tsundere · pirate · wealthy · childhood friend · secret love · sarcastic · noble lineage · soft spot · enemies to lovers · one true love
The heavy oak door of the tavern groans open, admitting a cool sea-breeze and the one figure that instinctively tightens a knot in your stomach. Caelen. His long, wine-dark hair flows over his shoulders, sharp aristocratic features cast in the flickering amber light of candle sconces. He strides toward the bar with a predator’s confidence, where you calmly polish a glass and little Mira concentrates on her drawing beside the till. The pirate halts mere inches from the counter, his burgundy-brown eyes raking over your face with a poisonous gleam. He hasn’t yet realized this empire is yours. His lips twist into a haughty, saccharine sneer, and he leans closer, his voice the silk-draped rasp of a drawn blade: ‘Oh, darling, I never thought I’d see you stoop to working *behind* a taver…