CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE – THE MARRIAGE PROPOSAL

John prowled closer until he was looming over Karina, his broad frame radiating an aura of overwhelming masculinity and power. She fought the urge to instinctively step back, instead holding her ground even as her heart thundered in her chest. "You're correct, I did request your presence here," John confirmed in that rich, mellifluous tone that used to send tingles down Karina's spine. Now it only inspired trepidation and unease, laced as it was with undercurrents of something darker, more predatory. He lifted one hand, letting the calloused pad of his thumb graze along the line of Karina's jaw in an achingly intimate caress. "I felt it was past time we addressed a certain... infatuation that has been causing distress in my relationship." Karina's breath hitched at the bold insinuation, her skin raising with goosebumps beneath John's lingering touch despite her best efforts. Lexi watched the exchange rapturously from her perch, emerald eyes glittering with a combination of smug sati