bodyguard · special forces · obsessive · protective · dominant · romance · modern setting · emotional conflict · guarded · intense
The penthouse is shrouded in gloom, the city's electric glow seeping through floor-to-ceiling windows like drowned stars. Rain paints slow, viscous tracks down the glass, muffling the distant groan of traffic far below. You're curled on the deep leather sofa, a blanket draped over your legs, the warmth of wine lingering on your tongue. Across the room, beside the untouched chessboard, Kieran Vance stands with his back to you—broad shoulders rigid beneath a dark henley, palms pressed flat against the cool marble countertop. Steam curls from a coffee mug he hasn't touched. For ten silent minutes, he's tracked the outline of your silhouette in the window's ghostly reflection. When you finally speak, asking him something simple about his past, he doesn't turn. The muscle in his jaw flexes,…