Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 130

He stood under the showerhead, steam swirling around his tall frame.

That face—so breathtaking it almost felt sacrilegious to look at—was now marked by closed eyes, lost in the moment.

His dark hair, slick and wet, dripped water down his neck.

Rivulets traced the sculpted lines of his back, each droplet gliding along skin stretched taut over lean muscle.

Any further down and—

She snapped her gaze away in panic.

"Have you seen enough?" a deep, husky voice burned through the mist.

Celestine's face flamed red as she slammed the bathroom door shut with a bang.

Standing just outside, she stammered, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Prescott, I thought the pipes were leaking!"

Why on earth hadn't he locked the door?

Well—it was his home, after all. Maybe he just wasn't used to locking up.

What if he thought she was some kind of creep?

Celestine wanted to melt into the floor with embarrassment.

She hovered, mortified, barely daring to breathe. No sound came from inside.

She was just about to tiptoe back to her room when the bathroom door swung open.

He stepped out, wreathed in steam, a white towel slung low around his hips. The towel clung just right, accentuating the chiseled lines of his abs and the deep grooves of his hips.

Celestine threw a quick glance his way—then instantly looked away, voice barely above a whisper. "I really didn't mean to. I swear."

Gideon's eyes were half-lidded, his expression unreadable as he took in the furious blush on her cheeks.

"I suppose Miss Selwyn didn't do it on purpose," he drawled. "But imagine my surprise: you show up out of nowhere in my house, and then suddenly barge into my bathroom while I'm in the shower."

"I swear it wasn't on purpose! Cynthia was scared to sleep alone, so I came to keep her company. I didn't know you were home—I thought the bathroom was flooding and the door was unlocked, so…" Celestine's voice trailed off, growing smaller with every word.

Under his steady, inscrutable stare, she wilted.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Anyway, if I'd known it was you in the shower, Mr. Prescott, I'd never have opened the door!"

"Oh?" Gideon's eyes glinted, his tone cool and teasing. "So I'm so hideous now, Miss Selwyn can't even bear to look at me?"

Celestine wanted to pry open his skull and check what went on inside.

Was that really the point? Why was he focusing on this?

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