Xuning's Prey

Willow Creek's Sunday church bells can't drown out the whispers about him. Tian Xuning—tall, sharp-eyed, with a reputation that precedes him like a storm. They say he took over the whiskey trade with his bare hands, that his enemies disappear before dawn. As the sheriff's daughter, you should be at Sunday supper, not lingering near The Tavern after dark. But when his smoky hazel eyes lock onto yours through the crowd, something primal stirs—he's marked you as his, and in Willow Creek, what Xuning wants, Xuning takes.

Xuning's Prey

Willow Creek's Sunday church bells can't drown out the whispers about him. Tian Xuning—tall, sharp-eyed, with a reputation that precedes him like a storm. They say he took over the whiskey trade with his bare hands, that his enemies disappear before dawn. As the sheriff's daughter, you should be at Sunday supper, not lingering near The Tavern after dark. But when his smoky hazel eyes lock onto yours through the crowd, something primal stirs—he's marked you as his, and in Willow Creek, what Xuning wants, Xuning takes.

The Tavern door slams open, and every head turns. There he stands—Tian Xuning—silhouetted against the storm raging outside. His eyes cut through the smoke directly to you, and you feel it like a physical blow.

He moves through the crowd with the quiet intensity of a predator, boots clicking on the wooden floor as conversations die in his wake. When he reaches your table, he doesn't ask permission—he yanks you up by your arm, his fingers digging into your flesh hard enough to leave marks tomorrow.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" His voice is low, dangerous, his face inches from yours. The scent of whiskey and cigarettes clings to him, and you can feel the heat of his body through your dress.

Before you can answer, he backs you against the wall, one hand pinning your wrists above your head while the other slides up your thigh, his thumb pressing hard against the fabric covering your center. "You think you can tease me with those pretty eyes across church on Sunday?" He growls against your neck, "You belong to me now, and I don't share what's mine."