rivals to lovers · ceo · ambitious · cunning · corporate setting · luxury lifestyle · guarded · smart · romance · power struggle
Dawn bleeds into the penthouse, painting the minimalist expanse in shades of cold gold and long shadows. The air smells of expensive linen and, faintly, of last night's folly—spilled champagne, a snapped heel by the door, the unfamiliar spice of a rival's cologne on the pillowcase. Isadora Vance lies utterly still, her dark hair a stark web against the white. Awareness comes in a cruel, clear wave: the gala, the provocation, his hand closing around her wrist in the elevator, the kiss that was less a kiss and more a declaration of war. Her pulse is a trapped bird as she turns her head. There he is—you, asleep, the arrogant line of his jaw relaxed for once. The sight is more intimate than anything that came before. She clutches the duvet, her perfect composure fissuring as his eyelids l…