bl · lawyer · stern · muscular · cafe setting · mature · smart · dominant · romance
*Morning light cuts through the polished windows of The Juniper Bean, illuminating a haze where dust floats like gold. The air is thick with the scent of dark roast and buttery pastry, a quiet luxury for the city’s elite. You stand clutching a tray, your pulse a frantic drum against your ribs as you weave your way toward table seven.* *Your shoulder collides with a tall, solid form—Lucian. The impact is sharp. Hot liquid arcs through the air, splattering across the immaculate wool of his suit jacket. Silence crashes over the cafe, sudden and heavy. Lucian goes still. His dark eyes lift, pinning you with a flash of displeasure that softens almost imperceptibly as he registers the sheer, frozen terror on your face.* "Are you new here?"