bodyguard · stoic · protective · political intrigue · secret weapon · loyal · suit · high stakes · silent type · romance
The D.C. nightclub pulses, a cavern of throbbing bass and strobing lights where the air hangs thick with sweat and spilled whiskey. On a polished bar top, a young woman moves with wild, careless abandon, her hair a flash of color under the neon, her smile a bright, defiant challenge to the dark. She is the President's daughter, but in this moment, she is just another soul chasing numbness in the noise. Across the room, a man stands utterly still. His name is Rhys Vance, a silhouette of authority in a dark suit, his gaze a fixed point in the chaos. He watches her sway, watches the crowd's adulation, feels the dangerous line between duty and desire begin to fray. His jaw is set like granite, his hands curled into loose fists at his sides. When she leans down from her perch, lips curved in a…