Page 99 of Hidden

“You know what I want. Don’t make me go slow. Not tonight.”

“I’ll give you two choices. Do you want to fuck yourself, or do you want to know a secret?” he growled.

“What?”

He didn’t answer. At least not with words. Instead, a sharp tap sounded against the window.

I smothered a scream with my hand.

My whole body jerked.

The phone nearly slipped from the bed.

For one wild, terrified second, my mind supplied every possible disaster at once—Nico, one of the girls, one of the men, someone who had heard me…

Then another knock came and my heart launched itself into my throat. I shoved the nightdress back down and scrambled off the bed, bare feet silent against the floor as I hurried to the window, snatching the phone up as I did so. I clenched it between my fingers so tightly that they began to hurt.

My breath was coming too fast. I was stuck between dread and fear, expecting the worst the further across this room I got.

And then I reached the glass and froze… because there he was. Standing on my balcony like he had materialised straight out of the dark, phone to his ear, mouth tipped in the smallest, most infuriatingly smug smile I had ever seen.

For one full second, all I could do was stare.

Then, all logic and reason abandoned me, and I did what I had never done before. I unlocked the balcony door and yanked it open just enough to whisper, “What the fuck?”

Vienna lowered his phone from his ear and slid it into his pocket with irritating calm. “Damn. You chose secret. I was hoping you’d choose to continue fucking yourself. That was quite a sight to behold.”

I stared at him.

Actually stared.

I was incapable of doing anything else.

His hair was a mess. His shirt was half untucked. There was a flush still lingering high on his cheeks that made it obvious he’d been drinking, but not enough to make him unsteady. Hiseyes looked darker than usual in the night, more blown, more focused, and the sight of him standing there after hearing his voice in my ear for the last several minutes did something deeply unhelpful to my insides.

“Surprise,” he smirked. “And to think, the only reason that show started is because you thought I’d stood you up.”

“You may not have stood me up, but you’re late.” I snapped, but there was no conviction behind it.

His smile widened, just a little.

“I’m not late.” He leaned one shoulder against the frame, gaze dragging over me slowly enough to make my skin heat. “Just because you don’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not always here.”

The words should not have affected me.

They really, really shouldn’t have.

But they did.

Badly.

“That’s kind of…”

He tilted his head. “Obsessive?”

“Kind of.”

He huffed a laugh, running one hand over his beard. “I’ve had worse reviews.”