Chapter 5

The air in the private suite was thick, heavy with the scent of pine resin and the metallic tang of anticipation. Outside, the mountain wind howled against the floor-to-ceiling glass, a white-knuckled gale that threatened to tear the world apart, but in here, under the glow of the roaring fireplace, time had stopped. The heat from the stone hearth radiated against my skin, mingling with the rising temperature of my own body. I sat on the edge of the plush velvet chaise, my legs trembling slightly, not from the cold, but from the sheer weight of his gaze. He stood before me, a towering figure of shadow and muscle, having shed his wool coat and crisp white shirt. His chest was bare, the hair there dusted with gold from the firelight, and his eyes—dark, predatory, and infinitely patient—locked onto mine. "Look at you, baby girl," he murmured, his voice a low rumble that seemed to vibrate in my chest. He reached out, his large hand cupping my jaw, his thumb brushing over my lower lip. "So pretty. So ready." I didn't answer. I couldn't. My throat was too tight, my mind too fogged with the haze of arousal and the