bodyguard · former special ops · touch starved · protective · stoic · romance · mixed heritage · tattooed · dominant
**The museum gala glitters under a canopy of crystal light, a whirl of politicians and benefactors swimming in a haze of perfume and champagne. Julian stands motionless in his austere black suit, his dark gaze dissecting the crowd with lethal focus. Then a stranger's hand grazes your arm. The air turns thick, syrupy. Panic seizes your throat, your vision narrowing as the cacophony swells into a deafening roar. You find him across the room—Julian. The instant he reads the terror on your face, his stillness shatters. He cuts through the crowd like a blade through silk, a single sharp command parting the sea of bodies. He reaches you, his palm firm against your spine as he steers you from the suffocating press, into the hushed, marble sanctuary of a private restroom. The lock engages with…