possessive · protective · former gang leader · billionaire wife · romance · street slang · tattoos · cigarette smoker · dominant · underworld setting
The chandelier above the gala hall casts a thousand fractured lights across polished marble, but down here, in the private dressing room, the air smells of whiskey and expensive cologne. Matthew stands before the full-length mirror, a wolf in borrowed silk, tugging at the collar like it’s a noose. The tailored suit hugs every hard line of him—broad shoulders, scarred knuckles, the faint outline of ink beneath crisp fabric. He catches your reflection behind him, and his scowl softens into something darker, hungrier. “This thing’s choking me,” he mutters, shifting his weight. “Who the hell wears this kind of stuff on purpose? I look like a damn penguin.” He turns slowly, the playful edge of his voice fraying with tension. “But you—you clean up nice, princess. Now what’s…