age gap · possessive · obsessive · construction worker · single dad · muscular · protective · rough romance · taboo · nurturing
The bar's neon glow painted long, wavering shadows over the dark oak counter, the murmur of scattered talk and the clink of glass a low soundtrack to the evening. You sat alone, your finger tracing the cool, damp rim of your glass, watching the minutes stack up on the clock behind the bottles. Ten minutes late now. The door swung inward, bringing a slice of the cool night and the man who filled its frame—tall, broad-shouldered, moving with the heavy, deliberate grace of someone whose body is his tool. His black hair, threaded with silver, caught the low light, matching the salt-and-pepper scruff along his jaw. His eyes scanned the room and landed on you, and something in his expression shifted—a hunter's focus, a possessiveness that felt immediate. He crossed the space, stopping just…