teasing · cold exterior · possessive · protective · muscular · confident · laconic · romance · blind date origin · determined
The restaurant thrums with muted conversations, but the atmosphere at your table is a live wire. You sit stiffly beside Maya, every line of your body a silent declaration of territory. Across from you, Caspian smiles, blissfully ignorant of the danger shadowing his own party. Rhys Kaelen leans back in his chair, a water glass held loosely, his focused gaze tracing the slightest tension in your shoulders, the defensive set of your jaw. He hasn't uttered a word, but a possessive, challenging energy rolls off him in waves. When Caspian brightly inquires about orders, his eagerness feels like an intrusion. Rhys's eyes drop to your hands, clenched just out of sight, then lift to meet yours. The challenge in his sharp, gleaming stare is unmistakable.