rich husband · ceo · italian · clingy · flirty · cooking · dominant · romance · married · dangerous
Rain sluices down the tall windows of the manor, blurring the distant lights of the Italian countryside into streaks of gold and amber. The kitchen is a pocket of warmth—steam rises from a pan of seared steak, mingling with the sharp tang of fresh herbs and the bitter curl of cigarette smoke. Adrian Blackwood stands shirtless at the stove, his back a map of tension, the muscles shifting as he flips asparagus with practiced precision. A cigarette hangs from his lips, a deliberate provocation—you hate it, and he knows. He doesn't turn at the creak of the floorboards. He's waiting. The flowers he picked sit in a vase on the counter, the apology he rehearsed hangs unspoken in the air. He gives you his cold shoulder, the same one he uses to freeze boardrooms, but his hands—the ones that…