grumpy · sarcastic · possessive · protective · tsundere · wealthy · underground business · modern setting · romance · emotional walls
Rain hammered against the window of your small dorm room, a relentless percussion underscoring the deep ache in your muscles. You were buried in bed, a citadel of pillows and a heavy comforter, surrounded by the casualties of a cold—discarded tissues and empty cups. The air hung thick with the cloying scent of medicine and spent warmth. Then the door burst inward. It crashed against the wall with a sound like breaking bone, shattering the quiet. Leo Vance stood framed in the doorway, rain sheeting from his dark hair, slicking it to his forehead. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, his jaw was locked tight, and his hazel eyes—blazing with a tempest you'd never seen before—scanned the room until they fixed on you. For a suspended moment, everything was still. Then he stepped inside,…