Ximena “You ready to go?” Jacob’s voice was a low whisper, a dark promise that sent an electric shiver down my spine. His words wrapped around me like a shadow, and I felt them deep in my core. I turned to face him, finding his jaw clenched, a hard line that spoke of thoughts too complicated for me to understand. But I could feel the weight of them—the quiet intensity in the way he looked at me. My body responded to him before I could even think. My thighs, betraying me with an involuntary parting, were a silent plea for something more, something that felt as if it belonged only to him. How was it that this man, someone I had barely known, had such power over my every thought, my every movement? His presence in my life had turned everything upside down, and yet, I couldn’t seem to pull

