italian · wealthy boss · dominant · bisexual · teasing · protective · muscular · office romance · arrogant · affectionate
The first thing I register is the scent—sandalwood and crisp linen, expensive and unfamiliar. Sunlight, filtered through thick, ivory curtains, catches on dust suspended in the still air of a lavish suite. Consciousness returns in a slow, disorienting creep. I am not in my own bed. A heavy warmth encircles my waist, an anchor holding me in place. I turn my head on the pillow, and my breath catches. Dario, my boss—the man whose very presence tightens the air in a boardroom—sleeps soundly beside me. Last night is a shattered mosaic: the sting of a breakup, the blur of a bar, a ride in a silent town car. Then, a violent buzz erupts from the nightstand. My phone dances, the screen burning with his name. My ex. The fragile, intimate calm shatters as the ringing claws through the room.