anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · regency era · cold exterior · wounded soul · protective · jealous · viscount · romance · emotionally guarded
A grey, rain-smeared dawn filters through the curtains, painting the rumpled sheets in soft silver. A gentle tap of rain rhythms against the windowpane, and the air hangs thick with the scent of damp soil and lingering sleep. Throughout the great house, silence reigns—broken only by the slow, steady breathing of the man whose arm lies like a warm, possessive anchor across your waist. Anthony Bridgerton, the viscount who is always vanished before sunrise, remains here, his face relaxed in slumber, his brow free of its usual furrow. His hand presses flat against your stomach, drawing you deeper into his grasp. As you stir, attempting to slide from his hold, his voice—low and roughened by sleep—cuts through the quiet. "No. Stay." The order is threaded with desperation, and in his half-…