I could feel the weight of his gaze, heavy and unrelenting, though I refused to acknowledge it. Every nerve in my body felt taut, as if stretched to its breaking point, humming with tension. The plans. The danger. The power plays. Everything I had overheard tonight replayed in my mind, a chorus of warnings. Rafael had no idea just how deeply I was entangled in his world—or how determined I was to destroy it from within.
But then, I felt him move closer, his warmth seeping into the space between us. His arm brushed lightly against my back, just a whisper of contact, and yet it sent an involuntary shiver rippling through me. Unbidden. Unwelcome.
“You’re not asleep,” he murmured, his voice low, roughened by something I didn’t want to name. The sound of it was a rumble that echoed through me
