onto the hardwood floor, and I can no longer deny my erection.

Her panties drop next: pale pink cotton briefs.

I bite my tongue to hold back a hungry growl. The small rumble that manages to escape is mercifully smothered by the creaking of her aged mattress springs when she gets into bed.

Naked.

Right above me.

Her hand appears, fumbling at the floor just to the right of my head. I crane my neck to the side, and her long fingers nearly brush my hair before she feels the familiar shape of her laptop.

She picks it up, and the computer disappears along with her hand.

Damn it.

This can’t be happening. I’m going to have to listen to her typing whatever it is that absorbs her so completely, and I still won’t have a clue what she’s writing.

Within seconds, I hear the rapid tapping of her fingertips on the keyboard, but I remain completely ignorant. She’s probably typing in her password, but there’s no way to discern a pattern.

A few soft clicks. More tapping.

Faster now.