Page 195 of The Rules
"Oh, come on." Ben's tone carried a hint of amusement. "You don't get to hide now."
Kath groaned, curling deeper under the blanket. "I don't want to tell you."
“That’s unfortunate,” Ben said, his mock sympathy laced with something sharper. “Because I really, really want to know.”
There was a smile in his voice, but it didn’t reach softness.
It coiled, deliberate, the kind of voice meant to crawl under skin.
Kath could feel his attention through the blanket between them—persistent, focused. Like heat through fabric.
"Mmmph," she mumbled incoherently, stalling.
"Say that again?" Ben's smirk was audible.
A pause stretched between them. Then—
"Because I felt like I lost control," Kath admitted quietly, miserably, still hidden beneath the blanket.
The teasing in Ben's voice vanished instantly. Something else replaced it—something that made the air between them feel charged, dangerous.
"Explain," he said, his voice dropping to a low, commanding tone that wasn't a request.
Kath peeked out from beneath the blanket, her eyes narrowed defensively, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She could feel her heart hammering against her ribs, but she didn't retreat back under her shield. Didn't try to deflect with another joke or
half-truth.
"When you confronted me that night..." she began, her voice tense, "it rattled me. I thought I had the upper hand. I had the mask. The secrets. The game."
She took a breath, steadying herself against the weight of his undivided attention.
"And then suddenly... I didn't."
Kath pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them like she was trying to contain something volatile inside her—or perhaps just holding herself together so she wouldn't fall apart under his scrutiny.
"I panicked," she continued with a bitter laugh. "I hated that you saw through me. That I felt... small. Powerless."
Ben remained perfectly still beside her. He didn't reach for her. Didn't try to fill the silence with reassurances. He just listened, his eyes never leaving her face, absorbing every word with an intensity that should have made her stop.
But somehow, his silence made her want to keep going—to finally release the truth she'd been holding back.
“I thought if I gave you something—if I could make you lose focus, make you come undone even a little—I’d get it back.
The control. Even if it was just for a second.”
She paused, the confession stretching into the space between them like a live wire.
Then—barely audible, more breath than voice—she added, “And maybe… maybe it excited me.”
The shift in Ben was instant. His body didn’t move, but something in the air between them changed—tightened. Like a string pulled taut. His gaze, already sharp, turned razor-edged.
Her pulse stuttered.
The room was too quiet. His presence too much.
She turned her head, eyes locking on the shadows across the wall. Anywhere but him.
“Kath.” His voice was low. Careful. But not gentle.
