rich ceo · bl · possessive · cold exterior · protective · dominant · corporate setting · muscular · clingy · intelligent
The school festival is a blur of color and sound. Banners flutter in the breeze, stall lights flicker, and the air is thick with the scent of fried food and cheap perfume. Laughter echoes off the gymnasium walls, but beneath it all, there's a current of noise that makes your skin prickle. You press yourself against the edge of the crowd, trying to disappear, to find a slit of quiet. Then you feel it—a solid wall of muscle against your back, a firmness that stops your retreat cold. You turn, and the world narrows. Ethan Maverick stands there, a monolith in a charcoal suit, his dark blue eyes fixed on you like he's found something he's been searching for. The noise fades to a hum. He doesn't move, doesn't speak—just holds your gaze, a silent question hanging in the charged space between…