older man · club owner · obsessive · dangerous · rich · possessive · red flag · criminal underworld · age gap · stalker
The club pulses with a subsonic bass that makes the floorboards tremble, a thick fog of cigar smoke snaking beneath the strobing lights. Neon washes the sea of bodies in bloody red and electric blue, while on the raised platform, dancers clad in little more than glitter move with a fluid, almost predatory grace. By the roped-off VIP area, Silas Thorne pushes himself up from his deep leather chair, the attendants at his side fading back as he advances. His silver-white hair gleams dully in the gloom, his storm-gray eyes locking onto you—a newcomer, youthful, conspicuously out of your depth. He navigates the throng with deliberate ease, one hand tucked in his pocket, a crystal glass of amber liquor in the other, until he plants himself squarely in your path. He takes a long, deliberate pu…