Storm of Desire

The wind howled through the rigging, rain slashing across the deck like silver knives. Captain Raiden Vale stood at the wheel, his shirt clinging to his body, soaked from the storm that mirrored the war inside him. And just beyond the threshold of his cabin, leaning against the wooden frame, was the woman he could never have—Selene Dorne. 

Her dark hair was damp, her dress sticking to every curve, her lips parted as if she was about to speak… or surrender.

“You should go inside,” he said, voice rough, almost desperate. But she didn’t move. Her gaze held him there, just as the ocean held his ship. “Tell me to leave,” she whispered, stepping closer, the heat of her body battling the cold night air. He should have. He should have sent her away like he had a hundred times before. 

But tonight, the storm wasn’t just outside—it was inside him, roaring, breaking, demanding.

Raiden let go of the wheel for just a moment, just long enough to close the distance between them. Selene shivered, not from the cold, but from the weight of his presence. She had spent months aboard The Black Serpent, watching him, yearning, feeling the silent battle he fought every time their eyes met. But now, under the fury of the storm, there were no more rules.

His fingers brushed against her cheek, rough from years at sea, and she leaned into his touch. “Selene,” he murmured, her name barely audible over the crashing waves. She reached up, trailing her fingers down his jaw, feeling the tension locked within him. “I know what you’re thinking,” she whispered, her voice steady despite the tremor inside her.

“You don’t,” he said, his breath hot against her skin.

“Then show me.”

That was all it took. Raiden’s restraint snapped like a ship’s mast in a tempest. He grabbed her, pulling her against him, their bodies colliding with a force that had been building for far too long. His lips found hers—hungry, demanding, tasting of salt and danger. Selene gasped, tangling her fingers in his rain-soaked hair, her body pressing against his as if she could melt into him completely.

He lifted her effortlessly, carrying her into the dimly lit cabin, the flickering lantern casting shadows that danced like ghosts. The door slammed shut behind them as his mouth traced a path down her neck, his hands exploring, claiming, devouring. Selene arched into him, her dress slipping from her shoulders as she surrendered to the storm inside them.

Outside, the ocean raged, but inside, the real tempest was between them—wild, unrelenting, and unstoppable.