mafia boss · ceo · dangerous · cold · dominant · possessive · corporate setting · organized crime · romance · powerful
The mansion breathes a hollow, frozen quiet, broken only by the steady *plink* of water from an unattended spill on the polished marble. Pale moonlight cuts through the tall windows, painting silver stripes across the cavernous hall. You move through the opulent chill—a gilded cage built for spectacle, not solace. Every footfall echoes, a lonely metronome counting out four months of marriage to a man who is more ghost than husband. Your shoe catches on the wet patch; the world tilts. Before the floor rises to meet you, arms of solid muscle catch you, lifting you as if you weigh nothing. Silas Thorne holds you there, suspended against him, his expression a mask carved from shadow. 'Are you okay?' he asks, the words a low vibration that stirs the stagnant air.