We’re going out. Wear something sexy.

That was all Sin said to me when he unlocked my cuffs and let me out of bed this evening. Naturally, he neglected to tell me that the place we were going was the second circle of Hell, and that Rafe would be there with a date.

I may have opted to stay in the bed had I known.

But here I am, sandwiched between Sin and Rafe with Rafe’s date trying desperately to ignore the varying levels of tension rolling off him in waves. A couple days ago, I might have cared. Right now this asshole is toying with me just to do it, and I don’t think that’s fair to Sin. Admittedly, a date with the man who chains me to a bed every night to make sure I don’t escape is ill-advised, but what the hell? Despite my logical assertions about what a terrible idea any level of involvement with Sin is, when he told me we were going out tonight, it excited me. When it comes down to it, I much prefer letting Sin take me out on the town over spending the night locked away in his room so he can go out without me.

The whole time I got ready for my entirely unexpected date, I told myself not to make too much of it. Just because we’re going out in public together one time doesn’t mean anything will change once we get home. Just because it’s basically a date doesn’t mean it has to end like one.

I won’t pretend those thoughts didn’t cross my mind, because they did. Without knowing where we were going, I focused on the parts I could anticipate. Like coming home at the end of the date, walking up Sin’s sidewalk, wondering if he might kiss me. Knowing ahead of time that I would be spending the night at his house, I even wondered if he would take more than a kiss. It stands to reason he might have a drink or two while we’re out, and last night when he came home after drinking, he started to flirt with me. Sure, he let that moment pass, but maybe his resolve is weakening. Maybe he is attracted to me and this date is him deciding to go for it. Even though it’s definitely a bad idea, maybe I’ll let him. I’m already pregnant, so this fling can’t go sideways in the same way the last one did.

This week is halfway over anyway, so there’s not much time left. Whatever trouble I’m going to get into, I better do it expediently. Sin still hasn’t let me call Carly, and at a certain point, all these unanswered calls are going to turn into action. My sister doesn’t look like a force to be reckoned with, but she really is. She harnessed a volatile Morelli, after all.

Now Rafe is sitting here, his intense brown eyes trained on me while Jayla prattles on about this great advice she gave her girlfriend back in Los Angeles. I stopped listening to her a while ago, and to be honest, so did everyone else. I’m surprised I’m so in tune with him, but maybe because Sin’s arm is draped over my shoulders, I can feel the tension in him, too. Rafe is emitting it like a beacon, but in Sin, it’s only detectable in the way his body feels against mine. It’s an absurd instinct, but I want to ease it out of him.

I don’t even know if that’s my place, but the spot seems to be open, he draped his arm around me and offered enough of an invitation, so I respond to the need I sense in him.

My hand settles on his thigh, but instead of calming him, he tenses up more. “Do you know what you’re getting?” I murmur.

“Fired,” he offers back, dryly.

I fail to stile a smile. “He’s not going to fire you.”

“Move your hand back a couple inches and we’ll see.”

Just to be a hellion, I do.

Sin’s fingers close around my wrist and he shoots me a hard look. “Troublemaker.”

“Hey, you offered,” I reply airily, using my other hand to flip the page on the menu. “Is he paying? If he’s paying, we should order the lobster rolls.”

Sin rolls his eyes. “I can buy you fucking lobster rolls; I don’t need him to pay for you.”

“Well, no, I don’t actually want lobster rolls, I just feel like being petty. He’s being such a dick tonight. And the other night. He’s just a dick in general, so I want to exercise financial retribution in the form of my dinner order.”

“You’re gonna have to order a lot of lobster rolls, in that case,” Sin advises.

I lift my hand from his thigh, turning to sweep a hand out toward the restaurant floor. “Lobster rolls for everyone.”

Smiling and shaking his head, Sin squeezes my side. “Quiet, you.”

Jayla’s voice suddenly gets louder, so I stop tuning her out to see why. The look on her face says she’s gazing at something adorable, but she’s looking at us. “You guys are the cutest couple I’ve ever seen,” she announces, hand to heart. “Seriously. Couple goals.”

Rafe rolls his eyes and mutters, “Oh, for the love of Christ.”

