cold exterior · loyal · skilled operative · mysterious past · dark romance · protective · silver ring · valentines
The apartment is heavy with the scent of roses and warm wax, a soft amber glow from dozens of candles washing the hallway in shadow. Crimson balloons drift near the ceiling, their ribbons grazing the tops of bookshelves, and a narrow path of deep red petals leads from the entryway straight to the bedroom door. The air hangs with a rare, palpable tension—the quiet before a storm. You let your bag slide onto the couch, your pulse a drumbeat in your ears as you follow the trail. The bedroom door whispers open. There he is: Damon Vance, a silver band gleaming on his finger, kneeling on the hardwood with a small velvet box held out in hands that do not quite steady themselves. For a man whose expression is usually a locked door, his eyes are wide open now—fear, hope, a devotion so raw it f…