Brandon walked Brinley and Austin to the door after dinner, his expression stern as he clapped Austin on the shoulder. "Take good care of my daughter."

Austin met his gaze steadily and said with quiet sincerity, "You have my word."

The ride back carried a different air-lighter, free of the earlier tension.

As streetlights and buildings blurred past the window,Brinley leaned against the glass, her heart still holding the warmth her father had left there moments before.

Breaking the silence, Austin's voice cut in, teasing."Tell me,have you been avoiding me lately?"

Brinley's stomach lurched, but she forced a calm smile."Why would I? I've been drowning in work-l can hardly breathe, let alone make time to avoid you."

Tilting his head, Austin leaned in, closing the space between them in an instant.

The subtle scent of cedar clung to him, warm and clean, while his eyes glimmered with amusement. "Is that so?" he murmured. "Funny, though-every time I'm in the living room, you suddenly remember urgent overtime. And on the stairs, you always bolt past me with your head down. Doesn't that sound a little suspicious?"

His breath skimmed across her cheek, sending her pulse racing.

Up close, his appeal was almost disarming-the sharp line of his nose, the curve of his mouth, and those fathomless eyes that seemed intent on unraveling every secret she tried to hide.

She tore her gaze aside, struggling for composure."You're reading too much into it. I've just been..really busy."

"Really?" His voice dropped, husky with an edge that pulled at her. "Because I can't shake the feeling it's about what happened in the study..."

"No!" she blurted, cutting him off, heat rushing to her cheeks.

Refusing to linger on the subject, she fumbled for an escape. "We're home-let's get out!"

Without waiting, she all but bolted from the car,retreating into the villa.

Austin's eyes lingered on her retreating figure as he let out a quiet chuckle, his gaze softening with unmistakabletenderness.

Back within the villa's walls, Brinley still felt frustrated about her hasty escape.

Why did he always manage to keep the upper hand?The more she dwelled on it, the more her irritation grew, until she silently swore she'd seize the upper hand at the very next chance.

From behind her came his calm, unhurried voice. "The pool is freshly maintained. Want to give it a try?"

She spun around to find him leaning lazily against the stair railing, a knowing smile playing at his lips, as if he'd caught her thoughts.

A flicker of determination surged through her chest."Fine," she answered, her tone brisk."Let's go."

Minutes later, dressed in her swimsuit, Brinley stepped out to the poolside.

Austin was already there, running a towel through his damp hair.

A loose white towel clung precariously at his hips,showing the sculpted lines of his back and the hard ridges of his abdomen.

Beads of water traced the dips of his muscles,sliding downward until they vanished at the towel's edge,sketching an outline that was almost too enticing.

Her pulse quickened despite her effort to remain composed.Determined not to let his presence rattle her,she walked steadily toward the pool's edge.

"You've been watching me for three minutes straight,"Austin drawled suddenly, his voice laced with playful tease.

Brinley blinked at the sudden remark but kept her face serene. Rising on her toes, she let her fingertips skim across his hard abdomen, her voice lilting with playful provocation."With a body like this, you could easily walk a runway."

Her hand lingered at his Apollo's belt, brushing the taut warmth there before she added with a sly smile,"Though I have to say-touching it feels even better."

Austin's Adam's apple shifted with a swallow, his gaze sharpening.

He reached for her wrist, only for Brinley to slip away with a quick flick

Arching a brow, she tilted her head at him. "Isn't this exactly what you like? Then why the sudden blush?"

Without giving him a chance to respond, she turned sharply, her silhouette trailing like a final stroke of elegance.

Austin stayed where he was, watching her retreat with a shake of his head.

His gaze dropped to the towel drawn taut across his hips, and he let out a low, self-mocking laugh before striding to the poolside shower and twisting the knob to unleash a rush of icy water.

Upstairs, Brinley pressed her back to the closed door of her room, her heartbeat racing as if she'd just run a mile.

Even she hadn't expected her daring move at the pool.

Her fingertips brushed the heat in her cheeks, the image of Austin's sculpted body and the ripple of his muscles beneath her touch replaying vividly in her mind.

A muffled cry slipped past her lips, and she quickly clapped her hands to her burning face.

Why the hell was she so easily tempted by Austin's looks?

Her breathing gradually evened out. The flustered gleam in her eyes hardened into determination.

She gave herself a stern reminder not to falter. Colin had once been the same-lavishing her with affection, making her feel as if she'd discovered love that would last.

Yet in the end,his half-hearted wavering between her and Milly destroyed everything, leaving only misery behind.

Austin seemed more reliable than Colin, but who Ccould say what schemes hid behind his calm exterior?

It was a marriage of convenience, a fact she could never allow herself to forget.

Brinley shook her head as if to scatter the jumble of doubts.

She drifted to the window, where the last light drained from the sky, her feelings a tangled knot she couldn't quite name.

Meanwhile, Austin stepped from the cold shower,droplets clinging to his skin as he faced the mirror. His cheeks still carried a faint flush.

With a helpless smile tugging at his lips, he muttered under his breath, "Brinley, you really know how to turn me on." ###Chapter 17 Is Just Touching Enough For You

As night draped over Hillcrest Villa, the house glowed warmly with light.

Brinley slipped inside after a long day at work,but the moment she opened the door,her breath hitched.

Austin stood in the living room, bare-chested, his muscles rippling as he moved through a weight training routine.

