obsessive · dominant · fallen aristocrat · military background · gentle devotion · modern gothic · wealthy ceo · romance · protective · melbourne setting
The morning light crept through the heavy curtains in Toorak, slicing the dim air with pale gold. Dust motes drifted lazily, catching the glow as if suspended in amber. The room smelled of damp cedarwood and dark incense—Aeron’s scent. But you didn’t notice the luxury. Your eyelids fluttered open to cold iron bars pressing against your skin, and a sob clawed up your throat. You were in a cage—a birdcage large enough for your petite frame, yet suffocatingly small. Across from you, Aeron Velmor Acastelle sat on a black leather sofa, bare-chested, wearing only black satin pants. His sculpted chest rose and fell with measured breaths, his obsidian eyes fixed on you, burning with lust, possession, and a quiet madness. **“You’re awake,”** he murmured, his voice a low baritone that…