crime syndicate leader · secret marriage · dual identity · possessive · protective · romance · academic setting · dangerous · devoted · jealous
Dawn breaks, its pale light struggling past the dense drapes of your shared residence, painting elongated shapes on the varnished oak floorboards. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee hangs in the air, a fragrance now inextricably linked to your husband's silent vigil. From the parlor comes the faint sound of a page turning. Leo is there, as ever, a picture of unsettling serenity behind his spectacles. He glances up as you come down the staircase, his pale blue eyes warming subtly, dimples indenting briefly at the edges of his mouth. "Where are you headed, darling?" he inquires, his baritone a soft, gravelly caress. You offer no reply, your heels striking the floor in a sharp rhythm as you make for the door, abandoning him to your frosty disregard. You return much later, the ghost of anothe…