Chapter 38 Here's Why

"Ahh!" Marielle Duvall gasped as a sudden weight pressed down on her—a scorching body already enveloping her. Her heart raced, stunned by the familiar scent, and faltered. Once, she had dreamed of intimacy with Rowan Blackwood—something tender, not the cold, mechanical ritual of their marriage bed. Yet even before she conceived, they had never known such closeness. Rowan inhaled a soft, intoxicating fragrance—so achingly familiar it summoned memories of countless nights, of the scent lingering on his pillow. For a moment, he gazed, entranced, as if caught in a waking dream. "Marielle…" He whispered, his chiseled face descending slowly toward her cherry lips. Then, a shrill ringtone shattered the silence. Marielle jolted awake, shoving Rowan away. Her heart hammered, blood surging through her veins, setting her body aflame, her face burning. Rowan nearly tumbled off the bed but snapped back—though not without regret. He reached for the ringing phone beside her, but she was quicker, snat