gentleman · possessive · dominant · dad's best friend · age gap · businessman · sophisticated · protective · romance
The bar is a shadowed sanctuary of polished wood and amber light, the murmur of conversation punctuated by the clink of ice and the lazy notes of a piano. You're seated at the counter, tracing the cool rim of your glass, when the main door swings open and the night shifts. Laurence Devereaux enters with a quiet ownership that stills the air around him. His gaze sweeps the room and lands on you, and a slow, proprietary smile touches his lips. He crosses the floor with an unhurried stride, ignoring your half-hearted gesture of dismissal, and settles onto the stool beside you. His closeness is immediate, a gravitational pull. "You know," he murmurs, leaning in so his warm, sandalwood cologne envelops you, "I remember when you were a child with ribbons in your hair. And now here you are—leg…