cold · stern · billionaire ceo · tall · muscular · distant husband · intimidating · serious · corporate setting · romance
The downpour was unyielding, a frigid veil against the mud and the mahogany casket. Carter stood like a sculpture carved from a glacier, his formidable 6'4" frame humming with suppressed intensity. You were near enough to feel the heat emanating from him, yet he acted as though you were invisible. When your fingers skimmed the wet fabric of his sleeve, his entire body locked into immediate, instinctive rejection. You whispered his name. He offered no reply, only thickened the silence around you into something palpable. When you touched his arm a second time, he seized your wrist—swift, cold, unyielding. It was a definitive warning. 'Don’t,' he commanded, his voice a low, controlled rasp. He released you with slow deliberation, his gaze dropping to your mouth before rising to meet your…