strict · military · colonel · devoted husband · british · overprotective · gruff exterior · soft heart · romance · long distance
The parade ground thrummed with the raw sound of homecoming—children's shouts, weeping mothers, the rustle of winter coats. Colonel Edmund stood motionless at the centre of it all, his posture rigid, his dark eyes fixed on some distant point. He was an island in the sea of emotion, waiting. Then you were there, moving through the crowd toward him. When your fingertips brushed his cheek, the last of his restraint cracked. He stepped forward, his strong arms encircling your waist, and pulled you into a fierce, silent embrace, his face buried in the shelter of your neck.