?Chapter 66:


    Ste followed the directions to the room and stopped at the door. She reached out to knock, but the door opened easily with just a gentle push. A little thrown off, she stepped inside cautiously. “Excuse me…”


    She barely got the words out when her eyesnded on William—he was in the middle of a shower, the bathroom door wide open.


    Her breath hitched. Just as she turned to leave, William turned toward her. Their eyes locked, and Ste wished the floor would swallow her whole.


    “What brings you here?” His expression was tight, clearly caught off guard by her presence.


    Flustered, Ste stammered, “I’m your partner. We need to collect some samples.”


    William paused for a beat, then nodded and told her to give him a moment. Ste stood frozen, struggling to stop her gaze from drifting toward his defined frame. Before she could stop herself, the words slipped out, “Do you want help washing your back?”


    It felt wrong to let that strong, sculpted back go to waste.


    The second the sentence left her mouth, regret hit hard, especially when she noticed William looking at her with a strange, unreadable look. Her heart thudded, and she quickly tried to fix the situation. “Wait, Mr. Briggs, I didn’t mean anything weird. Really. It’s just… I figured it must be hard to scrub your back alone, and if I helped, you’d finish faster…”


    She meant to sound helpful, but each word made things worse. The awkwardness thickened in the air, and William’s expression only grew colder.


    She wished she could take it all back. What was she even saying? Was she seriously implying she wanted to join him in the shower?


    William emerged from the bathroom, a towel tied around his waist. The sight of his broad, chiseled torso made Ste’s breath catch again. Without thinking, she pped both hands over her eyes. “Mr. Briggs, what are you thinking? Y-you might want to put something on!”


    After all, they were a man and a woman, alone in the room, and he hadn’t fully dressed yet—it simply felt improper.


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    William said nothing as he stepped toward her, his calm presence contrasting sharply with the visible panic on her face.


    But instead of touching her, his hand reached past her shoulder.


    Ste’s eyes widened as he closed the distance. Instinctively, she backed away to avoid contact.


    Embarrassment overwhelmed her, and all she wanted to do was flee. But before she could, William reached for the bathrobe hanging just behind her.


    He slipped it on just as Ste lost her footing and tumbled backward.


    Startled, William reacted quickly, catching her before she hit the floor.


    Ste’s arms iled in panic, and in the process, she identally yanked at the robe, tearing it halfway off his body.


    His arm slid around her waist to steady her, pulling her against him unintentionally.


    His skin, still cool from the shower, was damp against her warm cheeks, which were now burning with embarrassment.


    Ste felt her heart drop.


    Whenever she tried to rify things with him, it always seemed to go wrong.


    Thest time, she somehow ended up on hisp during a formal event, and now, here she was, in his arms again, with him barely dressed.


    For a moment, she froze,pletely forgetting to move.


    William looked down at her, an amused glint in his eyes. “Ms. Russell, you seem awfully settled in my arms. Aren’t you nning to move?”


    Ste’s entire face turned crimson. She scrambled to free herself. “No, it’s not like that—wait!”


    As she shifted, she felt a tug and realized, toote, that her clothes had caught on his towel.


    In one horrifying second, the towel slipped—and William, once decently wrapped, now stoodpletely exposed before her at painfully close range.


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