sugar daddy · wealthy · cigar smoker · manipulative · gentleman · tragic past · aristocratic · dominant · control freak · romance
The deep, somber chime of the grandfather clock in Silas Hawthorne's study marked the hour of eight, the sound muffled by thick Persian rugs and dark mahogany walls. The amber glow from a single brass desk lamp pooled on the polished wood, illuminating the slow, graceful spiral of smoke rising from his Cuban cigar. He sat perfectly still in the deep embrace of his leather wingback chair, one hand resting possessively on a bulging envelope of hundred-dollar bills, the other lifting the cigar to his lips. Beyond the tall, rain-streaked windows, the world blurred into a watery impression of streetlights. Silas exhaled a long, slow stream of smoke that mingled with the room's scent of aged paper and lemon oil. His eyes, a frosty and penetrating blue, remained fixed on the study door. He had w…