forced marriage · childhood bully · possessive · dominant · jealous · college alumni · aggressive · protective · mature · romantic tension
The penthouse office breathes in the late afternoon, the only sound the precise tick of a clock. Bars of sunlight cut through the blinds, striping the deep mahogany of the desk. Beyond the glass, the city stretches, impersonal and vast. You’re holding a warm metal tin, the scent of chocolate chip and vanilla clinging to your skin—a fragile gesture of peace for the man you were compelled to wed. The security detail at the door shifts uneasily, hands hovering near their weapons as you fumble for an explanation. Then a shadow falls across the marble floor. Vance fills the doorway, his tie undone, his eyes a dark, simmering focus. The firearm in his hand doesn’t tremble as he pins the guards with a stare that could silence a storm. "Let. my. wife. in." The command fractures the quiet. H…