Chapter 1 The House That Watches

Chapter One: The House That Watches

The gravel crunches beneath Grace's sandals as the Uber idles behind her, twin red brake lights glowing like a pair of tired eyes. She doesn't look back. She's already halfway up the long circular drive, suitcase wheels bumping over uneven stones. The estate rises ahead of her like a sleeping giant-three stories of weathered stone and climbing ivy, green as the summer air is thick.

She hasn't been home since Christmas. Seven months away, but it still stuns her how huge the house is. Grand in that arrogant, old-money way: pillared entrance, arched windows tall enough to swallow a cathedral's shame, and the heavy iron front door that looks like it should groan when opened.

She pauses at the base of the steps. The air smells like overgrown roses and sun-warmed stone. Her shirt sticks to her lower back. Thunderheads bruise the sky beyond the treeline-just heat lightning now, but the pressure feels like a held breath.

And somewhere inside this house is Julian.

She hasn't seen him in person since the holidays, just a few photos her mom had posted on Facebook before disappearing to Europe for the summer. Grace had zoomed in on them more times than she'd admit. Julian with his button-down sleeves rolled, scotch in hand, that unreadable half-smile curving his mouth. A little more gray at the temples, maybe, but still the same lean body, the same shoulders that seem too broad to belong to a man who prefers books to sports.

She'd been twenty when her mother married him-late for a second marriage, early for Grace to care. At first, she'd been wary. Who was this quiet, polished, way-too-composed man her mother brought home like a new handbag?

Then he'd looked at her once. Really looked. Long enough to make her feel like the most dangerous thing in the room. Not a kid. Not a step-anything.

She knocks once, then twice. The door opens almost immediately.

Julian.

White linen shirt open at the throat, collarbones shadowed in the dusky light. Black slacks loose around his hips. He smells like sandalwood and tobacco leaf, something warm and complicated. His hair is damp at the temples like he's just come from the shower-or just sweating, she realizes, with the heat.

"Grace," he says, smile understated. That slow, almost curious way of speaking that makes it sound like he's tasting your name. "You're early."

"Couldn't wait," she replies, and lets her smile linger. She watches the shift in his eyes-how quickly he tracks her bare legs, the tiny hem of her denim shorts. She's dressed for the drive, not for greeting her stepfather. But that's not an accident.

He steps aside, lets her pass. The foyer swallows her in cool air and the soft echo of her footsteps on marble. She always forgets how cold the house is, like it refuses to let summer in. There's a vase of lilies on the table. Their scent is rich, almost too much.

Julian closes the door behind her, and the click of the latch sounds final.

"Your mother's flight left late," he says, gesturing toward the sweeping staircase. "She's already in Paris. Left this morning."

"I know," Grace answers. "She called me from the airport. Sounded giddy."

"She usually is when she's shopping."

He says it without judgment, but there's something tight in his voice, some subtle derision. Grace looks up at him, amused.

"You two fighting again?"

Julian's expression doesn't change, but the muscles in his jaw pulse faintly. "We don't fight. We disagree. Occasionally with volume."

He glances toward her suitcase. "Want help carrying that up?"

"No," she says, dragging it to the bottom of the stairs. "I've got it. I need the workout."

He doesn't argue. Just watches her start up the stairs, slowly, deliberately. She knows what her ass looks like in these shorts. She can feel his gaze like warm breath between her thighs.

And God help her, she likes it.

Her bedroom hasn't changed. Pale linen curtains float in the warm breeze, and her sheets are crisply turned down. The housekeeper must've come today-everything smells faintly of lavender and starch.

She unpacks slowly. Her fingers trail over folded bras, thin cotton panties, cropped sleep shirts. She picks one deliberately-white, sheer, hangs just below her hips-and tosses it onto the bed. She imagines wearing it tonight. Imagines coming down for water. Imagines the way Julian's eyes would catch, flicker, refuse to move away.

By the time she heads downstairs again, dusk has crept into the corners of the house. The lamps are on, warm pools of gold across leather and glass. She finds Julian in the sunroom, reading. He hasn't turned on the overhead lights, just a single tall lamp behind his chair.

He looks up as she enters. She's barefoot now, wearing a tank top and the same tiny shorts. Her skin is flushed from the shower, still slightly damp at the collarbone. She drops onto the couch opposite him, legs folding beneath her.

"What're you reading?"

He lifts the book slightly. The Collected Stories of Nabokov.

"Jesus," she says, grinning. "You never change."

His eyes narrow faintly. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"I don't know. Depends on how you were to begin with."

"Grace," he says, her name like a warning-but there's amusement too, buried under the low timber of his voice. "Are you trying to provoke me already?"

"Only a little." She stretches her arms above her head, sighing as her spine arches. "It's just... good to be home."

He's silent for a beat too long. Then: "You were supposed to stay in New York for the summer."

"I was supposed to take that internship at that awful hedge fund." She leans back on her elbows. "Then I realized I don't want to wear heels and kiss ass for the next ten years."

"So instead you came here. To... kiss mine?"

It's a dry joke, but it lands between them like a lit match. Her breath hitches just enough to give her away. Julian doesn't move. Doesn't smirk. Just watches.

"I came for the pool," she says airily. "And the view."

"Ah," he murmurs, eyes on her throat now. "The view."

