Chapter 173: I hope you know this is strictly professional
Her eyes flew open, a stunned silence locking her in place.
Did he just—
Of course he did.
Isabella blinked up at him, trying not to let her fluster show as her brain fought to catch up. Her lips still tingled. Her breath still trembled.
And that was what he chose to whisper?
Her mouth twisted slowly into a grin, eyes narrowing with mock offense. "Are you serious right now?" she asked, voice half-winded, half amused. "You’re standing there, one breath away from kissing me, and that’s what you come up with? Soap?"
Kian didn’t flinch. Just looked at her calmly with that same maddening intensity. Not a flicker of apology in his eyes.
She exhaled in disbelief and gave a low, breathy laugh. "You... you’re ridiculous." Then, softer, "And very lucky you’re pretty."
He tilted his head slightly, waiting.
Fine.
Isabella tossed her wet hair back over her shoulder and stepped to the side, still facing him, her fingers brushing the rim of the small clay bowl balanced neatly on a flat rock beside the spring. The mixture inside shimmered faintly under the moonlight—thick and smooth with a floral tint. She dipped one finger into it, then glanced back at him with a smirk.