Pauline_Njeri

Sienna Raye was born to be dangerous. A former intelligence asset trained to seduce, deceive, and destroy, she escaped the world that made her a weapon—until it came calling again.

When whispers of a covert project called Ember surface, Sienna finds herself hunted by enemies and haunted by the ghosts of her past. Torn between Nico, the charming rogue who knows her sins, and Colson, the hardened agent tasked with bringing her in, Sienna unearths a dark conspiracy tied to her bloodline.

But love in this world comes at a price, and betrayal wears the face of those closest to her. As secrets ignite and the truth burns, Sienna must decide: will she be consumed by the fire—or become the one who controls it?

Whispers of fire

Even after Cole left—after he touched her hand one more time and said, "See you soon," like it was a promise, not a question—she couldn't shut off the echo of his voice in her bones.

She tried to read. She tried to ignore the ache blooming low in her belly. She failed.

By morning, the sky was cloudless, like the storm had never happened. But its memory lingered in her—the way his gaze had stripped her bare without touching a single button.

She didn't expect to see him again so soon.

But at exactly noon, the café bell chimed. She turned—and there he was.

Black T-shirt, jeans, sunglasses. The kind of confidence that wasn't learned. It was inherited—or forged in fire.

"Still open?" he asked, smiling like they had a secret.

"For you?" she said again. "Maybe."

They didn't talk much after that. His coffee sat untouched. She wiped down a spotless counter. The air between them thickened—then snapped.

He reached for her wrist. Gently. But the heat was instant.

"I couldn't stop thinking about last night," he said. "About you."

"You don't want to," he countered.

Before she could second-guess herself, she pulled the backroom curtain closed.

The shelves were lined with coffee bags and clutter, but she didn't see any of it. She only saw him. The look in his eyes. The tension in his arms.

His mouth crashed onto hers, and the kiss was fire and hunger and everything she'd locked away for too long.

She moaned into him as he pressed her against the shelf. His hands found her hips, then her thighs—bold and reverent all at once.

"Tell me to stop," he murmured against her skin.

They moved together like they'd done this before—in another life, in another storm. Her legs around his waist, her nails in his shoulders, her lips at his neck.

Cole's eyes sharpened. He pulled back fast, like a switch flipped. Not shy. Alert.

He stepped to the curtain and peeked out.

Then he turned back to her, voice tight. "Do you know a guy in a gray suit?"

"Because he just left this." He held up a small envelope. No name. Just one word, written in all caps:

Chapter 3: The Touch of Heat