Page 38 of Override

Too much?

No. Surely not.

And yet I can feel the dress against my waist differently.

Tighter. Wrong.

The conversation around me blurs slightly while the woman beside me compliments my earrings.

I thank her automatically. Smile automatically. Somewhere across the ballroom, another camera flashes.

And for the first time in weeks, I suddenly become horribly aware of how visible I am inside this dress.

Ronan’s hand settles against my lower back again while the men transition into business conversation.

Possessive. Grounding. Controlling.

I don’t know which anymore.

Once...It made me feel safe. Now... I'm not sure what it makes me feel.

“You’re quiet tonight,” the woman beside me says kindly.

I force another smile. “Long week.”

Ronan’s thumb strokes once against my spine.

A reward for behaving. The realization lands ugly in my chest before I can stop it.

God.

When did I start understanding his moods like this? When did I start adjusting myself around them automatically?

Across the ballroom, one of the security cameras mounted near the stage entrance shifts slightly.

Tiny movement. Barely noticeable.

But for one impossible irrational second, it feels like something in this room is watching me too closely.

Not the way Ronan watches.

Different. Aware.

The strange sensation crawls briefly across my skin before disappearing again beneath another round of polite conversation.

I stare down into my untouched water glass instead. All I can think about is the appetizer plate disappearing from my hands.

***

It's been a few days since the fundraiser and the house feels colder. Not physically.

The estate is always temperature controlled within an inch of its life, every room perfectly heated no matter the weather outside. But something in Ronan has shifted over the last month, tightening slowly beneath the surface until even the air around him feels sharper now.

Shorter answers. Less patience. More correction hidden inside casual conversation.

Nothing dramatic enough to point at.

Just enough that I find myself thinking before I speak more often lately.