Page 70 of Unexpected Entanglement

“I’m almost done. Just that tiny corner, then I’ll do the rest with the roller.”

“Rowan, get off the ladder,” Chris asked her evenly. “I saw you almost topple the whole thing over not a minute ago.”

“But I didn’t,” she retorted stubbornly and pointed to the brush on the floor. “Brush.”

“Either come down on your own now, or I’ll do it for you.”

“You’re not really my fiancé. Stop telling me what to do.” Rowan glared at him.

Chris shook his head at her stubbornness. “That’s it.” He closed in on her in one stride and lifted her off the ladder by the waist.

“Hey!” Rowan went to grab the top of the ladder, but Chris was faster.

“I gave you a chance.” Chris moved away from the ladder, holding Rowan up by the waist and was about to heft her onto his shoulder, fireman style, but the woman struggled like a monkey.

“Put me down!” Rowan ordered.

“Goddamn it,” Chris cursed as his hold slipped. He didn’t want to drop her on her bad foot. “Hold still, for god’s sake. Watch your ankle!”

But the hardheaded woman wriggled around, trying to push off him, and Chris completely lost control of the situation, as if he had control in the first place. They stumbled over each other’s body and limbs—again—and fell.

“Ooff!”

Chris didn’t have time to reverse their position this time, and he fell on top of her, but thankfully into something cushy. He pushed up to move his weight off Rowan, but found her staring at him with big, rounded eyes. Those mesmerizing eyes. They were a mix of heat and ice this time. And he froze, hovering over her. Any early annoyance fled him; the only thing going through his mind was the woman under him.

twenty-two

“Stop looking at me like that,” Rowan finally broke the tension—her voice was a mere whisper.

“You stop looking at me like that,” Chris replied—his eyes anchored to hers.

“How am I looking at you?” she asked.

“Like you want me to kiss you again.”

Chris fully expected that answer would get a rise out of her and then maybe she’d force him out of this tricky situation. Instead, she blinked, and her gaze dropped to his lips before meeting his eyes again.

“Funny,” she said. “You look like you want to kiss me again.”

Chris released his breath slowly. “Shit, I do.”

Rowan’s hands slid away from his chest to wrap around his neck. Her voice had gone deeper and breathier as she said, “So it sounds like we both want the same thing.”

When did she become such a temptress? And fuck if that voice didn’t tempt his every being. His common sense, ethical sense, and the part of his brain that controlled his cock battled it out.

Last night’s kiss—however extraordinary it’d been—was necessary to their scheme. But if he kissed Rowan right now, he’d cross a line. They could put the partnership they’d formed in the past few days at risk. Plus, she was Rae’s sister, for fuck’s sake.

Half-sister, really. Half-estranged-sister, technically. Practical strangers.

Those bright aqua eyes lured him close until their lips were merely a breath away. His common sense made one last attempt to put the brake on. “We shouldn’t.”

The tip of her nose swept his cheek softly, and he could feel her breath feather against his lips. “No, we shouldn’t,” she murmured as her lips barely brushed his.

Chris could hold his hovering position for a long time, but his desire for her won. He dove, claiming what she was offering to him freely. He thought he’d be prepared for the shock of their lips meeting this time. But his heart rate leaped in record time as the thirst for her overwhelmed him in seconds. He wanted to drink in the taste of Rowan Kelly—no, devour her.

Rowan parted her lips, sharing his needs and enticing him to a deeper exploration of their kiss. He plunged his tongue to meet hers and drank deep from the warmth of her mouth. Rowan sparred with him, meeting him at every stroke with her ardent need.

The yearning didn’t dissipate as the seconds ticked by. It spread through his body as his hands delved into the silk of her hair, his body pressed her down onto the mattress, and his cock insistently hardened against the inside of her thigh.

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