Page 239 of The Rules
And then—
A glance.
Over her shoulder. Brief. Barely a flick.
But it lands like a gut punch.
It’s not just a look. It’s a signal. A reminder. A goddamn provocation.
She knows.
Knows exactly what she’s doing to him. And she’s wielding that knowledge with surgical precision.
Ben’s posture remains pristine—spine straight, shoulders squared. But one hand drifts to his cufflink, twisting the polished metal again and again. A quiet tic. The only tell.
Control is slipping.
And she turns back, smooth as silk, without a single falter. Cross-examines with that lethal brand of calm. There’s steel behind every smile, fire behind every polite phrase.
Ben shifts in his seat. The heat spreading through him is steady, quiet, corrosive.
His eyes track her like she’s the only real thing in the room. And truthfully, she is.
Kath moves like she was born in that courtroom, like it’s an extension of her. Every word she speaks redraws the narrative, reshapes the ground they’re all standing on.
He exhales sharply through his nose, low enough that no one hears but him.
It’s going to be a very long fucking day.
And it was.
Ben watched her—not the witness, not the jury, not the opposing counsel.
Just her. The courtroom had faded to background noise hours ago, replaced by the sharp rhythm of her heels against marble, the deliberate pause before each devastating question, the subtle arch of her spine when she knew she'd landed a killing blow.
She was magnificent. And she was ruining him.
As the gavel fell and the courtroom began to stir, Ben rose in silence. They walked out side by side—stoic, composed, professional.
The door had barely clicked shut behind them when it happened.
His hand shot out, fingers wrapping around her wrist—tight, hot, unyielding—and he pulled her aside, down the hallway.
She stumbled once, caught off guard. But she didn't pull away. She let him.
They turned a corner, the corridor empty, silent, just the low hum of fluorescent lights overhead.
Ben slammed the door shut behind them. The echo bounced off the concrete.
Kath opened her mouth, breathless. "Ben—?" She didn't get further.
He pinned her to the wall, hands braced beside her head, his body a wall of heat and tension, chest heaving with restrained fury.
Her back hit the cold surface, but the heat radiating off him swallowed it whole.
His gaze locked onto hers—sharp, dark, burning with something between anger and hunger.
"Do you have any idea what you just did to me in there?" he asked, voice low, rough around the edges.
