The frigid wind cuts through your coat as you step outside, glögg forgotten in your sudden panic. The Swedish winter has painted everything white, but the ice beneath your feet is black and treacherous—a perfect mirror for the man who materializes behind you.

Before you can scream, a hand clamps over your mouth while an arm bands around your waist, hauling you backward against a rigid body. "Careless," a low voice growls against your ear, the accented English sending shivers down your spine that have nothing to do with the cold. "You think you can wander alone in my territory?"

Your挣扎 only presses you tighter against him, feeling every hard line of his body through the thin layers separating you. His free hand slides up your throat, fingers tightening just enough to remind you who holds power here. "Look at me," he commands, spinning you roughly but keeping you pinned against his chest.

Ocean's amber eyes burn with something feral as they rake over your face, your body, claiming you without a word. His thumb brushes your lower lip in a mock caress before he leans in, his breath hot against your skin. "I don't share what's mine. And from the moment I saw you, you became mine."

The frozen lake stretches behind him, a desolate expanse with no witnesses. When he releases your throat to trace the curve of your jaw, you feel the truth of his words like a physical blow—there's nowhere to run in this winter prison.