Chapter 80

He called her name sharply.

With a sudden jerk, Harrison finally freed her tangled hair from Nathaniel's grasp. The stubborn knot gave way with an audible snap.

She sat up abruptly, voice shaking. "What is it?"

Nathaniel's dark eyes studied her, his expression unreadable. "Was that intentional?"

Only then did Harrison realize their compromising position. In her struggle to untangle herself, she'd somehow ended up straddling him.

Now he lay beneath her, his muscular frame pressed against her thighs.

Her mind blanked. Instinctively, she clenched her legs tighter around his waist.

Nathaniel's firm torso was trapped between her smooth, pale thighs - the contrast of her fair skin against his dark pajamas almost blinding.

The moment she moved, Nathaniel's eyes darkened dangerously. His muscles tensed visibly beneath the silk fabric as his hands gripped her slender waist. "Relax," he growled, voice rough.

Harrison's face burned crimson. Her dark hair tumbled wildly around her shoulders as her wide eyes darted nervously like a cornered rabbit. She didn't understand.

"What do you mean?"

Nathaniel swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Your legs. They're squeezing too tight."

Harrison couldn't form a coherent response.

She could feel the scorching heat radiating from his body. The air between them grew thick with unspoken tension.

Suddenly, a phone rang sharply - the sound slicing through the charged atmosphere.

Nathaniel's phone lit up on the nightstand. Harrison glimpsed "Isabella" flashing across the screen.

Still reclined, Nathaniel shielded his eyes with one hand, his gaze smoldering as he answered. "Isabella."

The call shattered the moment completely.

Harrison's blush vanished instantly. She scrambled off Nathaniel in a flustered hurry, nearly tripping in her haste.

Nathaniel threw back the covers and rose from bed as Isabella's cheerful voice carried through the phone. "Nathaniel, you're awake already?"

"Mm," he responded absently.

His piercing gaze followed Harrison's frantic retreat into the bathroom.

He'd been awake since her first movement, though he'd kept his eyes closed. He'd felt every hesitant touch of her fingers tracing his jawline. He knew exactly how badly she wanted to touch him - and how terrified she was to do so.

"Nathaniel! Are you even listening?" Isabella's sharp tone snapped him back to reality.

"What?" He shook his head slightly to clear it.

"I'm having friends over today. You should come!"

Isabella was inviting him to the Whitmore estate.

Nathaniel refused without hesitation. "Important meeting today. Office."

Isabella sighed dramatically. "Fine. Good luck with work then."

He ended the call and stared at his phone for a long moment before glancing down at his obvious predicament, his handsome features strained.

Every interaction with Harrison tested his control. He couldn't comprehend why his body reacted this way when he didn't even like her.

Nathaniel stalked into the adjoining bathroom and turned the shower to cold.

When he emerged, Dominic was already waiting. "Mr. Falcon."

Nathaniel had regained his usual icy composure, every inch the powerful CEO. "Investigate Vincent Blackwood."

Dominic blinked. "Mrs. Falcon's adoptive father?"

Nathaniel nodded. "Vincent served ten years. Dig up the original case files. I want every detail."