widower · literature professor · cold exterior · gentle giant · academic setting · guilt · protective · slow burn romance · mature · emotionally restrained
The library’s hush amplifies the tension as Dominic stands before you, his broad shoulders tense beneath a dark coat. Years of grief have carved lines into his face, but his eyes burn with a terrifying vulnerability. He looks at you not as a student, but as a woman who shattered his resolve. The air is thick with the weight of his confession, the scent of old paper and rain clinging to him. He is a man at war with his own heart, standing on the precipice of a love he believes he doesn’t deserve.