All eyes turned to me, and I felt my face heat again. “It's... an adjustment,” I said carefully, taking a large gulp of wine to buy myself time. “But we're figuring it out.”
“I bet you are,” Izzy muttered into her glass.
Rafe's lips twitched. “Cecelia's been very... accommodating,” he said, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down my spine.His hand slipped into his pocket again, and I pressed my thighs together under the table.
Everlee raised an eyebrow. “That doesn't sound like my sister.”
“People change,” Rafe replied, his eyes never leaving mine. “Given the right... motivation.”
Liam cleared his throat, looking between us with dawning suspicion. “More wine, anyone?”
The dinner continued, a symphony of clinking silverware and overlapping conversations that washed over me like white noise. I tried to focus on my food, on the stories being shared, on anything but the pulsing need between my legs and the man responsible for it. But every time I looked up, Rafe was watching me—sometimes openly, sometimes just quick glances that felt like physical touches.
I should have been mortified. Should have been plotting my revenge for the stunt he'd pulled in the gym. Instead, I replayed it in my mind like a movie stuck in a loop. The risk. The rush of nearly being caught. The way he'd knelt before me, looking up with those dark eyes as he pulled my underwear down my legs...
“Earth to Cece,” Evie's voice broke through my inappropriate daydream. “Dessert?”
I blinked, realizing I'd completely missed whatever conversation had been happening. “Sorry, what?”
“I asked if you wanted dessert,” she repeated, giving me a strange look. “Are you feeling okay? You seem distracted.”
“I'm fine,” I assured her, thoughfinewas the last thing I was. “Just tired. It's been a long week.”
“Rafe working you too hard?” Tristan asked innocently, but there was a gleam in his eye that suggested the double entendre was intentional.
I nearly spat out my wine.
“I try to be considerate of her... stamina,” Rafe replied smoothly, and I shot him a glare that promised retribution.
As dessert was served—something chocolate and decadent that I barely tasted—I had a startling realization. The embarrassment that had initially consumed me had faded, and was replaced by something else entirely. Something that felt dangerously close to exhilaration. I liked the secret thrill of what we'd done. Liked knowing that beneath my proper dress and polite dinner conversation was the reality of Rafe's touch, of desires I'd never acknowledged before.
The thought should have terrified me. Instead, it sent another pulse of heat between my legs.
By the time coffee was served, I was a mess of contradictions—exhausted yet wired, embarrassed yet aroused, wanting to escape yet desperate to see where this night would lead. Rafe must have sensed my internal chaos because he set down his cup and glanced at his watch.
“We should probably head out.” His voice was casual but his eyes were intense when they met mine. “Early meeting tomorrow.”
Goodbyes were exchanged, hugs given, promises to see each other in a week made. Evie pulled me aside as we were leaving, concern evident in her eyes.
“Are you sure you're okay?” she asked quietly. “You seem... different.”
I managed a small smile. “I'm good, Evie. Really. Just adjusting to all the changes.”
She studied me for a moment longer, then nodded. “Call me tomorrow?”
“Promise.”
Rafe's hand returned to the small of my back as we headed for the elevator, the weight of it somehow both possessive and steadying. When the doors closed, sealing us in together, I expected him to pounce, to press me against the wall and finish what he'd started in the gym.
Instead, he maintained a careful distance, eyes forward, jaw tight. Only the rhythmic flexing of his hand at his side betrayed any tension.
The silence continued as we retrieved his car and pulled into the late-night Manhattan traffic. Rafe drove with precision, but I noticed his fingers drumming against the steering wheel, a nervous tic I'd never seen from him before. His usual composure seemed to have evaporated, replaced by an energy that made the air between us crackle with anticipation.
“Are you going to tell me where we're going?” I finally asked, unable to bear the suspense any longer.
His eyes remained fixed on the road. “You said you'd go anywhere with me.”
“That was before you left me hanging in Liam's gym,” I reminded him, though there was no bite in my words.
