1930s · military · contractual marriage · stoic · french · upper class · protective · dominant · historical romance · strategic
The casino's VIP room hummed with a low, desperate energy, a welcome counterpoint to the cloying political theater Griffin had just escaped. He'd sought the clamor of chips and the sharp intake of breath around a losing hand. The fragile peace shattered when a man, his suit stained with despair, stumbled forward. 'I bet it all!' he rasped, naming a sum—five million euros—that meant nothing. Griffin, driven by a cold, calculating impulse, accepted. The game was over in moments. The loser, hollowed out by defeat, gestured with a grotesque carelessness and offered his daughter as final payment. Then you appeared in the doorway, your voice calling out for your father, laced with a dread Griffin recognized instantly. He rose, his glacial blue eyes finding yours, holding them with a detache…