Page 59 of New World

The air between them shifted.

Slowly, he lowered the decanter, his fingers curling around the glass as he turned to face her fully. His hazel eyes darkened, the flicker of heat undeniable.

“What do you want?”

Mei swallowed hard.

Dorane’s expression was dangerous. A mixture of desire and warning. She should tread carefully, she was entering unfamiliar territory after all—but she didn’t.

Instead, she reached for the clasp of her cloak and let it drop to the floor. Dorane inhaled sharply. His gaze followed her fingers as she began removing the knives from her belt—three at her waist, one strapped to her thigh. Then came the blaster tucked behind her back and the reinforced, pointed sticks that had been holding her hair in place. Each were set onto the table with a decisive clatter. Her silky, straight, waist-length black hair cascaded down her back.

Dorane’s breath caught.

Mei continued, determined to see how far he would let her get—and hoping like hell he didn’t tell her to stop. She slowly began unbuttoning her blouse, her fingers lingering over the next clasp. Dorane let out a low, rough sound deep in his chest.

“Let me,” he murmured.

She breathed a sigh of relief, embracing the shiver of desire that was spreading warmth along her nerve endings. She dropped her hands to her sides as he closed the distance in three strides. Her lips parted when his fingers brushed against her skin as he worked the clasps free, his hands unwavering, his touch searing.

By the time she was nearly bare from the waist up, he wasn’t looking at her; his eyes were locked on the table with a puzzled frown. More specifically on the arsenal he had just pulled from her trousers and the thin wisp of lace cupping her petite breasts.

Dorane’s laughter rumbled low and appreciative as he cocked his head. “Is that all of them?”

Mei’s lips curved, dark amusement in her gaze. “You’ll have to do a thorough search to find out.”

Dorane’s pupils dilated. His nostrils flared.

The fuse between them ignited when he pulled her into his arms and crushed his lips against hers. The raw need that had been building over the last couple of weeks as they had danced around each other exploded.

Their bodies collided, fire and friction, teeth and tongues, the heat between them searing through every touch. Her hands roamed and explored as she pressed against him, unmaking him with every brush of her fingers.

By the time he stripped off his own clothes, everything else had burned away. All that was left was the blazing, consuming hunger between them. Mei reveled in each stroke of his fingers, allowing herself to shed the restrictive binds on her emotions as she poured every ounce of who she was, every emotion that she was feeling, into this moment.

She tilted her head back, looking up at Dorane as they tumbled onto the bed. He rose up, staring down at her with eyes that burned with desire—and something deeper.

“I think you are the deadliest woman I have ever met,” he murmured, intensely serious and heartfelt.

Mei tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his lips closer to hers.

“You have no idea how true that is,” she whispered before capturing his lips in a kiss that told him she wasn’t the only one who was dangerous—so was he.

To my heart.

The soft glow of ambient lighting bathed the cabin in golden hues. Outside the wide viewport, space stretched endlessly—a sea of stars flickering against the abyss. Inside, wrapped in the quiet hum of the ship, Dorane’s mind was focused on his conflicting emotions for the woman he held in his arms.

Mei lay against his chest, her breath slow and steady, her fingers idly tracing patterns across his skin. The sheets were tangled around them, the cool fabric a stark contrast to the heat that still pulsed between them, lingering embers of the fire they had just stoked to an inferno.

He exhaled a long breath. Contentment settled in his bones like a drug he’d never known he needed. He ran his fingers through Mei’s dark hair, letting the silky strands slide between his fingertips. She was beautiful like this—unguarded, her sharp edges softened by the aftermath of their passion. He had always been drawn to strength, to resilience, but it was the rare glimpses of vulnerability in her that made his chest tighten in a way he didn’t quite understand.

She shifted slightly, her voice a whisper against his skin. “When I was a child, people thought my life was perfect,” she murmured, her words almost lost in the hush of the cabin.

Dorane stilled, sensing the weight behind her words. He continued to caress her. Tender, gentle strokes. The slight tremble in her voice told him that what she was about to share did not come easy for her.

“I was the daughter of Liu Zhang, a man respected, feared. My life was gilded in wealth, in power. But it wasn’t a life.” She paused, her slender fingers stilling over his chest. “It was a cage. And I was the bird of prey my father wielded against anyone who dared oppose him.”

Dorane tightened his arm around her, waiting. Mei’s voice was steady, but there was something underneath it, something raw that pulled at his heart. He wanted to erase the pain, the dark memories, but he knew from his own experience that it was impossible. Those memories were what made them who they were today.

“Training wasn’t just training. It wasn’t about learning to defend myself—it was about becoming a weapon. Every lesson was a test. If I failed, there were consequences.” She exhaled shakily. “There were days I wanted to collapse, to sleep, to just… stop. But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.”

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