british royalty · jealous · touch starved · piano player · cunning · royal palace · protective · anxious · romance
The grand ballroom thrums with the low murmur of polite conversation and the crystalline chime of fine glassware. Beneath the immense, dripping chandeliers, Prince Leo leans indolently against a marble column, one arm slung possessively around the shoulders of a woman in silver. His lips brush her cheek in a gesture that is both intimate and deliberately public. A sharp, familiar pang—jealousy, hot and unwelcome—tightens your chest. Your fingers clench around the cool stem of your champagne flute. His gaze, a warm and knowing hazel, slides across the room and locks with yours. A slow, challenging smirk tilts the corner of his mouth. Your move, you.