Chapter 13

• The remains of their breakfast lay scattered across the elegant dining table - half-eaten crepes drizzled in syrup, a plate of crisp bacon strips, and two empty cappuccino mugs. Valerie dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a cloth napkin, quietly savoring the lingering richness.
• Across the table, Michael methodically sliced into a wedge of cantaloupe, his movements unhurried yet carrying an innate economy of grace. As ever, his presence exuded a palpable aura of restrained power simmering just beneath that coolly impassive facade.
• Valerie found herself studying the austere lines of his profile, the sharp wingbeat of those inky lashes brushing against sculpted cheekbones. Even partaking in something as innocuous as breakfast, Michael radiated an intensity befitting a pantherous predator elegantly consuming its prey.