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My eyes flared. “Yeah. He, uh, mentioned a bad stomach earlier.”

Calder shrugged. “His loss. It’s a great game. Right, babe?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Unforgettable.”

***

I couldn’t sleep. Not even at three in the morning. Calder had been out cold for at least two hours, while I lay there staring at the ceiling and freaking out.

But now I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to see Rafe. I’d fucked everything up, and I needed to make it right. So I slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the doorway. I looked back to make sure Calder hadn’t woken. He hadn’t moved an inch.

As quietly as I could, I eased out into the hallway and pulled the door shut behind me. My heart pounded with every step, and my mind raced with a hundred versions of what I might say when I saw him. Nothing felt good enough. Not to mention, what the hell would I tell Calder if he caught me down here? I couldn’t even bring myself to think about that.

When I reached Rafe’s apartment, I hesitated. His door was slightly open. My pulse kicked up as I pushed it and whispered, “Rafe?”

No answer.

The apartment was dark, and the farther I stepped inside, the more my chest tightened. It was so quiet that I started to think he might be asleep. Then I saw him. Eyes wide open, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling—just like I’d been doing minutes ago.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said flatly.

“I know. I just… I needed to apologize.”

Silence. Then a pained voice. “Please don’t do this.”

“I’m so sorry, Rafe.”

“You need to leave.”

“Please tell me you can forgive me.”

“Leave, Talia.”

“Rafe, just talk to me.” Tears stung my eyes. “I’ll leave after. I promise. I need to make things right.”

A long silence stretched between us. “If you don’t leave, I’m going to. And I sleep naked. So unless you get the hell out of here right now, you’re going to be seeing more of what you did the other day.”

My chest heaved up and down, but I couldn’t make my feet move.

Rafe shoved the covers back. “You asked for it.”

“Rafe…”

He stood. And all the air left my lungs. Not only was he completely naked, he was hard. Gloriously hard. He didn’t break eye contact as he stepped closer, erasing the distance between us until we were nearly touching. “Get out, Talia.”

“I can’t, Rafe.”

“If you don’t leave right now, I’m going to fuck you, and you’re gonna regret it.” He paused. “You have until I count to three… One.”

My heart thundered.

“Two.”

I could barely breathe.

“Three.”

CHAPTER 17