로그인Chapter 9:Three weeks later, Thessaly stood in the kitchen making bread while Caspian worked on repairing a section of the fence. The storm had passed, the satellite phone had been fixed, and she'd made exactly one phone call.To her landlord, to cancel her lease.Everything else in Seattle could be handled remotely or abandoned. She didn't need much from her old life. Didn't want much.What she wanted was here. In this cabin, with this man, in this wild beautiful place."You're doing it wrong," Caspian said from the doorway, making her jump."I'm following the recipe exactly!""The recipe is wrong. Here." He came up behind her, his hands covering hers on the dough. "Knead it like this. More pressure. You have to be firm with it."Thessaly leaned back against his chest. "Is this a metaphor?""Maybe. How's the dough feel?""Firm. Strong. Capable.""Good. That's what you're aiming for." He kissed her neck. "You're getting better at this domestic stuff.""Don't sound so surprised. I'm a
Chapter 8: Later, much later, Thessaly lay wrapped in Caspian's arms, her body sated and exhausted. He was tracing patterns on her bare back, his touch gentle despite the intensity of what they'd just done. "You okay?" he asked quietly. "Better than okay. That was..." She didn't have words for what that was. "Yeah." His arms tightened around her. "It was." They lay in comfortable silence for a while and just breathing. Outside, the storm continued to rage, but inside they were warm and safe and together. "Caspian?" Thessaly said finally. "Mm?" "What happened? The thing that made you come out here. The thing you won't talk about." He was quiet for so long she thought he wouldn't answer. Then he said, "I had a company. Tech startup. Built it from nothing with my best friend. We were going to change the world, make millions, all that ambitious startup bullshit." "What happened?" "He stole everything. The company, the patents, the investors. Framed me for fraud so I'd go to pri
Chapter 7: "Daddy." Her voice was steadier this time. "Yes, Daddy. I want this. I want you." He kissed her. Hard and claiming and absolutely devastating. His hand slid into her hair, tilting her head back, controlling the angle while he took her mouth like a man starving. Thessaly whimpered, her hands clutching at his bare shoulders. He was so warm, so solid and so real. Five years of loneliness was in that kiss, five years of denying himself any kind of touch or softness. When he pulled back, they were both breathing hard. "Bedroom," he said roughly. "Now. Unless you want me to take you right here on the kitchen floor." "Bedroom. Bedroom is good." He picked her up like she weighed nothing, and Thessaly wrapped her legs around his waist automatically. He carried her down the hallway to his room, not the guest room, his room, kicking the door closed behind them. The bed was massive, covered in furs and thick blankets. Caspian laid her down gently, then stood back, looking at he
Chapter 6:Day two of being snowed in started with Thessaly waking up to the sound of someone chopping wood. Again.Did the man ever sleep? Or did he just chop wood 24/7 to avoid having feelings?She got up, pulled on the oversized clothes she'd been living in, and ventured out to find Caspian exactly where she expected him. By the fireplace, shirtless this time because apparently he'd decided to torture her, swinging an axe with perfect precision.His back was covered in scars. Long thin lines that looked like they came from something sharp, and a few that were definitely bullet wounds.Thessaly must have made a sound because he turned around, caught her staring, and scowled."Morning," he said flatly."You're bleeding." She pointed at his shoulder where a cut was slowly seeping blood. "Did you hurt yourself?""It's nothing. Splinter from the wood." He set down the axe and grabbed a towel. "I've had worse.""Let me look at it.""I'm fine.""Caspian. Let me look at it." She used her b
Chapter 5:"You're snooping," he observed."I'm looking very big difference.""Not really." But he didn't seem angry, just resigned to her presence. "Find anything interesting?""You have a lot of cast iron.""It's the best for cooking over fire. Also virtually indestructible." He moved past her to the stove. "I'm making dinner. You can help or you can stay out of the way.""I'll help. What are we making?""Stew. It's simple and I can make enough to last a few days." He started pulling out ingredients. "You can chop vegetables. Think you can handle that without losing a finger?""I'm not completely incompetent.""Could have fooled me." But he handed her a knife and a cutting board. "Dice the onions. Small pieces."They worked in silence for a while. It was surprisingly comfortable, the rhythm of chopping and stirring, the warm kitchen, the smell of food cooking. Thessaly kept sneaking glances at Caspian, watching the way he moved, the concentration on his face."So," she said eventual
Chapter 4:Thessaly woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of someone chopping wood.For a moment, she forgot where she was. Then the memories came flooding back. Alaska. Lost. Wolves. Grumpy mountain man named Caspian.She sat up, groaning. Her body felt like it had been hit by a truck. Her toes and fingers throbbed, her muscles ached, and her head was fuzzy from too much cold and not enough food.But she was alive. That was something.The window showed a wall of white, snow was coming down so thick she couldn't see more than a few feet. The storm Caspian had mentioned was clearly in full force."Great," she muttered. "Just great."She got up and padded barefoot toward the main room. Caspian was indeed chopping wood, but he was doing it inside, near the fireplace. Which seemed weird until she realized there was an entire wall of stacked firewood and he was just rotating stock.He'd changed clothes. Dark jeans, a black thermal shirt that stretched across his shoulders and chest
Chapter 16:Her orgasm hit like a freight train, thighs shaking, back arching, screaming his name as she pulsed around his fingers and flooded his mouth. He licked her through every tremor, drinking her down until she was oversensitive and whimpering.Only then did he rise, wiping his chin with the
Chapter 14His Girl at the Table:The restaurant was the type of place where you needed a reservation six months in advance. All white tablecloths and crystal glasses and waiters who moved like ghosts. Dominic's hand stayed on Jade's back as they were led to a private room in the back.Richard Chen
Chapter 15:What Belongs to Me:The penthouse felt different when they got back. It felt more like home instead of a prison. Jade stood in the living room, suddenly nervous."Do you want some wine?" Dominic asked, shrugging off his jacket. "You look like you need to relax.""I'm fine. Just... proce
Chapter 10 Control Is a Language: He smiled, unrepentant. "I like to know when someone's breaking into my house." They all sat down, and for the next hour, Jade watched Dominic work. He was good. Better than good. He had Torres eating out of his hand within twenty minutes, agreeing to security u







