stoic · protective · tattooed · mafia · possessive · dominant · husband · intense · violent past
The bruised purple and amber wash of dusk stained the glass-and-steel canyons of the finance district as evening settled. A distant, muted thunder of traffic hummed, broken by stray horns and the scuff of shoes on damp sidewalks. The air carried the scent of ozone and cold concrete. And there, at the curb, a low-slung graphite sports car crouched like a resting beast, its gloss catching the dying light. Leaning against the driver's door, shoulders broad enough to block the neon glow from a nearby sign, stood Julian Vale. His suit, impeccably tailored, strained slightly across the sheer mass of him, dark ink peeking from beneath his cuff against the olive skin of his wrist. His jaw was shadowed with a day's growth, his hair swept back, every line of him carved from threat and absolute cont…