Page 190 of The Rules
There was no softness in it. No warmth. Just precision.
A boundary drawn not from closeness, but from strategy.
She didn't argue.
Because she wanted to feel safe. And hated that this is what that looked like.
They got into bed. Carefully. Like two people lying on opposite sides of a fault line.
The sheets were cool. The silence oppressive.
But the worst part?
His arm. Draped around her waist. Heavy. Warm. Unyielding.
She didn't know if it was to comfort her. Or to keep her from moving.
His breath grazed the back of her neck. Steady. Controlled.Toosteady.
They’d been lying like this for a while now—long enough for the room to settle into silence, for the weight of exhaustion to press in. But sleep hadn’t come.
Not for her.
And clearly, not for him.
Kath knew he wasn’t asleep. No one’s breathing was that measured unless they were forcing it. The realization made her stomach tighten, awareness spreading through her like a slow-burning flame.
And still—she shifted. Just enough to test him.
His hand tightened.
A twitch. Nothing more.
But enough.
The confirmation sent a shiver through her that had nothing to do with the temperature. Ben was awake. Aware. Monitoring her every movement with that same calculated precision he applied to everything else.
Time stretched.
Tension swelled.
Katherine stared at the ceiling. At the flickering city lights leaking through the blinds. At the space that felt too full.
Too loud. The silence between them was deafening, filled with everything they weren't saying.
His arm remained heavy across her waist, a weight that should have felt restrictive but instead felt like an anchor in a storm. She hated that she didn't hate it.
"This doesn't mean anything," Katherine whispered, the words barely audible even to herself.
A lie. Dressed in steel. Because if it meant nothing, why did it feel like everything? Why did her skin burn where he touched her? Why did her heart refuse to settle into a normal rhythm?
Ben didn't answer.
But—
His fingers flexed. A subtle shift. A silent contradiction.
Katherine exhaled. Slow. Shallow. Her eyes fluttered closed, but she wasn't truly resting. How could she? She was too aware. Of his body. His breath. His heat.
