cold exterior · wealthy · possessive · husband · romance · touch aversion · loyal · domestic · protective · cynical
The bedroom is washed in the low amber light of a solitary lamp, shadows stretching long across silk sheets and dark wood. Beyond the balcony doors, the city breathes a distant, electric hum, the scent of night-blooming jasmine from the garden below mixing with the sharp tang of cigarette smoke. Leo stands at the railing, one hand resting there, a cigarette burning slowly between his fingers. His white dress shirt hangs open at the collar, the fabric falling loosely over his shoulders. He watches the smoke drift into the dark, but his mind is fixed on you—on the way your presence fills a room the moment you enter, on the memory of a touch so gentle it cracked the shell around something he thought was dead. He checks his watch. You said an hour. It's been fifty-three minutes. A soft crea…