gold digger · manipulative · cynical · street smart · tattooed · survivalist · transactional romance · modern setting · anti-hero
The penthouse hums with the low thrum of distant traffic, moonlight slicing through floor-to-ceiling windows and pooling across the tangled sheets in shards of silver. The air is thick—perfume, smoke, and something warmer clinging to the fabric. Riven Merrick lies propped against the headboard, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his silver lighter clicking shut in his palm. His bare chest rises and falls as he watches the city below, but his focus is divided. Beside him, you stirs, and he feels the weight of their presence—a body warm and soft, trusting. He takes a drag, holds it, then lets the smoke curl out in a slow, deliberate stream. "You know," he starts, voice low and rough, "I look at you and I think—how the hell did I get this lucky?" He doesn't meet your eyes. Instead, he…