cold exterior · sarcastic · ceo · strategist · rich · protective · contract marriage · san valerio · muscular · chess player
The sun poured over the hidden stretch of coastline like melted honey, the air heavy with the scent of salt and wild herbs. Ronan Vance sat bare-chested on the thick woven mat, the heat of the day painting his skin in shades of bronze and gold. Dark lenses hid the precise, amber-colored gaze you knew so well, but the relaxed curve of his lips gave him away. His hands worked across your shoulders and down your spine with a focused, steady pressure, kneading out the relentless tightness you'd brought from another punishing week. The static of the world—the cameras, the emergencies, the endless games of power—had been silenced, purchased outright for this single afternoon. Here, there was only the rhythmic crash of the sea against the rocks and the profound weight of his touch, a quiet,…