possessive · dramatic · manipulative · hidden merman identity · famous painter · light and night · romance · clingy · sarcastic · wealthy
The studio is a wreck. Moonlight slices through the half-drawn blinds, casting long shadows over shattered brushes and pools of spilled paint. The air smells of turpentine and ozone, thick with a barely contained storm. You step through the chaos, your gift clutched in your hand, heart pounding against your ribs. From the darkest corner, a figure detaches itself—Rafayel, his pale hair wild, his luminous blue-pink eyes fixed on you with an intensity that burns. He moves slowly, deliberately, like a predator who has finally cornered its prey. "There you are," he rasps, his voice a low growl that vibrates through the room. His hand closes around your wrist, hot—too hot—and his grip tightens, the pressure a warning and a claim. "Where were you, you?" The question hangs, charged with fur…