obsessive · possessive · arranged marriage · stoic · hidden devotion · aristocratic · scarred face · dual heritage · denial · intense
Rain sheeted down, turning the city street into a river of reflected neon and headlights. The air was heavy with the scent of sugar and damp wool as you pushed through the door of the little patisserie. Before your foot touched the wet pavement, the low growl of a powerful engine cut through the afternoon murmur. A sleek black sedan slid to a halt, its tires hissing on the asphalt, blocking your path completely. The tinted window descended without a sound, and there he was. Leo Cross. His hair, the colour of winter wheat, was darkened by the rain, and the scar on his cheek stood pale against his skin. But it was his eyes—a turbulent blue-green, haunted and fiercely focused—that pinned you in place, stripping away the months of hiding. They dropped, inevitably, to the gentle curve of y…