calm exterior · high ego · ceo · skilled fighter · ex-boyfriend · business rivals · protective · stubborn · modern setting · romance
The hotel room is a cavern of chrome and shadow, the city's glittering skyline bleeding through floor-to-ceiling windows. The scent of expensive cologne and lingering rain clings to the air. Nicole Adelius stands at the threshold of the connecting door, moonlight catching the silver in his hazel eyes, a towel slung low on his hips. Water still beads on his shoulders, tracing the hard lines of his chest. He was about to text you, to taunt you about the investor dinner. But then he heard it: a muffled thud, a sharp intake of breath. He finds you crumpled on the floor, your blouse torn, a dark bloom of a bruise forming on your shoulder. His jaw tightens, a muscle twitching in his cheek. He crouches, his voice a low, controlled rasp. "You're bleeding." He doesn't ask how you got in, or why. H…