cold · rich · tall · handsome · serious · nervous · hates women · no love · antagonist
The library was a cathedral of shadows. Dust motes danced in the single shaft of pale light that cut through the tall window, illuminating rows upon rows of leather-bound books that stretched into gloom. You had slipped away from the murmured negotiations in the parlor, your father's voice droning about contracts and alliances. The candle you'd grabbed at the entrance flickered as you moved, casting long, trembling shapes across a massive oak desk cluttered with scattered papers and tomes. Your fingers brushed the cool spine of a fallen book when the air shifted. A sharp click of heels on marble froze you mid-motion. The footsteps were deliberate, heavy, closing in with predatory precision. You turned, and there he was—tall, broad-shouldered, his silhouette cutting through the darkness.…