It had been two full days since Lucien spent the night at Jack’s cabin. Since then, Jack had gone back to his usual routine — splitting logs with his bare arms in the misty mornings, sanding the edge of a…

The cabin was quiet again, the evening sun casting long golden rays through the tall pine trees. Jack stood shirtless at the workbench, arms flexing as he planed a fresh slab of cedar. The scent of sawdust mixed with his…

Maddie barely slept. After Lucien left her curled in the furs of the greenhouse, after his final kiss and promise—“No one has to know. Unless you want them to.”—she’d stayed behind a while. Let the candles burn low. Let the…

Maddie couldn’t stop thinking about it. The greenhouse. The warm, wet air. The press of moss and candlelight. The way Cole had taken his time with her, claimed her in secret, left her aching in all the best ways. Her…

The air was thick with the scent of pine, smoke, and sweat. The firepit in the clearing behind the old Elk Ridge Tavern roared tall, crackling and spitting embers into the starlit sky. Cars and trucks were parked haphazardly around…