Page 9 of Monsters Wear Crowns
You’re a queen. Wish you were here, too!
As I went to set my phone on the glass table, I took another too-big swig of my wine.
And then I inhaled so sharply that I choked on it.What...the fuck.
My fingers tightened around the glass, my heart slamming against my ribs as I turned my head–slowly, disbelievingly–to the balcony directly next to mine.
He was there.
That same dark hoodie, its shadow obscuring most of his face, black, ripped jeans, and that unmistakable air of danger around him. He sat back in his chair like he belonged there. Like the world bent around his presence.
My throat dried as the realization hit.
He’d followed me.
Hegot on a plane and followed me.
The space between our balconies was so small it felt suffocating. He was only a few feet away. Close enough that I could see the way his head tilted slightly like he was watching me without even turning his face.
I swallowed hard, my pulse pounding in my ears. And when he finally shifted, when I saw the slow curl of his mouth under the hood… I knew he’d been waiting for me to notice.
I didn’t move. Couldn’t.
My grip on the glass was so tight that I thought it might shatter. The night air suddenly felt too hot, and every nerve in my bodyscreamedat me to go inside, lock the door, and call security.
But I didn’t.
Because despite the fear licking up my spine, I couldn’t fucking walk away. He didn’t move, either. He just sat there, sprawled back in his chair, like this was the most natural thing in the world. Like we were just two people enjoying the same view, sharing the same night.
“Did you…follow me?” My voice came out lower than I expected, the words a little hoarse. The first words I ever actually spoke to him.
He didn’t answer. But his head turned just slightly, and the hood shifted enough that I almost caught sight of his eyes. A slow, measured movement, like he wanted me tofeelit.
The wind tugged at my white silk robe, brushing it against my skin, and his attention flicked lower. It was barely noticeable, just a quick dip of his head, dragging his gaze down my body.
An undeniable heat coiled in my stomach.
“I’ll take your silence as ayes,” I said, lifting my wine glass to my lips in a pathetic attempt to look unbothered. The glass trembled slightly.
He stayed quiet, but I saw the faintest curve of his mouth under the shadow of his hood. He wassmiling.
The audacity of it snapped something in me.
“What the hell do you want from me?” I demanded, turning fully toward him. The moonlight painted his shape in silver and shadow, and my heart pounded.
“To watch,” he said softly. His voice was a rough scrape of sound, low and quiet but also dark and...hungry. “You like it when I watch, don’t you, Adela?”
My stomach dropped.
The sound of my name on his tongue… I shouldn’t havelikedit. But I did. I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. “How do you know my name?”
He didn’t answer. Of course, he didn’t. Instead, he rose from his chair.
I held my breath.
He moved slowly, closing the already too-small space between our balconies until he stood right at the edge. “I shouldn’t be here,” he murmured, almost to himself. “But I couldn’t stay away.”
I felt the words all the way to my bones. My mind screamed at me to go inside. Lock the door.Get away from him.But my body didn’t listen. He reached up, his hand brushing against the iron railing between us.
