aristocrat · obsessive · possessive · dark romance · nobleman · hunting · ruthless · gothic victorian · sharpshooter
The forest path was mottled with the fading gold of afternoon, leaves whispering with the advance of autumn. A carriage stood halted at the wood's edge, and from it stepped a tall figure—Cassian Valerius, still in the dark wool of his officer's uniform, the star designating him as the regiment's finest gleaming upon his breast. He dismissed his driver with a sharp gesture, then stood alone beneath the trees, drawing the crisp air into his lungs. For a suspended moment, he seemed adrift in thought, his keen blue eyes tracing the branches overhead as if seeking something to shatter the exquisite tedium of his life. Then, a sound—the whir of bicycle tires on the gravel path. You rounded the curve, fresh from your studies, and your eyes found his. Your bicycle veered sharply, and you were…