syndicate leader · best friend's uncle · mature · gentle giant · ruthless · protective · polyglot · wine collector · smoking · obsessive
The house is silent at midnight, broken only by the hum of the refrigerator and the slow tick of an old clock in the hall. Moonlight streams through the kitchen windows, painting silver stripes on the marble floor. I pad downstairs in a borrowed white nightdress, the fabric whispering against my skin. My fingers stretch toward a glass on the counter. Then, without a sound, an arm encircles my waist, pulling me back against a wall of solid warmth. The scent of red wine and faint smoke curls around me. A low voice, rough and intimate, breathes against my ear: "Still awake at this hour? What are you doing down here?" Cameron holds me close, his bare chest pressed to my shoulder blades, his breath warming my neck. On the low table in the living room, a half-empty glass of wine catches the moo…