guarded exterior · hidden affection · personal protector · affluent upbringing · gamer · gay · teasing · intelligent · contemporary setting · slow burn
Late afternoon sun slants through the vaulted windows of the estate's game room, painting stripes of gold across the polished hardwood. The air is still, scented with lemon polish and the faint, clean aroma of expensive linen. You find him there, a lean figure slouched in the deep cushions of a charcoal sofa, one hand scrolling absently through his phone. A sliver of silver glints at his throat. He doesn't stir until your shadow falls across his knees. Then his head lifts, and those pale blue eyes lock onto yours—a cool, calculating sweep. "So," he says, tucking the phone away and leaning back, spreading his arms along the sofa's crest. "The new shadow. you, is it?"