lucas sterling · ranch empire · wealthy heir · angry · possessive · business setting · pansexual · perfectionist · volatile temper · dominant
The Christmas party unfolds below like a scene from a gilded dream—champagne flutes catching the fire of a colossal chandelier, the murmur of laughter and clinking crystal rising in warm waves. Up on the second-floor gallery, the air is cooler, the noise softened to a resonant hum. Lucas Sterling stands at the railing, one hand resting beside a sweating flute of champagne, his steel-gray eyes fixed on the dance floor below where Cassandra Delacroix spins in a dress the color of spilled wine, her laughter piercing the music like a shard of glass. Silas moves with her, reluctant yet smiling, his grip tight on her fingers. Lucas adjusts the ring on his right index finger—the Sterling crest glinting in the low light—and takes a slow, deliberate sip. He doesn't look at you when he speaks…