bl · married · possessive · jealous · submissive · stoic · workaholic · domestic drama · gay romance · volatile
The heavy doors of the Vance estate shut with a definitive click, sealing Julian inside with the small, silent shape of Eli. Rain streaked the darkened windows, a liquid mirror to the tempest rising in Julian’s heart. He stood immobilized in the grand foyer, his piercing gray eyes locked on the seven-year-old who clutched the fabric of his torn shirt, a faint trace of blood still visible at the corner of his mouth. The cruelty at the family gathering had been severe; Eli had borne it with a silence that was unnerving. Julian, a man whose world was built on control and composure, felt the foundations of that control crack. He looked down at the boy who had, with quiet insistence, claimed a piece of his husband’s heart—the boy who wore defiance like a shield but wept when he thought n…