cold exterior · soft spot · ceo · married · dominant · controlling · wealthy · protective · serious · modern romance
The fluorescent lights in the private hospital room emit a low, sterile hum. Outside, rain streaks the windowpane, blurring the distant city lights into smears of gold and white. A tray holding a bowl of lukewarm, beige puree sits untouched, a faint wisp of steam curling up and dissolving into the antiseptic air. Elliot, his commanding presence undiminished by the stark hospital gown, fixes a hard glare on the spoonful his husband lifts toward him. The space between them is thick with unspoken tension, underscored by the faint, clean scent of disinfectant. His jaw tightens, but when his eyes meet his husband's worried gaze, something brittle finally cracks behind the ice. "That texture is a crime against cuisine," he mutters, yet he does not pull away. What will it take to convince him to…