There's silence then, taut and vibrating. The sound of cicadas rising in waves through the open windows. The breeze lifting the edge of her tank top. His gaze follows it, lingers on the bare skin just below her ribs. He closes his book without marking the page.

"I'll open a bottle," he says, voice low.

"I'm twenty-one," she calls as he walks past. "No rules now."

He doesn't answer. Just disappears into the kitchen. When he returns, he's carrying two glasses and a bottle of white wine, the condensation already sliding down the green glass.

They drink in silence for a while. She sits cross-legged now, sipping slowly, letting the alcohol fuzz the edges of her thoughts. He's across from her, legs stretched out, one arm slung over the back of the chair. Watching. Always watching.

"How's school?" he asks eventually.

"Fine."

"You like it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because everyone there's trying too hard. They act like they know everything. I'd rather be here."

He doesn't reply. Just takes another sip of wine. She watches his throat move as he swallows, watches the tendons shift under skin.

"It's weird without her here," she says, voice softer now. "The house feels... different."

Julian nods. "Quieter."

"Better?"

He doesn't answer that either. Instead, he stands, sets his empty glass down. "I should lock up."

Grace watches him move-how his shirt pulls across his back, the clean lines of his shoulders. Something stirs low in her belly, dangerous and old and familiar.

"I might go for a swim," she says. "After dark."

He pauses by the door. Looks back. "Alone?"

She smiles. "Unless you want to join."

His mouth twitches. But he says nothing.

When he disappears down the hall, she lets her head fall back against the cushions and exhales slowly. Her skin is hot. Her thighs sticky against the fabric. Her nipples hard under her thin shirt, no bra tonight. She hadn't planned to feel this keyed up already.

But maybe she had.

The next morning dawns hot and bright. Birds loud. The smell of cut grass thick in the air. She comes downstairs in nothing but her tiny white sleep shirt. No panties. She tells herself it's because it's too hot to wear anything more. But her heartbeat says otherwise.

Julian's in the kitchen. French press on the counter, sleeves rolled, forearms tan and dusted with fine hair. He doesn't look at her right away. Just slides a mug toward her.

"Coffee?"

"Please," she says, voice hoarse.

She perches on a stool, one knee drawn up. Her shirt rides dangerously high. She knows it. He knows it. But he doesn't look-yet.

"Sleep okay?"

"Sort of. Dreamed too much."

"About what?"

She grins. "Swimming."

He pours himself a cup, slow and methodical. Then leans against the counter, finally meeting her eyes.

"Did you swim last night?"

"No. Got distracted."

"With what?"

"You."

There's a silence that could slice skin.

He doesn't speak. Doesn't move. Just stares, the air between them electric, suffocating. She shifts on the stool, thighs parting just a little more. She watches his eyes flick down-just for a second-then snap back up.

Then he turns away, lifts his mug. "We should get groceries today. House is empty."

"So am I," she murmurs, just loud enough for him to hear.

He freezes for half a heartbeat. Then walks out.

She laughs under her breath. Victory curling warm in her chest.

By sunset, the storm has arrived. Lightning forks across the sky, thunder cracking close. The power flickers, then steadies. She walks through the hallway barefoot, floor cool under her soles, shadows rippling like water.

Julian's in the study now, shirt half unbuttoned, collar open. The heat's gotten to him too. A bead of sweat rolls down the side of his neck. She stares at it, transfixed.

"Still planning on swimming?" he asks, voice dry.

"Too stormy. I'd drown."

He glances up. "Don't tempt fate."

"Never," she says, smiling slowly. "Fate doesn't tempt me."

Another pause. This one loaded.

"You hungry?" he asks.

"I could eat."

"I'll cook."

She follows him to the kitchen, watches the way he moves, precise and effortless. He cooks like he reads-slow, thoughtful, no wasted motion. She doesn't help. Just sits and watches, knees drawn up on the stool, arms wrapped around them.

"I forgot you were good at this," she says, voice soft.

"I'm good at a lot of things," Julian says without looking at her.

The words land low in her belly. Hot. Sharp.

She swallows hard.

They eat by candlelight when the power finally dies for real. The storm howls against the windows. Outside, the trees lash and bend.

Inside, something else is bending.

Something is curling and coiling, drawing them inward. Grace can feel it like a rope tightening around her throat. A pull she doesn't resist.

After dinner, she reaches for a bottle of wine without asking. Julian doesn't stop her. They sit close on the couch, knees almost touching. The flickering candlelight throws long shadows, softens the edges of everything.

Their glasses empty too quickly. Her skin is too hot. Her thighs ache.

She turns toward him. Her lips part.

Julian looks at her like he's reading the last page of a novel he didn't want to end. And for a moment, neither of them moves.

The candle crackles.

He leans in-slow, hesitant-but it's her who bridges the final inch.

Her mouth finds his. Soft. Testing.

Then again, firmer. Hungrier.

And he doesn't stop her. Doesn't pull away.

His hand rises-curls around her jaw.

She moans, soft and broken.

And just as his tongue flicks across hers, just as his hand slips to the back of her neck-

He pulls away.

"Grace," he whispers, breathless. "Stop."

She stares at him, wide-eyed, lips swollen, chest heaving.

He closes his eyes. Stands.

Walks out.

Leaves her burning.

Alone.