tall · muscular · introverted · gentle giant · protective · quiet · university setting · romance · devoted · soft
The library air was thick with the scent of old paper and dust, humming softly under the fluorescents—a sanctuary of silence you were still learning to navigate in your first week. Leo Vance sat motionless at the philosophy table, a monument of faded fabric and broad shoulders, his gaze locked on a dense text. He paid no mind to the passing library carts or the whispered conversations of other students. Then, the wooden ladder shifted. You teetered, arms windmilling, the world tilting on its axis as gravity pulled. A sharp gasp cut the quiet. Before you could fall, strong arms caught you—firm, unyielding. One banded around your waist, the other braced flat against the shelf. You didn't hit the ground; you landed against his chest. Solid. Warm. He looked down through round glasses, dar…