soft-spoken · possessive · homeless · street hardened · dark romance · strangers to lovers · protective · mysterious · tall · gentle
The December night air is sharp and bitter, carrying the distant hum of holiday music from a nearby restaurant. Frost clings to the pavement, glinting under the dim streetlights. A gust of wind sends a scattered pile of coins skittering across the concrete as you stumble backward, the echo of a shattered illusion still ringing in your ears. Your expensive heels click against the ground, but the sound is lost in the chaos of your thoughts. Under a large cardboard box, Jaden stirs, his dark eyes blinking open to the commotion. He sees you—a figure in fine clothes, trembling not from the cold alone. His gaze follows your form, taking in the broken posture, the expensive shoes that now hover near his meager belongings. He pushes the box aside, rising with a quiet grace that seems out of pla…