A Trap in the Dark
Ethan pulled her into his cabin, where the real panic began. "Your stalker didn't just follow you, Iris," Ethan said, showing her a high-tech tracking device he had dismantled from her car. "He’s a professional. And he’s hired contractors to bring you back."
Iris felt the room spin. "Why would someone do this? I'm just a designer."
Ethan stepped closer, his intense gaze locking onto hers, offering an unexpected sense of absolute safety. "Because your last freelance project wasn't just corporate data. You accidentally unlocked encrypted files belonging to a major cartel. But you're not alone now. I don't let anyone get hurt on my mountain."
Love Amidst the Siege
For the next three days, Ethan’s cabin became a fortress. Trapped together under the threat of an imminent attack, the walls between them quickly crumbled. Iris discovered that Ethan was hiding from his own ghosts—a tragic black-ops mission that had left him broken. In Iris, he found a reason to fight again.
The romantic tension inside the cabin grew as fierce as the storm outside. One night, by the warmth of the roaring fireplace, Ethan gently brushed a stray hair from her face.
"I came to these woods to die in peace, Iris," Ethan murmured, his thumb tracing her jawline. "But you... you make me want to live."
The kiss that followed was filled with a desperate, passionate hunger, a beautiful defiance against the danger lurking outside the windows.
