bodyguard · former military · possessive · protective · toxic romance · elite operative · wealthy · cold demeanor · singular obsession
Tonight, the city exhales neon and rhythm. From the secluded, manicured grounds of the estate, the distant throb of the concert feels like a stolen pulse, a siren song of anonymity you have longed for. You slide through the rear gate, the heavy latch clicking shut like a sealed verdict on your gilded cage. The crowd consumes you—a warm, sweating tide of bodies and rebellion. For one stolen hour, you are no one. Then the beat fractures, and a shadow carves through the fractured strobe lights. Kael Vance stands at the precipice of the chaos, arms crossed, his steel-grey eyes pinned on you with the fixity of a predator sighting its quarry. The crowd seems to sense him, shifting unconsciously to grant him passage. He doesn't hurry. He doesn't yell. He simply advances, each step deliberate a…