E L A R A

Four weeks ago, I swore never to need another man. Tonight, the storm proves me a liar.

The wind howls like it wants to tear the island apart. Waves slam against the cliffs, driving us into a cavern carved by centuries of fury. The driftwood fire Adrian coaxed to life sputters, fighting the spray. My scrubs are soaked through, clinging like a second skin, and my body shakes so violently my teeth clack together.

“I’m fine,” I lie, curling my arms around myself.

Adrian crouches in front of me, his eyes burning like the fire he refuses to let die. Rain drips from his hair, his jaw tight, his chest rising steady as if storms bend to his will. “You’re not fine,” he snaps. His hand closes around mine, and the contrast is shocking—his palm searing heat, my skin ice. “You’re turning blue.”

I want to shove him away, but I can’t even lift my hand. “Moderate hypothermia,” I whisper, tongue thick in my mouth. “Slurred words. Poor coordination. I know the protocol.”

“Then follow it,” he growls, tearing his linen shirt over his head. “Wet clothes off. Heat to the core.”

His body is carved lines and muscle, bronzed by the island sun, but it’s not lust that makes my stomach knot—it’s the reminder of Nathan. My ex sneered at compassion, at weakness, at need. Adrian is the same brand of arrogance. If I let him strip me now, if I let him press close—

“I’ll survive,” I force out.

His gaze narrows, lethal and unwavering. “Not if you stay proud.” His fingers brush my soaked scrub top, then pause. “Consent. Say no, I stop. Say slow, I slow. You keep your eyes open. Deal?”

The words break me open more than the cold. No one has ever asked me for permission like that. Nathan never did.

“Yes,” I whisper, throat tight. “Deal.”

A D R I A N

The storm I can fight. The market. The board. My family. But her trembling? That terrifies me.

She’s ice in my arms, and every instinct I own screams to keep her here, alive, breathing. Survival first. Desire second. Except when she looks at me with those gray-green eyes, wide and wet, the two feel the same.

I peel her soaked top away, lifting her arms gently. Her skin is pale, gooseflesh rising in waves, nipples peaked tight from the cold. I murmur, “Higher, good,” as I guide her, and when she winces, I kiss her knuckles in apology. Her body is fragile fire, and I will not let the storm steal it.

I haul her against me, chest to chest, skin to skin. The heat rush is immediate. She gasps, her cheek pressed to my throat, and I rub long strokes down her back, forcing warmth into her. “There you are,” I whisper, forehead resting on hers. “Stay with me.”

Her lips brush my jaw. “You’re actually following orders.”

“Only the ones that keep you alive.” I drag my mouth over her temple, trying not to taste, not to want, failing both.

Lightning cracks, the fire sputters, and she flinches into me. Her body rubs mine in all the wrong, perfect places. Heat sparks between us, hotter than the fire. My cock throbs, pressed against her belly, and she feels it. Her breath hitches.

“Tell me no,” I whisper. “Please.”

Her eyes blaze. “Don’t stop.”

E L A R A

The demand in his voice should push me back. Instead, it’s the first thing that makes me feel safe. I clutch his hair, desperate for more warmth, more of him. “Not when I finally feel again. Not when it’s you.”

His sound is wrecked, guttural. His hand cups my breast, thumb teasing my peak until I arch into him with a whimper. His mouth lowers, hot and sucking, tongue circling until my knees tremble.

“More,” I beg, my body betraying me.

His hand slides lower, slipping beneath the waistband of my soaked pants. I jolt, not from cold, but from shock as his fingers find me slick, aching, alive. He groans, forehead pressed to mine. “So ready.”

“Don’t stop,” I gasp, rocking into his hand.

His fingers stroke me firmly, circling my clit until I can’t breathe. One finger slides inside, curling just right, making me cry out. He adds another, stretching me, stroking deeper, his pace relentless. Pleasure builds like the storm outside, fast and brutal. When it slams through me, my cry echoes off the cave walls, sharp and shattering.

“Good girl,” he murmurs, stroking me through the waves. “Stay with me.”

I clutch his shoulders, trembling, undone, alive.

A D R I A N

She breaks apart under my hand, and I want to worship the sound. Her body clenches, pulsing around my fingers, and it takes everything not to come undone with her. But I need her hotter, safer, deeper.

I shove my pants down, my cock heavy, aching, flushed. She sees me, eyes widening, lips parting in shock—and hunger. I press against her folds, teasing, soaking myself in her slick.

“I’ll hurt you if I rush,” I grit.

“You’ll hurt me if you stop,” she counters, fiercely, even trembling.

I push inside in one slow, steady thrust. She gasps, body stretching, clenching, fire searing both of us. “Fuck,” I choke, forehead pressed to hers. “You feel—God.”

Her nails dig my shoulders. “Move. Please.”

I draw back, then thrust deep again, slow at first, savoring her tight heat. She cries out, wrapping her legs around me, begging faster. I give in. My hips snap harder, deeper, until her moans fill the cave, until every thrust slams us into fire.

“Stay awake with me,” I pant, kissing her between thrusts.

“I’m here,” she moans, clinging. “Not letting go.”

Her body clamps down, convulsing. She shatters again, screaming into my mouth, pulsing so hard around me I can’t hold back. I thrust harder, faster, spilling inside her with a groan that rips through the storm. My body shakes, but I’m not done.

I flip her astride me, grip her hips. “Your choice,” I rasp.

“Yes.” Her voice is breathless, broken, beautiful. “Show me.”

E L A R A

I sink down, gasping at the stretch, even deeper this way. His head tips back, his throat bare, his voice ragged. “God, Elara.”

I ride him slow, then faster, grinding until sparks shoot through me. His hands slide up, cupping my breasts, teasing me mercilessly. Heat coils low, rising, until I can’t hold back.

“Still think I should follow orders?” I pant, bouncing harder, clenching around him.

His eyes blaze, sweat dripping. “Only if it’s this. Only if it’s you.”

That honesty destroys me. My release rips through me, violent and hot. I scream, shaking around him, my body milking every thrust. He groans my name, surging up into me, coming again with a sound that breaks me open.

After, he gathers me against his chest, wrapping me in his warmth, stroking my hair, kissing my temple again and again. “Check your fingers,” he murmurs, rubbing mine until I squeeze weakly back. Relief floods his face.

“I’ve got you,” he whispers, rocking me gently. “Ride it out. Stay with me.”

“I am,” I breathe, listening to his heartbeat thunder against my ear. It anchors me more than the fire.

He kisses my hair, his lips trembling. “Good girl.”

A D R I A N

She shivers, still trembling from aftershocks, and I hold her tighter, whispering nonsense, anything to keep her awake. I tell her about the first time I saw her, about how she terrifies me, about how she refuses to bend. Her breath evens, but her eyes stay open, fierce.

By dawn, the storm weakens. The fire glows low. We’re still tangled together, her head on my chest, my hand spread over her ribs, guarding every breath.

She presses a kiss to my hand. “We don’t talk about this.”

Her words cut, but I nod. “We will. But not the way they want us to.”

She thinks it was survival. She doesn’t know it was already more.

E L A R A

I survived the storm. What I don’t know is if I’ll survive wanting him.