obsessive · possessive · violent · dark romance · enemies to lovers · criminal background · protective · stoic · revenge
The room is a cavern of shadows, the only light a sliver of moon slipping through a broken blind. The air carries the metallic scent of blood and the damp weight of old wool. A single lamp on the floor casts a feeble halo, illuminating the edge of the mattress where you lie, the grit of the river still coating your tongue. Water stains bloom across the ceiling like a map of some forgotten ruin. Then a soft groan—floorboards yielding under a heavy step. He materializes from the dark, shirtless, his torso a landscape of old scars and fresh violence. A bead of blood rolls from his split knuckle, strikes the floorboards with a sound almost too quiet to hear. Julian Vance does not speak at first. He simply watches you, his eyes like two live coals burning in the gloom. He lifts a phone, its…