Unwrapped: a steamy grumpy x sunshine Christmas romantic comedy novella (Entitled Love Novellas Book 5) by Rachel Rowan

Author:Rachel Rowan [Rowan, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-11-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Not unsurprisingly, Jules took a moment to answer.

He probably should not have said that. No. He definitely should not have said that. Now it was hanging in the dark between them, stretched out on the silence, buffeted by the exhale of Jules’ breath.

“I think that might be…um…considered a subversion of the trope,” she answered, very carefully, as though she were picking her way through a minefield.

Will nodded, which was stupid, given it was dark and she couldn’t see. But he was feeling incredibly stupid right now.

Hence asking that question. And then saying:

“So if the guy said to the girl something like, ‘I’m insanely attracted to you. And not touching you is killing me.’ That would be subverting the trope too?”

He heard her swallow. She was so close beside him he could hear her every breath. “Why…um… Why do you ask?” she said.

“Literary curiosity.”

“Right.”

His heart was pounding, his muscles wound so tight it almost hurt. The woman beside him was blazing like a beacon. And she was Jay’s sister, who hated men, who thought he was a clown—and a few minutes ago he had come so close to kissing her that the wrench of stepping back might be a scar branded on his soul forever.

He’d come out of the bathroom and she had been in her pyjamas, totally mismatched things. Soft cotton trousers, cosy waffle fabric, well-washed and worn. And a silk top, edged in lace. All of it black, of course. That was the only thing that matched.

He’d never had a relationship long enough to reach that imperfect stage of tatty pyjamas, mismatched underwear, odd socks with holes in. Never quite reached the unvarnished truth of a person. But there Jules was, perfectly imperfect, makeup-free and hair down and vulnerable and raw and there—there, at his side, concern in her voice and eyes as she touched his bruise.

God. All of that had been as intoxicating as anything else. As the look of her breasts in the black silk top, braless, the peaks of her nipples clear through the thin fabric. He could imagine how they’d feel, the heavy swell of flesh in his hand, the warm silk sliding…

He wanted her so badly. But he couldn’t, they couldn’t—

“They’re not meant to admit it,” Jules said, her quiet voice setting his heart thundering. “The attraction. They fight it all night long.”

“Do they sleep?”

“No. They spend a terrible night.”

“Sounds like torture.”

“Yeah. It is.”

A beat of deep silence.

Will said, “So the man doesn’t tell her that he thinks she’s beautiful?”

A whisper. “No.”

“That he really, really likes her?”

“No.”

“That he’s aching to touch her? That he’s been fighting it all day? That he’s jealous of his own car’s seatbelt because it’s been slotted between her breasts for hours and that’s exactly where he’d like to be?”

“That’s…highly specific.”

His laugh was a breath in the dark. “I can’t think where the inspiration came from. But does he ever say that? The man in bed with the woman he can’t touch?”

“No. And…and the woman doesn’t tell him how much she craves that touch.

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