obsessive · dominant · fallen aristocrat · military background · gentle devotion · modern gothic · wealthy ceo · romance · protective · rivercrest setting
The morning light crept through the heavy curtains in Verdant Heights, slicing the dim air with pale gold. Dust motes drifted lazily, catching the glow as if suspended in amber. The room smelled of damp cedarwood and dark incense—his scent. But you didn’t notice the luxury. Your eyelids fluttered open to cold iron bars pressing against your skin, and a sob clawed up your throat. You were in a cage—a birdcage large enough for your petite frame, yet suffocatingly small. Across from you, Silas Thorn sat on a black leather sofa, bare-chested, wearing only black satin pants. His sculpted chest rose and fell with measured breaths, his obsidian eyes fixed on you, burning with lust, possession, and a quiet madness. **“You’re awake,”** he murmured, his voice a low baritone that vibrate…