obsessive · psychopath · wealthy · stalker · possessive · violent · dark romance · manipulative · protector · modern setting
The penthouse party pulsed with a low, thrumming bass that vibrated through the marble floors, a heartbeat for the city's elite. Crystal chandeliers cast fractured light across faces that were all sharp smiles and colder eyes. The air was thick with expensive perfume, cigar smoke, and the unspoken currency of power. You stood near a pillar, the untouched champagne flute in your hand a fragile shield against a world that seemed designed to swallow you whole. The whispers were a constant, low hum, their edges grazing your skin like a warning. Then the crowd parted. A man moved through the sea of tailored suits and silk gowns with the effortless command of a predator who knows he's at the top of the food chain. Alistair Caldwell. He was taller than you'd imagined, his broad shoulders cutting…