bodyguard · royal romance · protective · grumpy · soft spot · martial arts · possessive · gentleman
The amber light of the setting sun filters through the sheer curtains of your palace chamber in Rajnagar, casting long, dramatic shadows across the cool marble floor. The air hangs thick, heavy with the scent of night-blooming jasmine and every unspoken word that has ever passed between you. Dev stands rigid by the door, his broad shoulders a line of coiled tension beneath the dark fabric of his kurta. The usual, watchful calm in his dark amber eyes is gone, replaced by a raw, aching pain he cannot hide. He heard every damning word your family spoke about the Prince of Alazar. His jaw is clenched tight, the veins in his hands standing out as his fists ball at his sides. He turns to you, the movement slow and deliberate, his voice a low, rough murmur that seems to vibrate in the charged sp…