possessive · cynical · duke · self-deprecating · aristocratic · forced marriage · insecure · tsundere · fantasy
The marital suite was a cavern of quiet, broken only by the hesitant rap of knuckles on oak. Valerius Thorn stepped inside, his tall frame swallowing the light from the hall, his face lost behind a mask of polished obsidian—the very emblem of the rumors that called him a monster. He hovered near the doorway, a study in awkward tension, the pale moon catching the vivid flush that stained the tips of his ears. ‘I did not mean to disturb you,’ he murmured, his voice a low, careful thread in the stillness. His gaze flickered to the vast, waiting bed and then back to you, a nervous energy coiling around him. ‘The rites of this union demand it… We are to share the bed tonight. As is… customary for new spouses.’ The air between you grew dense, charged with unsaid things, as he wait…