Under the glow of the chandelier, his skin gleamed,sweat tracing down the ridges of his back before vanishing into the waistband of his low-slung workout pants.

His jaw was tight with exertion, his breaths rough but steady, the veins along his arms stark against the swell of muscle.

A sharp flutter rattled through Brinley's chest.

She had seen him composed in sharp suits, relaxed in casual attire-but never like this, stripped of clothes and unguarded, every line of his body speaking of strength. Her eyes lingered helplessly on the sculpted lines of his shoulders, the hard definition of his abs, the smooth flex of his back.

Rooted in place with one hand still on the doorknob,Brinley could only stare, caught in the moment as though spellbound.

Just then, a sharp metallic clang shattered the quiet.

The dumbbell slipped from Austin's grip, crashing against the floor with a sharp clang that jolted Brinley back to herself.

"Careful!" she blurted out.

Her body acted on instinct, hurrying forward to steady him.

But before she reached the weights, strong arms swept her close.

Her spine pressed against the hard wall of his chest,and his damp heat surrounded her, his breath carrying the raw edge of exertion and sweat brushing against her neck.

"I'm exhausted," Austin murmured, voice husky, his face buried in her hair as his hold tightened around her waist. "Let's rest a little." The tip of his nose grazed her earlobe, sending a shiver racing down her back

Brinley froze in place, her thin blouse clinging as the heat and sweat from his chest seeped through,raising goosebumps across her skin.

"Austin, you..." Her protest faltered the moment her palm met the slick firmness of his abs.

The taut muscles flexed beneath her trembling fingers,making it impossible to push him away.

It only took a moment before her composure returned.She twisted sharply, her knee digging into his side with practiced precision.

Austin grunted, and in that instant of weakness,she seized the opening-rolling him flat onto the yoga mat.

Settling astride his waist, Brinley gripped his arm, her fingers squeezing the firm swell of his biceps. An eyebrow arched as she teased, "Mr. Moore, playing at being helpless with muscles like these?"

Flat on the mat, Austin met her gaze with a flicker of amusement in his teasing eyes.

The fading sun streamed through the windows,catching in her hair, softening her sharp beauty into something almost luminous

Brinley dipped closer, her lips near his ear, her voice drawn out and deliberate. "But I must admit, those lines... they're sculpted like a fashion model's body."

Her hand slid down the length of his arm,fingertips tracing every contour until she felt his body tense under her touch.

The intensity in his stare thickened, fierce and unyielding.

With a swift motion, he reversed their positions,pinning her beneath him against the mat.

His arms braced on either side of her head, his face lowering until the bridge of his nose hovered a breath from hers.

Their breaths tangled in the narrow space between them, and mischief flickered so vividly in his eyes it was almost tangible

His hips pressed forward, the taut muscles of his abdomen grazing her waist. His tone dipped into a low challenge. "Is just touching enough for you?"

"You!" Brinley's sharp cry broke out as she jerked her knee upward toward his stomach.

But Austin was quicker.He caught her ankle mid-strike, his grip like forged steel

She twisted, trying to break free, yet his hold didn't budge an inch.

"Let go of me!" Her cheeks flamed red, her voice edged with fury.

Instead of releasing her,Austin leaned closer, his body heat surrounding her like an inescapable cage.

Her pulse raced as she found herself staring at his face only inches away-lashes dark and thick, nose finely carved,lips shaped with infuriating perfection.

As her thoughts scattered and her frame froze, she forgot to move aside. Yet Austin came to an abrupt stop.

Instead of stealing the kiss she'd braced for, he reached out and brushed a feather from her hair,one she must have picked up when tumbling onto the pillow earlier.

"There's something in your hair," he murmured in his usual even tone, as though the heat in his gaze moments ago was just something she'd made up in her head.

He straightened and glanced down at Brinley sprawled on the mat. An eyebrow arched, his lips tugging into a smirk. "So, are you planning to move in down there?" The remark jolted her back to herself. Color rushed to her cheeks, creeping hot all the way to her ears.

She scrambled up, smoothing her rumpled blouse with quick, embarrassed motions, then shot him a glare."You did that on purpose!"

"What do you mean?" Austin pressed, tone innocent but eyes glittering as he dragged a towel across his damp skin. Mischief curled in his expression. "You're the one who couldn't stop staring at me while l worked out-and then went diving straight into my arms."

"I am not staring at you!" Brinley shot back, her temper flaring as color rose in her cheeks."I was just walking past! And why on earth are you working out in the living room instead of using the gym? What's wrong with you?"

"The AC in the gym broke," Austin answered evenly.His eyes lingered on the curve of her flushed earlobe,his lips tugging into a faint smile.

"The AC is broken?" Brinley echoed, eyeing him skeptically. "Why does this place have so many issues?Maybe you should think about getting a new villa altogether."

Austin didn't bother responding, content to study her indignant expression.The longer he stared, the more unsettled she felt,Brinley turned away sharply and stomped toward the dining room, determined to ignore him

She hurried through a few mouthfuls of dinner,but her thoughts kept circling back to the image in the living room-Austin's sweat-slicked skin, the heat of his breath brushing her face, and that teasing glint in his eyes.

Abruptly, she set down her knife and fork with a clatter, pushing back from the table as if fleeing a battlefield. Without a glance behind her, she escaped up the stairs to her bedroom.