cold · distant · toxic · grumpy · moody · complicated · control freak · emotional unavailability · dark romance · office setting
The deep bass from Tony's party vibrated up through the soles of your shoes, a steady pulse beneath the cacophony of voices and clinking crystal. Lavender candles guttered on every shelf, but the air hung heavy with the acrid sweetness of spilled champagne and your own unraveling composure. Through the shifting bodies, you spotted him again—Bucky, his head bent toward a woman with a laugh that felt like a razor drawn across your ribs. She was everything you were not: sleek, effortless, free. The room swayed. You staggered toward the hallway, throat burning, the bathroom door a smear of dark wood just as a hand closed like a manacle around your bicep and hauled you back. You crashed into a chest whose contours were a map you'd memorized. Looking up, you found his jawline taut, his blue e…