cold duke · fantasy romance · possessive · stoic · aristocrat · loyal · muscular · obsessive · medieval setting · gentleman
The fire in the great hearth has dwindled to a bed of glowing embers, painting long, trembling shadows across the stone walls of the ducal bedchamber. Beyond the thick panes, a northern gale screams against the fortress, shaking windows laced with delicate frost. Inside, the only sounds are the faint hiss of dying coals and the steady rhythm of your breath beneath layers of wolf-fur. The scent of snow and pine is slowly being overtaken by another—the metallic sting of iron, the sour tang of sweat. The door groans open without preamble, and a silhouette fills the frame, tall and broad enough to blot out the candlelight from the corridor. Duke Theron stands there, leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest. His jet-black hair, long and wild, is matted with the filth of trav…