16. This Is Where We Begin #2
His hand slides around my throat—not squeezing, just resting there. A possessive touch. A warning. A vow.
"Not just in bed. Not just when you're stripped bare and begging." His lips hover near mine, heat pouring off him like fire restrained by steel. "I'm going to own every part of you. Every look. Every breath. Every choice."
He pauses.
"You have one chance to walk away. Say the word, and I'll give you control again."
The silence pulses like a heartbeat. My breath shakes. But not from fear.
I lift my chin, blindfolded but unflinching.
"I want you in control. I want to feel it. Every second. Every rule. Every consequence." I swallow, pulse thundering. "I want to be yours in every way."
"You're not going to survive me." His groan is guttural—pain and hunger twisted together.
"I don't want to." I whisper.
"Good." His grip on my throat tightens just enough to make me gasp. His mouth brushes mine—barely a kiss, just a promise. "Then we begin."
His mouth claims mine in a kiss that contains multitudes—desire and tenderness, possession and promise.
As his hands continue their deliberate exploration of my body, building pleasure skillfully, I surrender completely, trusting him to lead me into the uncharted territory we've discovered together.
Whatever we're building—both the business venture taking shape in my mind and the relationship evolving between us—begins here, in this perfect moment of mutual surrender and shared vision.
A whimper escapes me, but he's not done.
"One more thing." He says, his voice dark silk. "You don't get to come."
I stiffen. "Lucas?—"
"No. You teased. You denied. You tempted me again and again, knowing I wouldn't touch you." His hand tightens at my waist. "Now you get to suffer."
He kisses the corner of my mouth.
"For every night you left me hard and aching, you'll take ten strikes…" His thumb grazes my clit—just once—then vanishes.
"…and you'll have no release."
"No…"
"You will ache for me, Amelia. Just as I ached for you." His breath burns against my throat. "And if you beg me to stop, we begin again."
For the next four nights, I burn for him. I ache for him. And I wouldn't want it any other way.
I came to Angel's Peak chasing perfection, armed with color-coded binders and contingency plans. Instead, I found something I never knew I was searching for—peace in surrender, strength in vulnerability, and a man who gives me the structure I need to thrive.
I found the love of a lifetime.
And this? This is just the beginning.
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She came to destroy his restaurant. He made her hunger for so much more.
Food critic Audrey Tristan—known in the industry as "The Executioner"—arrives in the mountain town of Angel's Peak with one mission: deliver a scathing review that will boost her magazine's circulation.
What she doesn't expect is to get trapped in a greenhouse during a sudden storm with a devastatingly attractive stranger whose calloused hands know exactly how to make her body sing.
Hunter Morgan has spent years rebuilding his reputation after his Denver restaurant collapsed in scandal.
Now, as head chef of Timberline, he's determined to prove his worth through honest mountain cuisine that honors his grandfather's legacy.
The last thing he needs is another critic—especially one whose silver eyes and sharp tongue awaken desires he's kept carefully buried.
When a passionate encounter in his greenhouse leads to explosive nights of surrender and control, Audrey discovers a side of herself she never knew existed.
Hunter's commanding presence in the kitchen extends to the bedroom, where he demands her complete submission and gives her pleasure beyond her wildest fantasies.
But when Audrey's true identity is revealed, their scorching connection faces the ultimate test. Can a love built on deception survive the harsh light of truth? Or will the woman known for destroying restaurants find herself destroyed by the one man who made her feel truly alive?
A sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance where a ruthless food critic meets her match in a chef who serves up both culinary perfection and toe-curling dominance.