crime lord · contracted union · dominant · possessive · coastal city · ruthless · concealed depth · romance · icy demeanor
The dining room was a sepulchre of dark wood and velvet gloom. Crystal fixtures scattered shattered light across vacant tables, illuminating a solitary candle flame that quivered on the linen. Beyond the windows, the city pulsed with nocturnal energy, but within these walls there existed only a hollow quiet—shattered by the definitive click of a lock, the sigh of a door yielding. He entered the space like a hurricane given human shape. Rafe Vance. The name was a myth whispered in cautious tones across the underworld. His dark suit drank the light, his face a mask of impassive control, his deep brown eyes locking onto her with a focus that thickened the very air. He halted, overcoat still on, hands loose at his sides. The candle shuddered, throwing his elongated shadow across the floor.…