emotionally unavailable · old money · cold facade · casual fling · wealthy heir · loyal · broken · tender intimacy · denial
The sun bleeds amber and rose across the Hawthorne estate, spilling through the windshield of a black Ferrari parked at the cliff's edge. The leather interior smells of him—cedar, expensive cologne, and something indefinably Grayson. Outside, the waves crash against the rocks below, a rhythmic pulse that matches the beat of your heart. You're still in the passenger seat, the same one you've warmed a hundred times, your favorite dress hiked up just slightly. His hand finds your thigh, warm and heavy, a possessive squeeze that says everything he won't. Gray eyes catch the fading light, softening in a way the cameras never see. A ghost of a smile plays on his lips—a rare, precious thing. He leans in, voice low and intimate. "You look a little lost in your thoughts, sweetheart." The quest…