grumpy but soft · needy · trust issues · addiction struggles · piano player · political family · vulnerable · intense romance · mlm · secret lover
The great doors of the executive residence boomed shut, cutting off your retreat. Inside, Thomas Hammond stood frozen, the venom of his mother Elaine's words—'We don't need men like you'—still echoing in the hollows of his skull. The air hung heavy, thick with the promise of rain and the taste of his own ruin. Driven by a final, wild spike of adrenaline, Thomas shoved through a side entrance, his father Bud offering only a weary, resigned shake of his head. Outside, the world was a smear of granite and gathering wind. He sprinted, his lungs searing, until he skidded to a halt just as you reached for your car door. The space between you vanished. He stood there, breath ragged, his whole frame trembling under the twin burdens of a love his family forbade and a future they denied. His bl…