Page 14 of Snowbound with the Vineyard Owner
“And even if you were with someone…” His voice drops an octave, raw and ragged, “…it wouldn’t matter.”
“Why not?” My breath stutters.
A beat.
His stare pins me—molten and merciless.
“Because, if I decide I want you…” He takes another step, slow and deliberate, “…I’ll take you.”
No apology. No hesitation. Just pure, devastating certainty.
I’ll take you.
My thighs clench, heat licking up my spine. I sway, helpless against the gravity of him, the dangerous pull of something ancient and undeniable.
He watches me like I’m already his. That slow, ruthless smile curves his mouth again—wolfish and knowing.
“But,” he says, voice softer now, silk over steel, “I haven’t decided if I want you, yet.” His gaze drops to my mouth, lingers there. “We’ve only just met.”
Every syllable hits like a match to dry kindling. Itshouldn’t affect me like this. Shouldn’t light me up from the inside out.
But it does.
The air feels too thin. My lungs drag in cold that doesn’t reach the wildfire under my skin. The storm rages around us, snow swirling in frantic gusts, but I barely feel it.
There’s only him.
Only this.
The space between us crackles—volatile, electric. Like if he touches me now, I’ll combust.
“For what it’s worth, if I were a caveman, sweetheart,” He leans in, breath brushing my ear, rough and warm and wicked, “I wouldn’t bother with buying you dinner. We wouldn’t be having this conversation.” His mouth hovers a whisper away, heat radiating through the layers between us, igniting something deep and reckless inside me.
“You’d already be stripped bare…” His breath slides along my jaw, and I can’t stop the shiver. “…marked and claimed so thoroughly, there’d never be a doubt who you belong to.”
My heart slams. My body betrays me completely.
But then, he pulls back. Doesn’t touch. Doesn’t press the advantage.
He straightens, turns, and walks away like he didn’t just light me up and walk through the wreckage without blinking. His boots crunch across the porch, each step deliberate. He leaves the door open behind him.
A dare.
A test.
Like a leash made of silence and smoke.
And I stand there, stunned and breathless, the wind needling my skin, my thoughts scattered like ash. Wondering how the hell I’m supposed to survive another night trapped with a man like him.
Silencestretches. The trees groan in the wind.
Still, I don’t move.
Can’t.
My breath fogs the air in front of me, sharp and uneven. My pulse is a thunder drum in my ears.
One step. Just one step, and I’d be inside with him.
