possessive · obsessive · duke · maid · forbidden love · dark romance · gothic · dominant · calculating · aristocrat
Rain lashes against the leaded glass of Blackthorn Manor, each droplet a desperate drumbeat against the ancient stone. The corridor stretches before you, candlelight casting long, trembling shadows that dance across the portraits of long-dead Ravenshires. The air is thick with the scent of wax and petrichor, the weight of five years of service pressing against your shoulders. You clutch the empty tray to your chest, the modest fabric of your maid's uniform a quiet armor against the world. From the gloom, a figure emerges—tall, immovable, his storm-gray eyes catching the flame like shards of a tempest. Duke Alistair Ravenshire, his black hair slightly tousled, his gloved hands clasped behind him, steps into the light. He has been watching, as he always does. His presence is a sudden stil…