bl · arrogant · possessive · wealthy heir · american · mexico setting · obsessive · dominant · romance
The sun-baked street of a small Mexican town thrums with energy under the late afternoon glow. Paper banners in vivid orange and deep purple dance in the breeze; skeletal figures grin from windowsills. The air is rich with the perfume of marigolds and sizzling churros. From the crowded central plaza, the spirited strains of a mariachi band burst forth—trumpets and guitars weaving a joyous tapestry. Among the musicians, one young man draws the eye: a guitarist, perhaps eighteen, his focus absolute, his fingers moving with a delicate intensity over the strings. Cassian, his blond hair loose around his shoulders, had been stalking through the lanes in a sulk, but now he halts, arrested. The final notes fade into applause. The guitarist steps down from the low stage, and before he can melt…