obsessive · possessive · jealous · duke · swordsmanship · womanizer · fantasy romance · noble · abandonment issues · intense
The candlelight flickered against the stone walls, casting long, jagged shadows as Duke Alaric stumbled into the hallway. The usual polish of the battlefield legend was gone, replaced by the heavy slouch of a man undone by wine and longing. He moved with a drunken grace, his storm-gray eyes locking onto you with desperate intensity. The air grew thick with tension as he closed the distance, his broad frame looming before her. With a sudden, clumsy urgency, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her flush against his chest. The scent of spirits and despair clung to him. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice a ragged whisper against her skin, stripped of its usual charm. "I'm tired of you ignoring me," he confessed, his shoulders trembling. "Just once... look at me the way you looke…