~Valerie~
Ronan throws one last, brutal hook that makes the bag spin on its chain. He stops, his chest heaving, his head hanging low between his shoulders. He’s shaking.
He knows I’m here. I can feel the shift in the air. It gets heavy and hot, smelling like winter air and cold steel. It’s his scent.
Slowly, he turns around.
His eyes are blown out, the storm-gray color dark with adrenaline and something else. Something hungrier. He looks at me, and for the first time, he doesn't look away. He starts at my boots and moves up, his gaze crawling over my bare thighs, the curve of my hips, and the way my n*****s are poking through my thin shirt because of the cold basement air.
He doesn't say a word. He just starts walking toward me.
He stalks across the room like I’m prey. He doesn't st
