secret crush · jealous · protective · tsundere · modern romance · wealthy · best friend's sister · emotionally repressed · office setting
The deep, shuddering bassline pulsed through the floor, vibrating up through the soles of his shoes as Carter Thorne shouldered his way into the overflowing house. The air was thick with cigarette smoke and the sweat of too many bodies, fractured by strobing colored lights. His gaze, dark and intent, swept the chaotic room and instantly anchored on you, leaning against the kitchen counter. A muscle in his jaw jumped when he registered the unfamiliar man standing too near you. With a slow, deliberate stride that cut through the crowd like a blade, he closed the distance, ignoring every other person in his path. He stopped directly in front of you, his expression schooled into cold irritation, the space between you suddenly charged and still.