The Jilted Heiress' Return To The High Life

The Betrayed Heiress' Return to Elegance 26

Chapter 26 Brush Past His Lips

Corrine's heart leaped into her throat, her face blanching as fear gripped her. She squeezed her eyes shut and instinctively clung to the potted plant in her arms, as though it were her lifeline.

In a heartbeat, a firm, unyielding arm encircled her waist, pulling her into a secure, almost possessive embrace.

Everything unraveled so quickly that Corrine barely had time to process what was happening

But the dreaded pain never came.

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Nate, his face so close that she could feel the warmth radiating from him.

His sharply sculpted jawline looked impossibly smooth, his Adam's apple subtly enticing as it moved. Beneath it, the crisp, buttoned collar of his shirt exuded an effortless sophistication, a quiet magnetism she couldn't

ignore.

m for escap

escape.

The closeness between them was almost suffocating, their bodies pressed together with no room Nate's cool, intoxicating scent surrounded her, leaving her feeling utterly cornered.

without warning, and Corrine caught a glimpse of herself

and began to race wildly.

betraying her composure.

always throw caution to the wind like this?" Nate's deep, velvety voice murmured near her ear, the timbre

hair near her temple, an electric current jolting her senses and making her body

of his arms. She straightened,

he noticed the lingering flush on her cheeks. His voice carried playful lilt. "Ah, so you're suggesting we

and opted for silence, crouching to retrieve the plant from

and a faint,

and unusually tender, a quiet warmth flickering in

anyone

his eyes fell on Corrine's hands. Without warning, he grabbed

together in

find a thin, barely noticeable scratch

even

dismissively, rubbing the cut on her sleeve as though that would erase

swept her into his arms, standing with an

plant!" she gasped, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck. Her forehead brushed against his lips in the movement, the brief contact freezing him in place for a fraction of a