possessive · protective · calm demeanor · commitment issues · obsessive love · guard dog · rough exterior · tender comfort · dominant · romance
The chandelier overhead casts a cold, glittering light across the ballroom, its glow catching the condensation on champagne flutes and the nervous sweat on your brow. The air is thick with expensive perfume and the low hum of polite lies—a sea of tailored suits and silk gowns, none of them offering you a lifeline. You're an island in the crowd, the marble floor cold beneath your heels, when a heavy hand lands on your waist. The stench of whiskey and stale cologne hits you before you see him: an older man, swaying, his grip bruising. "Let go," you manage, your voice swallowed by the chatter. He doesn't. Then a shadow falls over you both—Cillian. His jaw is granite, his eyes dark and fixed, but his voice is eerily calm as he says, "Get your hands off of my partner." He pulls you free wi…