Page 26 of The Housekeeper and the Brooding Billionaire

Seconds later heat surrounded her. A living heat.

‘Let go of the bookcase, Charlotte. I’ve got you.’

She felt Alessio’s warm breath riffle her hair, the brush of his big frame behind her, and felt relief that he was here.

Yet she couldn’t unlock her fingers.

‘Trust me, Charlotte.’

On the words, gentle fingers covered her hand, prising it loose from the woodwork. Her heart galloped as she realised she wasn’t hanging on to the stability of the bookcase any longer, but then Alessio’s hand folded around hers, pulling it back and curling it around the ladder.

‘Thank you. I’m okay now.’ And she was. She was perfectly capable of climbing down the ladder even if her knees trembled.

‘Of course.’ His chest brushed her back as he spoke. and now she was aware of his arms around her, grasping the ladder on either side. It was...comforting to have him there. ‘But we’ll descend together, just to be safe. Ready?’

‘More than ready. I can’t wait to get down and have a cup of tea.’ Her words belied her unsteadiness, but did he hear the wobble in her voice?

‘Take a step down, Charlotte.’ He moved lower, and she hurried to follow him, surprised at how much she disliked the idea of being left behind.

They descended like that all the way to the marble floor, one step at a time, his arms encircling her. But when they reached the bottom, to her horror, Charlotte couldn’t pry her fingers from the ladder.

‘I’m sorry about the book. I’ll pay for any damage.’ Which could be expensive if it was rare.

‘Out of the question.’ His voice was sharp. ‘It’s my fault for not warning you about the ladder. Anna mentioned a problem with it, but it slipped my mind.’ He paused. ‘Are you going to let go now?’

She laughed, the sound brittle. ‘In a second, when I persuade my fingers to work again. It’s silly. I’m not afraid of heights, but...’

As she watched, Alessio reached around her, covering her hands with his and gently pulling them free. His voice soothed. ‘You’ve had a shock. We both have. If you’d fallen...’ His deep voice turned to gravel.

His hands left hers, and she was surprised at how bereft she felt. Until the world tilted and she found herself, for the first time in her life, held off the ground in a man’s embrace.

Stunned, she looked up past a firm, familiar jaw with its dusting of roguish dark stubble to piercing eyes the colour of deep water. Except deep water was cool, and Alessio’s eyes blazed fire.

Her heart leapt at what she thought she saw there. Not the disinterested look of a stranger. Nor annoyance at the potential damage to his precious book. Alessio’s stare was intent, charged. Devouring.

Charlotte shivered, not with weakness or dismay but excitement. She closed her fingers tight against the temptation to reach up and stroke his hard jaw. To slide her hand higher, into that lustrous black hair. To clutch his skull and pull his head down.

She snapped her eyes shut, willing the crazy thoughts away. Yet without vision, she was more conscious of his tall frame against her. Those strong arms supporting her. The rise of his chest. The cushion of soft cotton and solid muscle against her cheek. The heady scent of clean male skin just a breath away.

Too soon, or not soon enough, he lowered her to a chair. Charlotte stiffened, eyes opening and hands lifting instinctively as if to keep him close. One grazed his jawline, the other catching his hand.

Energy pulsed between them. A quickening that she felt deep within. For a second their fingers clung, and in that moment, it felt perfectly right. As if they’d touched that way a thousand times.

Alessio’s pupils widened, darkening his eyes, and she leaned closer. His fingers squeezed hers, and sheknewhe was about to lean in and kiss her.

His gaze dropped to her lips, parted in readiness. The air thickened.

Then his hands slid free and he moved back, straightening to his full height.

‘You’re all right now. No harm done.’

He stood less than a metre away, yet the distance between them was immense and unbreachable.

A lump of ice settled in her middle.

The man doesn’t want to kiss you. He can’t get away fast enough.

Embarrassment flooded her, heat roaring up into her cheeks. ‘I’m sorry. I—’

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