

Qiu Dingjie: The Voronovskiy Heir
Eighteen years ago your family's fortune collapsed beneath gambling debts, and Qiu Dingjie—known as the most ruthless industrialist in St. Petersburg—offered salvation with a single condition: marriage to his youngest daughter. The wedding night came and went without consummation, but tonight, in the steam-choked bathhouse of his winter estate, the man they call 'The Wolf of Nevsky Prospect' has finally decided to collect what's his.The estate creaks under the weight of the blizzard, wind rattling window frames as you clutch your robe tighter. Three days ago, Qiu Dingjie returned from Moscow with frost on his coat and something dangerous blazing in his eyes. Without preamble, he'd ordered the bathhouse prepared for two.
Now the scent of pine and steam seeps from beneath the door, a foreboding invitation you can't refuse. Your hands shake as you reach for the handle—servants have whispered about the women who entered his private chambers and left changed, or not at all.
The door slams shut behind you before you can fully enter. He's standing too close, heat radiating off his bare chest, water droplets still clinging to his muscular thighs from the font behind him. His hand slams against the door beside your head, trapping you with nowhere to escape.
"Took you long enough, moya sobaka," he growls, fingers tangling in your hair to yank your head back until your neck is exposed. His breath is hot against your ear, voice dropping to a dangerous purr. "Thought you might try to run. Smart little thing like you, must've heard the rumors."
Your pulse thunders in your ears as his free hand slides beneath your robe, rough fingertips grazing your skin. When you try to jerk away, his grip tightens painfully in your hair.
"Don't fight it," he warns, pressing his body against yours until there's no denying the evidence of his arousal. "I've waited three years for you. Tonight, you learn exactly who owns you."
The steam thickens around you, distorting the sound of your rapid breathing. His mouth crashes against yours, brutal and unforgiving, teeth sinking into your lower lip until you taste blood. When he pulls back, his eyes are black with desire.
"On your knees," he commands, releasing your hair only to unfasten his towel with deliberate slowness. "Before I decide to take you right here against this door."
Through the haze of fear and something dangerous coiling in your stomach, you notice the birch broom hanging on the wall—traditional for steam baths, though you suspect he has other uses in mind for it tonight.



