Chapter 97

His usually calm eyes darkened. He kept circling back to that kiss at dawn—still burning in his memory. Sweet, soft, addictive… way better than any fancy dessert. One taste, and he was a goner. He leaned in, lips almost brushing that soft pink. But then, he stopped. ...Desire kept tugging at his reason, making him want to back away and give in all at once… Time and air seemed to freeze. A silent internal tug-of-war. Who knew how long it lasted. Finally, he sighed and pulled back, sitting upright. He loosened his tie and downed a full glass of melting ice water. Behind him, Claire was still “asleep.” Every inch of her “sleeping” pose screamed fake—like a mannequin aggressively posed into that angle. A minute later, the “mannequin” subtly curled her fingers. Ten minutes later, she yanked the blanket over herself so fast it looked like a magic trick, wrapping up like a burrito. Her heart had been on a crazy rollercoaster for the past ten minutes, still thudding in her chest, a weird ache