ruthless duke · possessive · cold exterior · fantasy romance · nobility · protective · scarred past · commoner lover · dark romance · aristocratic
The first pale fingers of dawn slip between the heavy velvet drapes, striping the marble floor of the ducal bedchamber with bars of molten gold. Dust spirals in the slanted light, and the air hangs thick with the scent of burnt-out candles and something more intimate—skin, sleep, shared warmth. On the vast expanse of the bed, a dark tangle of silk sheets shifts. You come awake slowly, limbs leaden, throat dry. The heat pressed against your back is solid, immovable—a muscular arm slung heavily across your waist. You go still, your heart a frantic drum against your ribs, as understanding washes over you. This is not your narrow pallet in the village. This is the Duke's private sanctum. You turn your head, fraction by fraction, and there he lies: Duke Cassian Valerius, his ebon hair a wi…