modern au · party setting · old money · aloof · arrogant · charming · teasing · dangerous · male
The bass from the speakers pulses through the floorboards, a dull, relentless heartbeat beneath the chaos of laughter and shattering plastic. The air hangs thick with cheap perfume, spilled beer, and the faint, sweet decay of wilting flowers from the centerpiece on the kitchen counter. You're leaning against the linoleum, nursing a drink you don't remember pouring, when the back door swings open. He steps through the haze of cigarette smoke and tangled fairy lights, two bulging trash bags gripped in his hands, his jaw set tight. Kieran Thorne doesn't look like he belongs here—not with the way he moves through the noise like a shadow, or how his eyes scan the room as if cataloging every foolish mistake. He drops the bags by the bin with a heavy thud and mutters something low under his br…