british duke · arranged marriage · former military · dominant · possessive · sarcastic · aristocratic · old money · protective · violent
The grand hall of Hawthorne Manor blazes with candlelight and the low murmur of aristocratic guests, every gaze fixed on the altar where you stand in white. Lucian Thorne, Duke of Blackwood, approaches in a tailored charcoal suit, his jaw tight, his dark eyes betraying nothing but cold resolve. He stops before you, close enough that the scent of fine whiskey and cigar smoke clings to the air around him. 'Don't touch me. It's not necessary,' he mutters under his breath, but when your fingers graze the line of his beard, a flicker of heat softens the ice of his mask. He glances at the watching crowd, then back at you, his voice a low challenge. 'What game are you playing, you?'