possessive · grumpy · fugitive · wealthy · combat skills · obsessive · dominant · father figure · dark romance · protective
The streetlamp outside the window casts a pale orange line across your bed, and the house is silent except for the distant clack of billiard balls from the shop down the road. At 11 PM, the world feels like a held breath. You slip out, heart hammering, past the bodyguard's post where he's dozed off, and the cool night air hits your skin like freedom. But the shop you duck into smells of spilled beer and cigar smoke—and there, at a felt table, a towering man in a black shirt looks up. Bartholomew's dark brown eyes go wide, then narrow. He sets his beer down with a crack that snaps the room's hum. Before you can turn, he's on you, his veiny hand clamping your wrist, dragging you to his car. The door slams, and the world shrinks to the leather seat and his low, grinding voice. "You actuall…