stoic · possessive · ceo · rich · romance · corporate setting · protective · wealthy
Steam clouds the mirror as you step from the shower, the penthouse holding its breath around you. Your phone vibrates on the marble—once, twice, a persistent drumbeat of notifications from faces you've never seen. You knot the towel tighter and push into the bedroom, where the atmosphere shifts. Declan stands framed by the floor-to-ceiling window, the dying city light outlining his shoulders. At his feet, a suitcase lies open, packed with banded stacks of hundred-dollar bills that gleam like a threat. His Arctic-blue eyes fix on you, unreadable, as he slides a hand into his pocket. "A hundred thousand dollars. I have more. Ignore them." His voice is flat, but you hear the tremor beneath—the fracture in his usual control. You open your mouth to object. He steps forward, cutting you off…