Chapter 1226

Claire’s back was pressed flush against the icy wall, but the hard chest pinning her in place was scorching hot. The contrast sent shivers down her spine.

Her knees buckled, barely able to support her weight.

The kiss went on and on, stealing every ounce of her oxygen until her lungs burned. Finally, he pulled back just an inch.

His nose brushed against hers, his ragged, fiery breath ghosting over her swollen

lips.

“Why are you hiding from me?” he rasped, his voice dark and dripping with satisfaction.

Claire gasped for air, the corners of her eyes flushed a deep, sensual red.

Her fingers subconsciously twisted into the lapels of his suit jacket as she tried to defend herself.

But the image of Rowan laughing against his shoulder flashed in her mind, and her protest came out as a soft, defensive mumble. “…I’m not.”

Wilbur chuckled, a low rumble in his chest. His thumb gently swiped across the wet corner of her mouth, his gaze heavy and incredibly focused.

As Claire looked up at him in a panic, he dipped his head again.

He wanted to kiss her.

Reading his mind, Claire desperately turned her face away.

Wilbur’s lips brushed against her cheek, his hot breath landing directly on her ear.

Heavy and scorching.

He let out a soft laugh. “And you call this not hiding?”

Claire was speechless.

Dodging a kiss and dodging a person were two completely different things!

She raised her hands to shove him away.

Wilbur suddenly opened his mouth and nibbled on her earlobe.

His teeth grazed the sensitive skin, sending a blast of heat straight into her ear.

A violent jolt of electricity shot up Claire’s spine, blowing through her entire body. Her limbs went instantly weak, a molten heat turning her bones to liquid. Even her toes curled in her heels.

She froze, completely paralyzed against him, unable to move a muscle.

Her mind short-circuited into pure white static.

It was chaos. Absolute, unadulterated chaos.

Right at that moment, a sickeningly sweet voice echoed from the hallway outside, growing louder as she approached.

“That’s so weird. Where did Mr. Prescott go? The waiter said he walked this way. Where is he?”

It was Rowan, hunting for Wilbur.

Claire stopped breathing. The blood in her veins turned to ice.

A second later, the heavy brass door handle was aggressively pushed down. Click,

click. The sound echoed loudly in the dark room.

It wouldn’t open.

Wilbur had locked the deadbolt.

“Mr. Prescott? Are you in there?” Rowan called out through the wood.

She was still using that breathy, seductive register.

Claire tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but the arm wrapped around

her waist instantly tightened like a steelvise, pulling her so flush against him she almost let our a whimper. NovelPeak.org

She glared at him fiercely in the dark.

Wilbur just chuckled soundlessly. He didn’t step back; he pressed even closer.

His lips brushed her burning ear as he whispered, his hot breath wrapping around every syllable. “Don’t make a sound.”

Outside, Rowan knocked harder, convinced he was inside.

“Mr. Prescott, can you open the door? It’s Rowan. I was hoping we could have a private chat.”

A private chat.

The implication couldn’t be more obvious.

Wilbur ignored the door completely. Instead, his fingers began tracing slow, agonizingly sensual circles against the small of Claire’s waist.

Claire was losing her mind. Terrified that her ragged breathing would give them away, she bit down hard on her bottom lip.

She was terrified of making a sound.

After a painfully long minute of silence, Rowan aggressively stomped her designer

heels on the carpet and huffed in frustration.

The sharp clicking of her stilettos faded down the hall.

The second the coast was clear, alt

the fight drained out of Claire. She

went limp, glaring at him with watery eyes her voice shaking with adrenaline. NovelPeak.org

“Are you out of your mind…”

Wilbur didn’t answer right away. He reached up, his thumb gently wiping away the faint moisture at the corner of her eye. He let out a dark chuckle. His voice dropping into a raspy, seductive register.

“Are you terrified we’ll get caught sneaking around?”

He whispered the words softly, yet they hooked directly into her chest.

Claire’s face erupted in flames. Mortified, she jerked her head away, only for his

fingers to catch her chin and force her to look at him.