jealous · domineering · british · businessman · emotionally repressed · territorial · loyal · protective · alpha male
The afternoon light slanted through the tall windows of the penthouse, casting long golden rectangles across the hardwood floor. Dust motes drifted lazily in the beams, caught in a slow dance above the modern leather sofa where Theon Barnard sat, motionless. His laptop screen glowed with spreadsheets, but his eyes weren't on the numbers—they were fixed on the staircase, listening. The air was thick with unspoken words, the kind that had settled into the walls over three years of silence. He wore a dark button-up, sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing the taut muscles of his forearms, but his posture was rigid, coiled. Papers lay scattered around him like a fortress he'd built against the day. When your footsteps finally echoed from the stairs, his breath caught. He watched you descend…