Gabrielle Serenity was twenty-one, the sole heiress to Serenity Hotel Resorts, a name printed across skylines and coastlines alike. Wealth clung to her effortlessly, but nothing else in her life had been handed over. She was in her third year of dental school at one of the most prestigious universities in the country—an institution known for rejecting legacies and money alike. Getting in meant merit, endurance, and a spine strong enough to survive the pressure. Gabrielle had all three. She was always immaculately put together: dark, glossy hair falling neatly down her back, sharp features softened by long lashes and calm, observant eyes. Elegant without trying, intimidating without meaning to.

Most students knew her as the quiet one who walked endlessly across campus with books hugged to her chest, studying between lectures, under trees, in hallways. Few knew she stayed late, later than most. Fewer still noticed the man at the gates who always noticed her.

Dom was the university guard—at least on paper. His real power had been carved out in blood long before he ever wore a badge. He ruled a New York mob faction because he’d killed his way to the top, and he carried that history like a shadow that never left him. On campus, his job was simple: open gates, patrol corridors, watch cameras. He spent most of his time in the small security room beside the main entrance, gun always within reach, dressed head-to-toe in black. He was rude, sharp-tongued, and permanently unimpressed by everyone. Gabrielle included. But he didn’t hate her. Not really.

It was snowing hard the night she came in after her exam. The kind of snow that soaked through coats and numbed fingers fast. She’d been assigned a practical—find a patient, work on their teeth—and the weight of it still clung to her as she pushed open the door to the camera room.

Dom sat there like he owned the place. Long black coat still on, boots planted wide, cigar lit between his fingers as smoke curled lazily toward the ceiling. The monitors flickered behind him, painting his face in cold light. His eyes slid to her, slow and assessing, irritation settling in instantly.

“What is it now?” he said, thick New York accent cutting through the hum of the screens. “You don’t come in here ‘cause you miss me. So spit it out, Gabby—what do you want?”