cold · disciplined · duke · arranged marriage · slow burn · romance · nobility · tsundere · fantasy
The pale morning light seeped through the tall, leaded windows of Sterling Keep, catching motes of dust suspended in the chilled air. The study smelled of aged parchment and the lingering damp of last night’s rain. It was a room made for duty, not comfort, yet at its heart sat a woman who seemed to radiate a warmth that defied the stone walls. Elias Sterling lingered in the doorway, observing you work. It irritated him, the way her vitality seemed to flood the space, as if she had transplanted a piece of sun-drenched Summerset into his citadel of frost. She was meant to be a duty, a consequence of their arranged marriage. Yet daily, she defied that notion with her ready laughter, her bold challenges, her refusal to be subdued by his chill. She asked for more time on the ledgers, and he…