Page 74 of His Untouchable Heart

Juliette Vanderburg, barefoot and beautiful chaos, blinking up at a brass sign like it had personally offended her. A napkin was balled in one hand, a Champagne flute teetering in the other, her hair barely pinned up anymore—like the whole idea of being polished had given up and decided to surrender.

“Oh good,” she said when she saw me. “Since you own this boat you’ll know where the hell the bathroom is.”

I leaned a shoulder against the wall, arms crossed, trying not to smirk. “Can’t decide if that’s a compliment or just desperation.”

She frowned, then grinned. “Both. Also, I’m working with a rapidly declining wine-to-bladder ratio, so unless you want a scene on this very expensive teak wood…”

“Say no more.”

I motioned for her to follow me, guiding us down the curved hallway with practiced ease. But just as we reached the door, the yacht gave a lazy roll beneath our feet—barely a shift, but Juliette, barefoot and off-balance, stumbled forward with a laugh.

I caught her elbow, but too late.

She collided with me and we both tumbled inside the bathroom, the door swinging shut behind us with more force than I intended.

Click.

I froze.

Juliette blinked up at me. “Did your yacht just lock us in the bathroom?”

I turned the knob. Nothing.

“No,” I said, frowning. “It’s not supposed to do that.”

“Well,” she said, planting her hands on her hips, “either we just discovered a design flaw or your yacht is into matchmaking.”

I turned toward her to explain I’d get someone to unlock it.

Her mouth was already on mine.

There was no restraint. No shame. No asking. Just bold, tipsy certainty and soft lips that crashed into mine like she’d been thinking about it all night and didn’t have the patience to wait one second longer.

My back hit the door. Hard.

She tasted like mischief and momentum—like trouble I should’ve walked away from five champagne toasts ago. But I didn’t. Couldn’t. Not with her pressed against me, not with the door locked behind us, and definitely not with the way she smiled against my mouth—like she knew she’d just rewritten the rules of the game.

And I was already a willing player.

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