He feels it.
His fingers press slightly, guiding my hip—just enough to turn me, to adjust me, to align me the way he wants.
“There,” he murmurs, almost to himself.
Satisfied.
His gaze moves over me again, slower now, heavier, and this time I feel it everywhere—the weight of it, the way it lingers, the way it doesn’t rush past anything.
My skin heats under it.
My breathing shifts.
“You don’t need to overthink it,” he says quietly. “It’s already there.”
I swallow, my throat suddenly dry. “What is?”
His eyes flicker back to mine, and something tightens in his expression. “This.”
The word lands low.
Vague.
Loaded.
His hand slides from my waist to my lower back, firmer now, grounding, and he draws me half a step closer without asking, without making it feel like something I can refuse.
My chest brushes his for a fraction of a second.
It’s enough.
Enough to make my pulse spike, enough to make something low and instinctive respond before I can catch it.
His thumb shifts slightly against my back—a slow, absent movement that feels anything but absent. Like he’s aware of exactly what he’s doing, and exactly what it’s doing to me. “Come on,” he says, his voice quieter now, closer. “We’re going to be late.” But he doesn’t move right away.
And neither do I.
For a second, we just stand there—too close—the air between us thick with something unspoken, something that could tip either way.
Then his hand presses lightly, guiding me toward the door—like the moment is over because he decided it was.
And I go with him.
I don’t know when being looked at like this started to feel good.
But it does.
And that realization settles somewhere deep, quiet, and a little dangerous.
CHAPTER 17
IVY
He takes me by the hand and we head out to meet our Uber.
I glance out the window as the lights race past. I’m starting to notice more layers to this place, underneath the initial sleek shine. There’s more to Ravelle than meets the eye—like its history is trying to seep out, sticky and raw, if you look close enough.
And there’s something seductive about this city, too. Like you could find anything your heart desired if you went looking for it, and it wouldn’t be difficult. From what I understand, the neighborhood known as the Anything Goes would be the perfect place to start.