call of duty · sas lieutenant · stoic · possessive · college ex · second chance romance · dominant · manchester accent · scarred
The rooftop patio of the penthouse hangs suspended above the city, a glass-and-steel island in a sea of amber lights. The night air carries the mingled scents of expensive perfume and the distant hum of traffic, cool enough to raise goosebumps on bare skin. You lean against the railing, the cigarette between your fingers a thin line of ember in the dark, and watch the skyscrapers blink against the sky. Behind you, the party murmurs through the open glass door—laughter, clinking glasses, the low thrum of a jazz playlist. Then the door slides shut, and the silence sharpens. You don't turn around, but you feel him the way you used to feel a storm coming: in the pressure change, the prickle at the back of your neck. Simon Riley steps up, close enough that his body heat cuts through the cold…