Swatting his arm, she says, “They are. I can’t handle it. This is exactly what I was talking about when I told my girl Becky to leave her asswipe boyfriend. I don’t care if they have two kids together. I said, Becky, those boys are going to look to you to see how a relationship should be, and if you let him treat you that way, that’s how they’re going to think women should be treated. You get the hell out of there and go find yourself a man who treats you the way you want those boys to treat their own women.”

I haven’t been listening to her story, but I actually agree with that advice, so I nod my head. “It sounds like you’re a good advice-giver, Jayla. I’ll make sure to reach out to you, should I ever need any.”

Leaning in to whisper in my ear, Sin asks, “Do you think she’d advise you to run if she knew I cuffed you to my bed every night?”

Glancing at Jayla in consideration, I shake my head. “Nah, Jayla’s a smart cookie; she’d probably just tell you to cuff my ankles too, really do the job right.”

His delivery is as dry as ever, but I think I detect a joke when he says, “She can’t be too smart; she’s here with Rafe, isn’t she?”

“Ha, nice,” I say, holding up my hand for a high five.

He takes my hand and pushes it back down to his thigh instead of returning the high five. I can’t find a reason to complain.

I know it’s a bad, bad, bad idea, but I hope this is a real date. I’m enjoying this burst of familiarity and affection. I know it can’t go anywhere long-term, but for all I know it’s a bad idea, I can’t help being tempted by the prospect of enjoying Sin while I’m here. A brief respite before I return to my boring life and the world of exceedingly average men.

The server comes over to take our drink and appetizer order. Jayla is still going over the drinks. She’s clearly friendly, because even though my past with Rafe must be unclear to her with all the arm-grabbing and intense whispers, she still talks to me like we’re pals. I love that. This could be weird—I mean, it is weird, but it could be worse. She could be catty on top of Rafe being an asshole.

I can’t help noticing Rafe doesn’t order for her, though. Ordering for a woman who is out with you probably isn’t a normal thing to expect, but he did order for me when Vince and Carly were here with us. Carly rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might fall out of her head, but I didn’t mind it. It actually struck me as sort of sexy. Being as attentive as he is, he didn’t order anything I didn’t want, and I liked the way he took charge. I understand not everyone would feel the same way, though. Maybe he has already tried that with Jayla and she wasn’t into it… or maybe he just doesn’t care to. Does that mean he liked me more? What is it that determines whether or not he orders for a woman or lets her do it herself?

He catches me looking at him as I ruminate on his ordering habits and I curse myself. Of course I see the faint upward climb of his smug, stupid mouth. Now he surely thinks I’m over here thinking about him. Which I guess I was, but in an academic way, not in any other way.

I wish I could correct his assumption without coming off as ultra-defensive, but I can’t. Oh well. It doesn’t really matter what he thinks. I’ll be out of Sin City before long and I’ll never step foot in Nevada again. Rafe Morelli is irrelevant to my life.

“And a Limoncello cocktail for you, right?” the server asks, glancing at me.

My jaw drops open. It’s the same server who waited on us before, but it’s been two whole months since I came here with Rafe; surely he’s brought dozens more girls in since. “You remember my order?”

She taps her head. “Steel trap.”

“I am impressed. But no, just water for me tonight, thank you.”

“Oh, come on,” Jayla says, leaning forward. “Have a drink with me. We’re gonna hit the club after this. I don’t know about you, but I believe I dance better drunk, and if I believe it, it must be true.”

Cracking a smile, Rafe says, “Yes, that’s Laurel’s philosophy as well.”

Meeting Rafe’s gaze, I ask, “Does anyone ever just walk up to you and punch you in the face? They should.”

“No one would dare,” he informs me.

“I would,” I tell him.

“You should,” he says. “I’d love a reason to sic Sin on you.”

“Ooh, so would I,” I tell him. “That sounds sexy.”

Shaking his head at my apparent idiocy, he says, “You wouldn’t enjoy it, believe me.”

Lifting my eyebrows nonchalantly, I tell him, “Well, I might believe you, but I never got on that plane to Connecticut, now, did I?”

Now Sin’s hand is on my thigh. “Down, girl.”

Too late. Rafe frowns, looking over at Sin. “Yeah. Remind me why I didn’t penalize you for that.”

I push the menu across the table and murmur just loudly enough for him to overhear, “Because you had your head too far up your own ass to notice.”

