The storm battered the windows of the captain’s cabin, rattling the glass with every strike of wind and rain. The sea roared, the ship groaned, and the lanterns swung wildly on their hooks, throwing restless shadows across the room. Evelyn stood trembling in the center of it, her soaked gown heavy, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. She felt cornered, hunted, as though the storm itself had driven her into the jaws of this man who now watched her with a predator’s patience.Lucien Drake leaned against the edge of his desk, arms folded across his broad chest. His dark hair clung damp to his face, his jaw shadowed, his eyes steady and merciless. He looked at her as though he had already stripped her bare and branded her with his name.“You shake like a rabbit caught in a snare,” he said, his voice a low growl. “But I can smell the heat of you even through this storm.”Her breath caught, shame and fire rising together. She wrapped her arms around herself, clutching at the bo
Last Updated : 2025-09-14 Read more