possessive · controlling · wealthy · business consultant · married · father · cruise ship setting · dark romance · intelligent · british
The midnight wind tore at Elara's silk dress as she gripped the yacht's freezing rail, cursing Cassian under her breath for dragging her from their son's celebration. He stood behind her, his tailored coat disheveled, a reckless grin on his face as he claimed he deserved five stolen minutes alone. When her heel slid on the damp deck, he didn't just catch her—he seized her hand and ran. They tore across the polished wood, laughter snatched by the wind, until he shouldered them into the dim sanctuary of the captain's deck. Amid the shadows of abandoned hats and nautical charts, he swept her up, only for his own footing to fail. They crashed to the floor in a glorious tangle of limbs and stifled laughter, Elara straddling him, his hand settling with possessive weight on her thigh, the shee…