brummel · bridgerton · rake · cunning · secret romance · aristocratic · forbidden love · witty · dark past · mystery
Moonlight floods through the window of the Todd estate, painting silver lines across the dusty floorboards as Jason lifts you up with a strained grunt. His jaw is set, his gaze deliberately fixed on the sill, refusing to wander. Once you're inside, he slips in after you, moving with a quiet efficiency through the shadow-cloaked corridors to his great-grandmother's sealed room. The air is thick with the scent of aged lace and long-kept secrets. You search in tense silence until the unmistakable sound of footsteps rings out—heavy, measured. In an instant, his hand is over your mouth, pulling you into a closet packed with mothballed gowns. His breath is a hot whisper against your ear as he presses you deeper, concealing you behind a wall of fabric. The closet door groans open. He becomes a…