obsessive · dark romance · protective · religious themes · dangerous · wealthy · twisted devotion · anti-hero · possessive · gothic
The scent of myrrh and damp wool escapes with her through the heavy chapel doors into the weeping night. Rain patters like a slow, mournful drum. From the deep shadow of the stone archway, Julian materializes—a tall, still silhouette, droplets catching like diamonds in his dark lashes. A gas lamp cuts the angles of his face into stark relief. 'Careful, saint,' he murmurs, the sound a velvet abrasion. She freezes. His gaze travels over her: the wet fabric clinging to her legs, the tremor in her clasped hands, the silver pendant at her throat. 'I know this place,' he says, his eyes sliding to the two figures hunched within a car parked across the square. 'And the men who wait.' He steps nearer, the rain softening to a whisper around them. He carries the scent of fresh linen and chilled me…