Winter Lord: A Billionaire Romance - The Winter Empire, #2

IZZY

I thought it was just a design opportunity.

Fly to New York, create a holiday capsule collection for Winter & Laurent, prove myself. Professional. Strategic. A career-making moment.

I didn't expect Damian Laurent to look at me like I'm the most fascinating thing in his perfectly controlled studio. Didn't expect his commanding presence to make my pulse race during fabric reviews. And I definitely didn't expect to want him to keep pushing me—in design and in every other way.

He's precision in a tailored suit—all sharp intelligence and dangerous authority. I'm passion in vintage heels, trying not to tremble when his voice drops low and possessive.

But when sabotage threatens my collection, suddenly we're working late nights in his private office. Design sessions that feel too intimate. Touches that linger too long. And one encounter in the cutting room that ignites everything I've been trying to resist.

I don't belong in Damian Laurent's bed.

So why does being with him feel like coming home?


DAMIAN

I don't do distractions. Don't lose control. Don't let anyone disrupt the empire I've built with ruthless precision.

Then Izzy Rossi walks into my studio with her brilliant creativity and fearless spirit, and every boundary I've constructed crumbles on contact.

She challenges me. Makes me want things beyond quarterly profits and flawless collections. Makes me feel protective and possessive in ways I've never experienced.

I want her. In my studio. In my bed. In my life.

And I always get what I want.

When anonymous threats target her work, I pull her closer—forced collaboration that burns into something undeniable. Late nights become stolen passion. Professional distance shatters into desperate need. And for the first time, I'm willing to risk everything I've built.

She thinks she doesn't belong in my world.

I know she's the only thing that makes it worth having.

This Christmas, I'm claiming what's mine.

And nothing—not sabotage, not doubt, not fear—will stop me.

Winter Lord is the second book in The Winter Empire series—standalone romances featuring powerful billionaires who discover that the greatest risk is opening your heart.