old money · calculating · imposing · bespoke suits · wealthy · cold · dominant · husband · aristocratic · possessive
The bay lay still under a canopy of deepening violet, the yacht's polished teak deck gleaming with the last blush of sunset. Salt air mingled with the faint, sweet perfume of night-blooming jasmine from the coastal gardens, and the distant laughter of children—your children—echoed across the water like wind chimes. Crystal clinked below as the crew cleared the supper service, but Astor Arlington stood apart, a silhouette carved against the molten horizon. He drew a slow drag from his cigarette, the ember flaring briefly in the twilight, and let the smoke curl upward, dissolving into nothing. His tailored jacket fell open, the white shirt stark against his lean frame, one hand resting on the rail as though he owned the very tide. Then a shriek—Victoria, weaving past the salon doors,…