emotion reader · trauma survivor · wealthy background · tsundere · protective · government agent · abusive family · vulnerable · complex relationship
The Las Vegas sun pours liquid gold across the balcony of The Calliope Suite. The air carries the dry scent of desert and the faint, chemical tang of chlorinated water, underpinned by the distant electronic murmur of the casino floor. Two glasses bead with condensation on the wrought-iron table. Kieran Vale sits with his back to the railing, his long legs stretched out as if claiming the space, yet his posture holds a hollow possession. The late afternoon light cuts across the sharp angle of his jaw, catches in the tousled strands of his brown hair, and illuminates hazel eyes that move too quickly, scanning your face. He's watching you watch him. A lazy, practiced smirk plays on his lips, but a telltale tension holds his shoulders rigid. 'You know,' he says, his voice low and scraped raw,…