Raven's Point of View
The car slowed in front of my building just as the sky started to lighten.
Early morning. That gray-blue hour where everything feels exposed.
My body ached in that deep, lingering way that made every movement deliberate. Careful. I shifted in the seat and hissed quietly, biting my lip.
Dominic didn't look tired at all.
Not even remotely.
Gray slacks. Black T-shirt. Calm. Collected. Already mentally at work. Like the entire night hadn't touched him the way it had wrecked me.
"You're off today," he said.
"Thank god," I muttered.
I reached for my worn-out bag, fixing the same black dress I'd worn to work yesterday. It felt wrinkled. Out of place.
Like me.
My fingers barely brushed the handle before something warm and firm wrapped around my forearm.
I stilled.
My breath hitched.
Slowly, I turned.
Dominic.
His grip wasn't rough-but it wasn't gentle either. It held me there. Kept me from moving.
My heart skipped, stumbling over itself as my palms started to sweat.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" he said, voice low... calm in a way that made my chest tighten.
"I-" My voice failed me.
I didn't even know what he meant.
And that was my mistake.
Because the second I looked up at him-really looked-his hand shifted slightly, just enough to pull me closer.
Not fast.
Not forceful.
Calculated.
My breath caught again, lips parting-
And then he kissed me.
Soft.
Slow.
A gasp slipped out of me, swallowed instantly as his mouth moved against mine, unhurried, controlled-like he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
God.
My fingers loosened, my bag slipping from my hand, dropping somewhere near my feet as both of my hands found his face without thinking.
I kissed him back.
I couldn't not.
It felt too good.
Too consuming.
Like I was slipping somewhere I wouldn't be able to come back from.
His hand tightened just slightly on my arm, anchoring me there, keeping me exactly where he wanted me.
Lost.
Completely lost.
Then just as slowly as it started, he pulled back.
Close enough that I could still feel his breath.
"I'll see you," he murmured.
I nodded, unable to trust my voice, my chest rising and falling too fast. I grabbed my bag.
When my boots finally hit the sidewalk, my knees nearly gave out.
I caught myself on the door, heat rushing to my face.
Of course he noticed.
"Careful," he said.
Like he hadn't caused any of it.
I shut the door and walked away before I could say something stupid.
Each step up the cracked sidewalk was a reminder. The building door was still busted, still unlocked like always. I climbed the stairs slowly, gripping the railing like it owed me money.
Five in the morning.
Quiet.
I unlocked our apartment and slipped inside.
The lights were off. They were sleeping.
Good.
I dropped my bag, exhaled, and went straight to the kitchen. Coffee. I needed coffee just to feel like a human again. The machine clicked on, loud in the silence.
I turned.
Lila and Jamie were already standing there.
Arms crossed. Faces unreadable.
Of course they were.
Lila crossed her arms tighter. "So... are you gonna keep doing this?"
"Doing what?" I asked, too casually.
She stared at me like I'd just grown three heads. "Fucking him, Raven."
"I really tried to push him away," I said quietly.
Lila and Jamie exchanged a stunned glance, disbelief written all over their faces.
"I did," I added. "I told him no. More than once. I tried to make space. But there's this pull... and I can't explain it. No matter how hard I push him away, it doesn't go anywhere."
"That's not a pull," Lila said flatly. "That's danger."
"And he's the one chasing me," I said. "Not the other way around."
Jamie exhaled slowly. "That doesn't make it better, Raven."
"I know." My voice dropped. "Yesterday, when I was coming home from work, he stopped me. Said he just wanted to talk."
Lila gave me a look. "They always 'just want to talk.'"
"We went to his car," I said. "I told myself it would be quick. That I'd keep it professional."
Jamie leaned forward. "And?"
"And he told me he wasn't asking me to accept his marriage. Or pretend it didn't exist," I said. "He just... wanted me to stop acting like whatever this is between us could be turned off."
Lila's mouth tightened.
"He said he doesn't do normal relationships," I continued. "Doesn't do clean endings. And that when he wants something, he doesn't let it go."
Jamie muttered, "That is the least comforting thing I've ever heard."
"I told him he doesn't get to decide any of that," I said. "And he basically said he wasn't deciding for me - he was just being honest about how he is."
Lila scoffed. "That's control with better grammar."
"I know," I whispered. "But I couldn't handle the distance anymore. I missed him. And then we kissed and-" I stopped, heat rushing to my face. "It escalated."
Jamie's eyes widened. "Please tell me y'all did not have sex in the car."
I nodded, sinking onto the stool as if the chair could hold the weight of everything I was trying not to feel.
He groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Raven. Be serious."
Lila stared at me. "You really folded that fast."
"Don't judge me," I said quietly.
"We're not judging you," Jamie said immediately. "We're scared for you. He's married. He's powerful. And he does not sound like someone who loses."
"I won't get hurt," I said, even as my throat tightened.
Lila's laugh was sharp. "You don't know that. Especially with his wife following him. She could show up any second, and you'd be caught in the crossfire."
Jamie sighed, then added dryly, "I mean... at least you didn't do it in the office again."
Lila shot him a look. "Don't encourage her."
I let out a weak laugh anyway - because even terrified, even confused, part of me knew the truth.
I was already in deep.
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