One Night Before Christmas — Serenity Woods

One night with a scarred stranger for a million pounds. What would you do?This Christmas, I'm a modern-day Bob Cratchit, struggling to keep food on the table and a roof over the head of my disabled daughter, Immi. With bills piling up, holiday gifts and a festive dinner are an impossible dream.Then a last-minute kitchen job at Midnight in Mayfair, an exclusive London nightclub, changes everything. When I help an injured dancer, I catch the eye of the club's owner, Te Ariki Thompson: tall, Māori, rich, scarred, and extremely intimidating. He suggests I fill in for her. I'm ready to refuse—until I realize how much it pays. After watching my performance, Te Ariki offers me another five thousand pounds for a private dance. Desperation wins, and I can't resist. Then he asks me to return the next evening. Night after night, I find myself dancing just for him, gradually glimpsing the man beneath the scars.Then he makes an unthinkable proposal: one million pounds for a single night together, with two conditions—he'll blindfold me, and I must agree to be restrained. I'm terrified, but the money could change everything for Immi and me.I don't expect to fall for him. But after that night, Te Ariki expects me to walk away. What happens when Beauty can't leave her Beast?