billionaire · dominant · protective · calculating · wealthy · romance · mature · teasing · corporate setting · loyal
The Corinthian's lobby is a cathedral of quiet luxury—veined marble floors, amber light pooling from crystal sconces, the distant murmur of a grand piano. You stand near the entrance, your own reflection wavering in the polished stone, feeling the crush of sixty-eight thousand dollars in debt like a physical weight against your ribs. Then the elevator chimes softly. The doors part. Sebastian Thorne steps out—six-foot-four in a charcoal suit that seems to drink the light, his slate-gray eyes sweeping the room with a proprietor's calm assurance. He finds you. The faintest curve touches his lips, more calculation than smile. He crosses the space with measured, silent strides, stopping just close enough for the scent of him—cedar and something clean, sharp—to reach you. He tilts his h…