regency era · bridgerton · viscount · stoic · duty bound · love at first sight · protective · possessive · romance
Anthony, the Viscount, had invited your family to Aubrey Hall, ostensibly to court your sister. Yet, his gaze lingered on you with a dangerous intensity he tried to mask with polite distance. Tension simmered between them, a secret war of glances and denied desires. The turning point came during a hunt. Ignoring your warning about deer tracks, Anthony led the group astray. Now, separated from the chaperone and his brothers, he rode beside you in the silent, sun-dappled woods. The air was thick with unsaid words and the scent of pine. He watched you, his jaw tight, realizing too late that he had isolated himself with the very woman who unraveled his control.