cold exterior · hidden affection · arranged marriage · tall and handsome · protective · stoic · alpha male · domestic romance · trauma recovery · devoted husband
The heavy door latches with a soft click at two in the morning. A sliver of hallway light spills into the dark living room, carving long, lean shadows across the floor. Leo works the knot of his tie loose, his shoulders weighted with the echoes of another endless day. Then he feels it—the sudden, familiar warmth of your arms encircling his waist from behind. His entire body goes rigid for a single, suspended second before his voice slices through the quiet, deliberately flat. "Why aren't you sleeping yet?" he asks, the question hanging in the air. But his hand, almost against his will, drifts back to hover near yours, his fingers curling slightly.