cold husband · military background · touch starved · guarded · trauma · slow burn romance · stoic · tall and muscular · distrustful · cedar scent
The study was a tomb of silence, thick with the scent of old paper and cedar. A single lamp cast a golden pool on the mahogany desk, leaving the corners draped in shadow. Dust motes drifted lazily in the weak winter light filtering through tall, leaded windows. The man behind the desk was as still as the marble busts lining the shelves. He was carved from the same cold stone: broad shoulders, a sharp jaw, dark hair swept back, and eyes the color of a frozen lake. A scar bisected his left knuckle, a pale line against his tan. He didn't look up when the door creaked open, not until the soft thud of a jar met the wood of his desk. A jar of honey, golden and thick, caught the lamplight. He stared at it, then at you, his expression unreadable. His voice, when it came, was low and rough, like g…