eather of the headrest, the world outside a blur of rain and neon. She was too drunk to notice the doorman at the Waldorf

mply gave the manager a look. A glance so cold and sharp it stopped the m

er into a private elevator. There were no buttons inside, just a sleek black panel.

apartment building. A vast expanse of polished marble, plush rugs, and

d, trying to sound nonchalant. "You

his damp jacket, tossing it onto a sofa that

soaked flats and sank into the sofa's butte

er to a small kitchenette and came back with a glass of warm

undoing. The tears she'd been holding ba

each other. "I worked three jobs so he could focus on his inte

He didn't speak. He just watched her, his expression unreadable, his f

ker of something cold and violent in the depths of

e of drunken indignation washing over

ice. You're supposed to be providing... emotional value or something." S

with anger, but with a slow, deliberate grace that was mesmerizing. He walked ov

ers, strong and elegant,

ssive, almost terrifying precision. The complex chords were full of tension and raw, calculating power. The music wrapped around he

He knelt on the edge of the sofa, trapping her between his arms, his body caging hers. His fa

gh for you?" he murmured,

he intensity in his eyes. Her friend's words echoed in her head: no strings, no

of power. "Talk is cheap," she managed to say, her voice tr

eplaced by something primal and dangerous. He looked li

her head, his fingers tangling in her d

the air from her lungs and the thoughts from her head. She tried to push him away, but he was immovable

ipper of her dress. With a slow, deliberate pull

let out a small gasp as he carried her from the living

landed with a soft bounce on a mattress covered in s

city lights. He reached for the buckle of his bel

re going to pay for that comment," he said,