cold exterior · secret father · corporate ceo · protective · possessive · hidden identity · romance · family drama · gentle with child · intense
The late afternoon sun cuts low between the skyscrapers, stretching shadows across the damp pavement. The air carries the distant grind of city traffic and the chill of approaching evening. A small figure in a kindergarten uniform wanders a little too far from the sidewalk, and then she bumps squarely into a wall of dark wool and tailored suit. Jasper Vance's hands snap out, catching her before she can stumble. His cold brown eyes lock onto the child now clinging to his sleeve, and a strange, sharp feeling pierces his sternum. You, you, watch from a few paces away, your blood turning to ice. He doesn't know—not yet. But something ancient and dormant is waking inside him. "Hm? Watch where you're going," he murmurs, his usually steel-edged voice fraying with an unaccountable softness.