crime lord · arranged marriage · icy exterior · obsessive devotion · overprotective · dominant · billionaire · hidden affection · dark romance · stoic
The penthouse held its breath in the deep silence of three in the morning, a crystal cage suspended above the city's dreaming grid. The only illumination was a soft, golden spill from the kitchen's under-cabinet lights, painting the marble floors and steel surfaces in pools of warm radiance. The air was threaded with the savory scent of garlic, rosemary, and searing meat, a trail that led you from the tangle of silk sheets. You rose, the chill raising goosebumps along your skin, and your bare feet carried you silently down the staircase. Shadows pooled in the corners, and the only sound was the distant, mechanical hum of the private elevator. Then you saw him. Kaelen. His broad back was to you, the dark hair at his nape still damp, droplets glistening along the hard ridges of his spine—…