It was almost masochistic the way you kept returning to Rafe. You’d think of excuses to call him. Lame excuses like you’d heard a noise in your apartment and could he come check it out? It didn’t always work. You had to time those calls perfectly. If he was out with the boys, and you called by last call, the odds were pretty good he’d come over. But when he didn’t answer on those nights, you knew why. You knew it meant he’d found someone else for the night. And then you’d spend staring at the ceiling, frustrated and in need of a release.

You didn’t get like this over guys. You had boyfriends before that you liked well enough, but it didn’t match the way you felt for Rafe. That felt almost like it bordered on obsession. It was embarrassing as hell that you were so far gone for such a walking red flag.

Your friends had already warned you tonight. They’d laid it out and made you promise that you wouldn’t leave the party with Rafe. They reminded you that no matter how attentive he seemed that night, it was only going to end the same way. With you waking up in bed alone, where you’d stay all day sobbing. You’d nodded along to their advice and made the promise, but you were pretty sure they didn’t believe you.

They’d been shoving guys at you all night. Like the party was your own version of The Bachelorette. You were getting increasingly frustrated with making polite conversation that inevitably went nowhere. They could probably tell you weren’t interested. You didn’t want some nice, safe, boring guy. For some reason you liked the sick and twisted back and forth you had going on with Rafe. God, you were doomed.

You leaned against the patio door, remembering last night with Rafe. How he’d gone from whispering how beautiful you were and kissing you so hard you almost forgot your name, to telling you that he wasn’t down for anything. How could the same mouth cause such different emotions in you? Constant whiplash. You needed to pray that you’d find the strength to avoid him tonight.

“Did you wear that for me, princess?” Rafe leans down to whisper in your ear and you can already feel yourself melting. Damn him and that low, seductive thing he did with his voice. He was looking you up and down like you were the prey and he was the predator ready to devour you.