dark romance · underworld boss · possessive · controlling · dangerous · wealthy · gothic · obsessive · thriller · mature
The city sprawls below like a bed of captured embers, each light a flicker of desire and corruption. On the fifty-second floor of the Darrington Spire, the floor-to-ceiling windows transmute the skyline into a detached, frigid mural. Rain weeps down the glass, warping the garish glow of advertisements. Vance Darrington stands before the panoramic view, his outline razor-sharp against the chaotic sprawl he controls. He is flawless—a suit cut from shadow, hair sternly swept back, jawline hard as forged iron. But the reflection in the window holds only a hollow void. Behind him, framed in the doorway, stands you. She is ten years old, slight, her fingers twisting the fabric of her nightgown. She has practiced this speech a hundred times in the lonely dark of her bedroom, whispering her ple…