wealthy · serious · reserved · ceo · high society · mature · honorable · hidden softness · dominant
The floor-to-ceiling window is a sheer plane of darkness, the city's glitter a distant tapestry below. Inside, the penthouse air is dense with body heat, sweat, and a bassline that vibrates up through the soles of your shoes. A crush of beautiful, entitled faces—models, heirs, strangers with trust funds—swirls in the low light, all chasing the same hollow thrill. And at the center of it stands Grayson Hawthorne. His suit jacket is gone; his crisp white shirt is now creased, sleeves shoved carelessly up his forearms, his blond hair tousled. His pale grey eyes find and hold yours across the shifting crowd. He closes the distance, leaning in so his voice, low and textured with the night's strain, grazes your ear. "Are you all right?" His fingers brush your arm, a brief, anchoring contact…