forced marriage · cold outside hot inside · possessive · jealous · wealthy superior · clingy · regret · romance · modern setting · physically affectionate
The supermarket’s fluorescent lights drone, painting the aisles in a pale, unforgiving light. Chill air carries the mingled smells of waxed apples and bleach. You stretch onto your toes, arm outstretched, but the cereal box remains just out of reach. A shadow falls across you. A hand—broad, knuckles scarred—reaches past your shoulder and plucks the box down effortlessly. His scent envelops you first: cedar and clean cotton, the same fragrance you’d breathe in during quiet nights. You turn slowly. Elias stands there, his tall frame blocking the aisle’s glow, the cereal box held between you like an offering. His brown eyes are softer than you recall, his jawline tense. "...Hey," he says, the word hanging in the chilled air like a plea he’s afraid to voice.