Chapter 5

The air in the secluded tea house was thick, heavy with the scent of steeping jasmine and the damp, earthy perfume of the rain that had just ceased falling outside. We had retreated from the main festival grounds, slipping away from the roar of the crowd and the clinking of sake cups to find this private alcove, a small wooden structure perched on stilts above the koi pond, hidden behind a curtain of weeping cherry branches. The paper lanterns strung above us glowed with a warm, amber luminescence, casting long, dancing shadows against the tatami mats, turning our intimate enclosure into a world stripped of everything but us. I stood near the low table, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird, watching him. He had removed his outer yukata, draping it over his shoulder, leaving him in a simple white kimono that had been pushed down to his waist. The fabric clung to the broad expanse of his chest, highlighting the dark, coarse hair that dusted his sternum. His eyes, dark and hungry, never left my face. There was a possessive weight to his gaze, a silent command that made my knees weak. "Come here, baby girl,"