Sophia felt the weight of his words settle between them like an unspoken challenge. The small room, barely lit by the neon glow filtering through the cracked door, seemed to shrink around them. His gaze didn’t waver, those ice-blue eyes holding hers, daring her to respond. She could still feel the phantom sting of his earlier comment, but she refused to let it show. She wasn’t here to explain herself—or to be judged.
"And yet," she murmured, tilting her head with a sly smile, "it's benefiting you, so maybe you shouldn’t ask too many questions."
His chuckle was low, a rumble that echoed in the confined space. "You’re right. I need this tonight."
His tone shifted with that admission, and Sophia barely had time to process it before he closed the distance between them. His hands, rough and
