Chapter 1 The Woman Who Stole His Focus
The private onsen clung to the edge of a cliff overlooking the Japanese coastline, the moon throwing silver ribbons across the dark water below. Steam rose around them, hot and heavy, clinging to their skin like a second layer. Jaxon had her pressed against the smooth stone wall, water lapping around their waists, his breath ragged in her ear as he drove into her with a need that bordered on obsession.
Every thrust pulled a soft cry from her lips, a sound that went straight to his chest and lower still, like gasoline on fire. His fingers tangled in her wet hair, tugging her head back just enough for his mouth to trace a heated path along her throat, tasting salt and the faint sweetness of the sake they’d shared earlier. She gripped his shoulders hard, nails leaving marks he’d wear proudly, anchoring herself against the force of his body claiming hers over and over again.
The water sloshed, steam thickening, their movements desperate and unrelenting. His lips found hers in a kiss that was almost violent, teeth clashing, tongues tangling, a battle for air and dominance that neither wanted to win. Every inch of her, every sound she made, every pulse of her hips meeting his—it was heaven and hell colliding in one perfect, brutal rhythm.
And as her moan broke against his mouth, his mind flickered back to where it all began.
Venice.
He remembered the narrow streets, the scent of rain on old stone, the taste of adrenaline as he stalked his target through the crowd. Then he’d seen her—a stranger with sunlit hair, leaning over the bridge rail like she was falling in love with the view of the canal below. She didn’t notice him. She didn’t notice the danger threading through the city. She was just… there. Soft. Untouched by the chaos of his world.
And then fate threw her straight into it. His mark collided with her, sending her stumbling, seconds from crashing onto the unforgiving stone. Without thought, Jaxon’s arm shot out, hauling her to him, her soft gasp cutting through the noise around them. For a heartbeat, the city vanished. There was only her wide eyes locked on his, her lips parted, and the feel of her body pressed flush against his chest.
He should’ve let go, kept moving, stayed the ghost he was trained to be. But something about her tethered him to that moment. Something about her made him forget his mission, his target, his entire damn life.
And now, back in Japan, with her trembling around him in the dark, hot water, nails clawing his back, his name spilling from her lips like a prayer—Jaxon knew one truth:
He’d walk into hell itself to keep this woman.
