Kai's POV
Lens
…
I shut the door to the basement room and locked it behind me. The glow from the four monitors filled the space. I dropped into the chair and woke the screens with a tap. Feeds popped up one after another. Lila's bedroom. The bathroom. The hallway outside her door. The kitchen. All clear and live.
She had no idea.
I leaned back and watched her on the main screen. She moved around the guest suite, still in that old t-shirt and shorts. She bent to pick up a sketchbook from the floor and I caught the way the fabric rode up her thighs. My jaw tightened. I had waited months for this. Ever since the funeral where I first saw her standing there looking lost and too pretty for her own good. When Dad mentioned her mom, I pushed the idea. I made sure the wedding happened fast. I made sure she ended up here.
Now she was under my roof.
On the screen, she tried the Wi-Fi again. It failed like I set it to. She muttered something and headed downstairs. I switched to the kitchen feed. There she was, asking for the password. I played it cool, took her phone, brushed her fingers on purpose. Her skin felt warm. She pulled back quick, but not quick enough.
I added her device properly this time. Let her think I fixed it. She thanked me and left. I stayed in the kitchen a minute, finishing my water. The house felt different with her in it. Fuller. Sharper. I hated how much I liked that.
Back in the control room I pulled up the bathroom feed from earlier. She had taken a shower right after unpacking. The camera angle caught everything through the glass. Water running down her back. Hair wet and sticking to her shoulders. I watched it again, hand resting on my thigh. My body reacted the way it always did when I saw her like this. Hard and impatient. I gripped the arm of the chair instead of touching myself. Not yet. I wanted to save it for when she was closer.
I switched feeds. She sat on the bed now, laptop open. The Wi-Fi dropped on purpose. I smiled. Then she went to the thermostat. I had already set it to drop. She bumped it up. I countered from down here and watched the number fall. She shivered and grabbed a blanket. Perfect.
I gave it ten minutes before I headed upstairs. Her door was open a crack. I pushed it wider and leaned into the frame. She looked small under that blanket, legs tucked up, cheeks pink from the cold.
"Problem?" I asked.
She glared at me. "The heat is not working right."
I walked over and checked the panel like I did not already know. "Looks fine to me." My eyes dropped to where the blanket had slipped. Bare legs. Smooth skin. I forced my gaze back up. "Maybe you just run cold."
She pulled the blanket higher. "Can you fix it or not?"
I reached past her to the thermostat. My arm brushed her shoulder. She smelled like the soap from her shower. I adjusted the setting back up, then left it there for show. "There. Should warm up soon."
It would not. I had locked the controls from the app on my phone.
She stared at me. "What is your deal?"
I stepped back, but not far. "My deal is simple. You showed up and changed everything in this house. Now you get to learn how things work around here."
I turned like I was leaving. Then I stopped. The blanket had slipped again. I let my eyes move over her, slow enough that she noticed. She shivered harder.
I could push it further right now. Corner her. See how she reacted. But I held back. The game was better when it built. I wanted her angry and off balance first. I wanted her thinking about me when she tried to sleep tonight.
She met my stare and did not look away. Good. She had fire. I liked that more than I should.
I leaned in the doorway, voice low. "Keep fighting me, Lila. It only makes me want to break you more. But here is the thing. I already know every secret you are hiding. Question is, what are you willing to give me to keep them safe?"