<b>Chapter </b><b>185 </b>


    Elissa had studied traditional medicine, but contraceptives were just another part of a doctor’s everyday life–hardly something to fuss over.


    Given how things stood between them, when Rowan told her to go take a shower, her mind naturally jumped to only one conclusion.


    She’de to Rowan of her own ord, asked to be his lover; there was no point pretending otherwise. Best to just go along with it, she thought. The sooner she went to bed, the sooner she could walk away when he inevitably lost interest.


    Suddenly, Rowan chuckled and lifted her onto the bathroom counter, bracing one arm next to her thigh. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he leaned in, his voice teasing in her ear, “Didn’t you say you wanted to be lovers? Since when do lovers use protection?”


    He couldn’t have sounded more shameless.


    Elissa had prepared herself for this, but her cheeks still flushed at his words. “W–well, you should still be careful,” she stammered.


    He put on a mock–serious look. “Careful about what? It’s not like I’m sick.”


    That was thest straw. “Rowan! That’s not the point and you know it”


    Before she could finish, his voice cut through hers, low andmanding. “Call me ‘big brother.”


    She remembered–he’d always been hung up on that, correcting her over and over when they were younger, insisting she use the title. If she refused, the conversation simply wouldn’t move forward.


    So, like she was dealing with a demanding client, Elissa kept her voice t and emotionless. “Big brother.”


    Rowan nced down at her, unimpressed. “Elissa, you weren’t this stiff when you were a kid.”


    Annoyed, she snapped, “Big brother. Okay?”


    That was more like it.


    She only had two modes: either exasperated or pitifully soft when she needed


    11:37


    something from him. Rowan, satisfied, raised an eyebrow. For the first time, Elissa realized he actually enjoyed being treated this way.


    Seizing the moment, she pressed on, “This isn’t about being sick or <i>not</i>. It’s about not risking anyone’s life.”


    “Oh? Whose life is at risk?” Rowan looked at her with mock innocence, lips quirked up in a boyish grin. “Why would anyone die?”


    Elissa was used to giving medical advice, but she’d never had <i>to </i>exin the birds and the bees to Rowan. For any other patient, it would just be biology–nothing awkward about it. But staring into his deep, searching eyes, she felt her breath hitch and blurted out, “If sperm meets an egg, you tell me–doesn’t that risk someone’s life?”


    She waspletely serious, cheeks flushed a peachy pink under the bathroom light, her skin practically glowing with frustration.


    Her breathing was visibly quickening. Rowan suddenly leaned in, their breaths mingling, and when he kissed her, his Adam’s apple bobbed with restrained desire.


    It was just a light kiss, but when he pulled back and saw hershes trembling, he murmured, “No one’s going to die.”


    He would never let anything happen to her. If they ever had a child together, he was determined to make sure their life would be perfect.


    But Elissa, mind in turmoil, missed the deeper meaning in his words. Anger red, making her blurt out, “Can you stop joking about this? I know you’ve probably been with a lot of women–maybe you even have kids already-”


    Her words were swallowed as Rowan imed her lips, his kiss fierce and unyielding, leaving no room for protest. The heat in the bathroom thickened, tension crackling between them.


    Every time he kissed her like this, Elissa’s knees turned to jelly, her breath catching in her throat. She tried to lean away, but he anticipated it, strong hand at her nape, holding her exactly where he wanted.


    She couldn’t resist for long; her voice came out broken and breathless. “Rowan…”


    “Call me ‘big brother.”


    Even in the middle of desire, his lips barely leaving hers, he never forgot to correct her.


    <b>11:37 </b>