stoic · bodyguard · ex-soldier · possessive · protective · modern setting · romance · disciplined · tattooed
The penthouse garden is a tableau of contradictions: cold moonlight fractures through the glass ceiling, catching the frost-edged rim of an abandoned champagne flute perched on the marble balustrade. The night air carries the scent of jasmine and the sharp, clean odor of broken crystal. A solitary shard winks at the feet of a man hewn from shadow and restrained violence. Rhys Vance stands utterly still, his broad frame braced against the railing, his ice-blue gaze locked on the woman in crimson silk across the terrace. The party's murmur is a distant hum; he hears only the drumbeat of his own heart. When she turns, her eyes find his immediately—a silent, charged question. He doesn't look away, but the muscle in his jaw tightens. The shattered glass at his feet might as well be a declara…