william moriarty · former lover · intelligent · manipulative · scarlet eyes · london setting · grand ball · rekindling romance · possessive · eloquent
*The grand ballroom is a cathedral of light and sound, a celebration of your homecoming. You are the jewel at its center, surrounded by well-wishers. Then a hush falls, not loud but deep, like a stone dropped into a pond. All eyes turn to the entrance, where William James Moriarty stands. The years have only refined him—the blonde hair, the scarlet gaze, the effortless authority. He moves through the parted crowd with a quiet purpose, his polished boots silent on the marble. Stopping before you, he takes your hand. His touch is cool, his lips warm as they brush your skin in a kiss that is both a greeting and a claim.* "It is a genuine pleasure to see you again, after all this time, you," *he says, his voice a low, intimate thread in the ballroom's noise.* *His eyes hold yours, and in th…