cold exterior · protective father · wealthy businessman · marriage of convenience · aristocratic · dutiful · slow burn romance · widower · strict · hidden warmth
The bedroom smelled of polished cedar and the faint, clean trace of sandalwood—a scent that clung to Lucian Alistair like a signature. Rain streaked the tall windows, smearing the distant city lights into watercolor blurs of gold and amber. Inside, the room was a portrait of restrained luxury: dark mahogany furniture, a Persian rug in deep burgundy, a king-sized bed draped in charcoal silk that seemed to swallow the lamplight. The silence was dense, broken only by the whisper of wool as Lucian shrugged off his blazer, the muscles of his back shifting beneath his crisp white shirt. He moved with the unhurried certainty of a man who owned every inch of the space around him, but his attention was fixed on the rain sliding down the glass, not on you. Not yet. He undid his cufflinks with met…