Chapter 19: DEALING WITH PESTS

DANTE

I waited until I heard her lock click shut before I moved.

I walked to the door and stood there for a moment with my hand on my own doorknob, listening to make sure she wasn't coming back out. The building was quiet except for the hum of the elevator descending and when I was certain she was gone I finally let myself inside.

I walked to the drawer in my bedroom closet which had a hidden false panel I had installed the first week I moved in. No one besides me knew it existed and no one else would. I knelt down and opened it then placed the spare key to her apartment into a small box in it as well as the three other copies I made and the old one I had.

My eyes slid to the coffee cup in the box. She had used it a few weeks back when she came to have breakfast and as I washed other dishes, I kept this one just as it was because her lipstick was still on the rim and sometimes at night, I'd take it out and trace the mark with my finger, imagining what I'd feel like to have her lips on mine.

But now I knew and it was better than I had ever imagined. I smiled at that.

There was a black shirt folded carefully in the corner which still faintly had her scent on it mixed with laundry detergent. I'd taken it from her apartment over a month ago when I picked her lock while she was at a shoot. I knew she wouldn't miss it because she had five others like this.

I held it up, pressed it to my face and took a deep breath. The scent was fading but I could still catch traces of it if I concentrated hard enough.

My hand moved down my body without thinking and gripped myself through my jeans as I imagined her in this shirt and nothing else, bent over her counter while I fucked her until she didn't remember anything existed outside me. I wanted to watch her bite her lips, trying to hold back a moan then I'll kiss her, tasting her soft lips with my hand threaded through her hair.

I wanted more. I wanted to devour every inch of her body right now. I could slip into her house right now and finally touch her the way I'd been imagining for eight months.

But I had to wait, I was close to the end game now and couldn't fuck that up.

Two more weeks or less if I sped things up and she'll no longer be able to stay in her apartment and like a knight, I'd be right there to save her and have her move in with me. Once she does, she'll never leave.

I stroked myself a few more times, moaning her name then when I was done, I carefully refolded it and put it back where it belonged. Next to the short were dozens of photos I had printed from the surveillance footage. Pictures of her sleeping mostly, then working and the hot one of her in the shower which made  cum so hard a few days ago.

Her nipples stood perky as the water cascaded down her body and then another was her completely naked on her bed, touching herself but completely unaware of me watching her. As much as I loved her body, I loved her more.

My favorite picture was from last week when she sat at her desk with the afternoon light coming in and hitting her at an angle that made her look ethereal. I'd stared at that photo for an hour trying to figure out what it was about her that had destroyed my ability to think rationally.

There were also receipts in the box of every purchase she'd made in the last six months that I'd managed to access through her compromised phone. Coffee orders, grocery lists, the new camera lens she'd bought last month. I knew what she spent money on, where and when. Every transaction in  her life, I knew it.

At the bottom of the drawer was my black, leather journal filled with detailed entries about every interaction we'd had since I'd planned our meeting. I pulled it out now and flipped to today's date.

“She let me in, finally, and kissed me back like she'd been thinking about it as long as I have. She tasted so sweet and I had to stop myself from taking more than she was ready to give because I want her willing to submit to me when she’s ready.

The peony worked too. She was terrified when she came home and found it and called me immediately just like I knew she would. Now I have a key she gave me willingly and permission to install cameras she thinks will keep her safe. She has no idea the cameras are for me, not her.

Two more weeks she's mine permanently. She doesn't know it yet but the decision's already made. She's just living through the course of my plan until she realizes the only safe place left is with me.”

I pressed the peony petal I'd saved between the pages. She'd kept the flower in water overnight before throwing it away this morning but I'd retrieved it from her trash, taken one perfect petal, and pressed it flat to preserve it.

I locked the journal and put everything back in its place, closed the drawer, replaced the false panel, and stood up feeling calmer than I had all day.

This was my daily routine. Coming back here after being with her and reminding myself of how much I'd already done, how far I'd already come and how close I was to having everything I wanted. It centered me when I felt like I was spiraling out of control with wanting her.

Though lately even the routine wasn't enough. I used to have more control than this, I used to be more patient but I was running crazy not having her submit to me yet. I found myself thinking of shortcuts to take to get her but it was too dangerous.

I pulled out my phone and opened the surveillance app. She was in her apartment, coffee in hand, sitting on her couch with her laptop and still wearing the clothes from breakfast which meant she hadn't left yet and probably wouldn't for another hour based on her usual schedule.

I texted her: Can't stop thinking about last night.

Then watched through the camera as her phone lit up she read it with a smile on  face before typing back.

Her: Me neither.

That smile. That was what I was working for so that she would smile all day thinking about me. I would be her savior couldn't do without.

I was so focused on watching her that I almost didn't notice my phone buzzing with another text.

Marco: Yuna's digging deeper. She found building permits and ownership records. She might get through your fake name soon.

My jaw tightened. I'd hoped the first warning would be enough and she’d back off but apparently, that wasn't enough.

I pulled up my laptop and opened the file I'd been keeping on Yuna Park which contained her schedule, routines, the route she took to work and even where she liked to have coffee. I'd started tracking her two weeks ago when it became clear she wasn't going to stop asking questions about me.

She was a fucking pest.

I typed back to Marco: Time to motivate her to stop. I need you to send three guys but I don't want anything violent. Just… shake her up a bit.

Three dots appeared, then disappeared and appeared again.

Marco: You sure about this?

I looked at the surveillance feed of Mia smiling at her phone. That was the future I was building whether anyone else understood it or not.

Me: Very.