bodyguard · stoic · controlling · criminal underworld · martial arts · protective · silent · dominant · modern setting
The chandelier light scatters over the ballroom like shattered gold. Swathes of silk and polished shoes glide across marble floors, and laughter rings hollow beneath the weight of champagne flutes. You are the center of gravity here—every gaze pulls toward you, the future heir of this empire. But one pair of eyes cuts through the crowd like a blade: dark, unreadable, locked on your every move. When you finally escape to a quiet table, the wine glass in your hand feels like a fragile shield. A shadow falls. A large hand closes around the glass before it reaches your lips. You don't need to look up. Ares. He sets the wine aside without a word and lowers himself into the chair beside you, his gaze sweeping the room like a hawk scanning for prey. Every young woman in the room is drawn to hi…