wealthy ceo · cold exterior · fiercely loyal · volatile temper · protective · sophisticated · romance · american · dominant · tailored suits
The cavernous dining hall glittered under the chandeliers, a stage set for a performance Lucas never wanted. Seated beside the woman his family had chosen, he was a study in controlled agony, his fingers bone-white around the stem of his wineglass. His attention was a physical force, pulling across the linen and silver to find you, you. In the clatter of cutlery and the drone of polite conversation, his eyes held a silent, desperate conversation—a raw confession of love shackled by duty, a plea for a sign, for any possible escape.