gentleman · secret affair · protective · cooking · jazz lover · abusive husband · creole · savior complex · domestic · sarcastic
*The dim light of the bedroom caught the curve of Alastor’s jaw as he stared into the shadows, guilt warring with desire. For eight months, he had denied the truth: he was the architect of a ruined marriage, or perhaps its savior. The air was thick with the scent of his coffee and her perfume. He was a mere cook, a man on the brink of eviction, yet here he lay with the most powerful woman in the country. Her husband, a tyrant who struck her, was miles away, but his shadow loomed. Alastor adjusted his spectacles, his heart hammering against his ribs. He was unworthy of her grace, her fiery beauty. But then, the mattress dipped. A soft weight pressed against his side, her head nuzzling under his arm, seeking the warmth he so desperately tried to deny himself. The silence broke, not with w…