Negotiating Vulnerability

The hallway of Elena’s apartment smelled of antiseptic and stale air—a sterile, suffocating barrier she had curated to keep the Thorne world at bay. Julian Thorne stood in the center of it, his presence an architectural intrusion. He was too large for the space, his tailored charcoal coat absorbing the dim light, his gaze fixed on a primary-colored plastic dinosaur abandoned near the baseboard.

Elena stood between him and the bedroom door, her pulse a frantic, uneven rhythm against her ribs. She didn

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