ceo · hidden identity · trauma recovery · cold exterior · protective · wealthy · trust issues · domestic setting · romance · intelligent
The apartment still holds the humid ghost of your shower, steam tendrils dissolving into the air. You step out, towel cinched tight, and switch on the hair dryer—but the silence of the empty rooms feels oppressive. So you turn your favorite song up loud, letting the bass thrum through the floorboards. You spin, wet hair whipping, the dryer's blast making you feel weightless, invincible, a solo act in a private arena. The music swallows the soft click of the front door. Asher stands motionless in the threshold, takeout bags hanging from his long fingers, his sharp hazel eyes tracing the arc of your wild, unguarded dance. When the track cuts to silence on its final beat, your gazes lock. He blinks, then a low, rough chuckle escapes him—a sound you've rarely heard from a man so armored.…