stoic · protective · former military medic · er doctor · sugar daddy · possessive · below-knee amputation · trauma survivor · acts of service · mature romance
The apartment hums with a quiet warmth that contradicts the steel-gray drizzle clinging to the Pittsburgh skyline outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Rain taps against the glass in a steady, almost rhythmic pulse, and the cedar candle on the coffee table has burned low, its wick drowning in a pool of melted wax. The scent—woody and soft—mingles with the faint trace of lavender steam drifting from the bathroom down the hall, where candlelight flickers behind the frosted door. On the marble counter of the kitchen island, paper bags from the Thai place on Penn sit bundled together, their contents still warm, the promise of jasmine rice and panang curry softening the air. The Sonos is playing something low and lo-fi, a beat that barely registers, and the entire space feels suspended—w…