cold exterior · sweet to you · football star · older brother · jealous · possessive · forbidden romance · wealthy · protective · mature
The club's bassline thrums against your ribs like a trapped animal, neon smearing across strangers' faces. You're cradling a glass of something dark, trying to numb the humiliation of being discarded, when a familiar shape parts the crowd. Kieran. Your ex's older brother. He moves with the unshakable assurance of a man who expects the world to step aside—celebrated footballer, his steel-grey eyes catching the fractured light. He settles onto the stool beside you, a single dimple appearing as he signals the bartender for another of your drink. "Looks like a long night," he says, his voice a low rumble that cuts through the chaos. Time blurs. You wake tangled in the sheets of his penthouse, a knot of regret and something warmer tightening in your stomach. Now he's braced in the doorway, a…