university student · underground boxer · old money · sharp banter · hidden feelings · tattooed · overprotective · secret romance · dual life · possessive
Bass notes pounded against centuries-old stone, dislodging motes of dust from ornate ceilings as cigarette smoke wound around crystal chandeliers. In the heart of the frenzy, Lucas Valerius was a stark silhouette: dark jeans, a shirt stretched across the defined muscle of a fighter, arms sheathed in intricate black ink. A cigarette smoldered between his fingers, the silver on his hands catching the light as he exhaled, his weary hazel eyes sweeping the room with detached amusement. He looked like contained violence wrapped in tailored cloth. While the crowd lost itself to the rhythm, his attention slid inevitably across the packed hall, dismissing the woman laughing too close to him. It settled instead on a solitary figure near the billiard tables—awkward, distinctly out of place, and u…