“That’s it,” Rafe says, grabbing my wrist and scooting toward Jayla. Since he’s clearly on a mission, she hastily scoots out of the seat.

“Let me go,” I say, yanking back on my wrist. It’s a pointless effort; he’s too strong. Since I can’t stop him pulling me, I do the only thing I can do—I reach back and grab Sin. He made no move to stop Rafe dragging me out of the booth on his own, but when I reach out to him for help, he lets me grab his hand. He sighs, but his hand locks around mine and halts my departure. Rafe looks back when he feels the added resistance. Jayla stands in front of the table wide-eyed as I’m literally pulled between them—Sin’s strong grip on my hand, Rafe’s firm hold on the opposite wrist.

“Drop it, Sin,” Rafe says carefully.

“Let’s not do this,” Sin replies, meeting Rafe’s gaze and not letting go. “If you two can’t play nice together, we’ll leave. No need for the dramatics.”

“Or you could do your job,” Rafe suggests smoothly. “Which is doing whatever the fuck I tell you to do.”

Sin’s eyes narrow on Rafe’s, then he leans forward, prying Rafe’s fingers off my wrist and dragging me the other way out of the booth. “We’re leaving.”

“You’re straddling a dangerous fucking line, Sin,” Rafe informs him, his tone steely.

“Yeah, I’m getting that,” Sin mutters.

“All right, I’m out,” Jayla says, grabbing her clutch off the table.

That snags Rafe’s attention. He doesn’t argue, but that he meets her gaze and doesn’t even ask her to stay says all she needs to hear. She walks out shaking her head. I guess his little black book just lost an entry.

Rafe lets me climb out now, but as soon as he does, he locks an arm around my waist and tugs me close. As if Sin isn’t even here, he gazes down at me. “Well, kitten, looks like you scared off my date.”

“I didn’t scare off your date,” I state, trying to pull away from him. “You did that.”

“I want to talk to you alone.”

“I don’t want to be alone with you,” I inform him.

Still with one arm locked around my waist to hold me in place, he brings his other hand up and drags his thumb across my plump bottom lip. “You need to watch this pretty little mouth before it gets you into trouble.”

Narrowing my eyes at him despite my racing heart, I tell him, “Too late; it already has.”

“Yes.” Now he looks past me at Sin. Unease moves down my spine; I can already see this isn’t going to be good. “Did Laurel tell you about her time with me, Sin? When she’s in your bed, do you think about when I had her in mine?”

“Stop,” I say, my stomach plummeting.

He doesn’t. “Would you like details? Would you like for me to describe how she looked kneeling naked on the ground in front of me, waiting for me to let her have my cock?”

Face flushing with embarrassment, I reach down and dig my fingers into his arm, trying to get myself free from his relentless grip. “Stop it, Rafe.”

“Or how it felt when she finally took my cock between these plump lips and sucked me like a fucking lollipop? The sounds she made, the glorious view as she gazed up at me. Does she swallow for you, too? I taught her that.”

My stomach pitches. “Please stop. Please.”

That catches Rafe’s attention and drags his gaze back to me. “Oh, now it’s please?”

“I don’t know why you’re being so mean to me. I didn’t do anything to you,” I tell him. “I told you the truth, and when you didn’t like it, I left. If you need to live in a world where you didn’t impregnate me, fine; I won’t stop you. I’m not going to pretend with you, and if that pisses you off, I don’t know what to tell you, but you’re off the hook, so maybe you can stop being a dick.” Gesturing back to Sin, I add, “He is your friend, so I don’t know why you’re being such an asshole to him anyway.”

“He’s my employee,” Rafe corrects, the rich timbre of his voice caressing the word like a favored insult. “And he’s fucking what’s mine.”

My eyebrows rise with surprise. All I can do is shake my head. “What’s yours, Rafe? I am not yours. I never was. I never will be.” His hold is finally loose enough that I can back out of it. I’m not sure Sin will even be able to look at me after all that, but hell, maybe now he’ll let me go home. Regardless, I’m done here.

I turn back to Sin, tentatively meeting his gaze. He looks back at me, but his face betrays nothing. I can’t tell if it’s hard to look at me with the visuals Rafe put in his head or not.

“Can we go?” I ask him.

Sin looks at Rafe first, but after a couple beats, he looks back at me. “Yeah. We can go.”