retired operative · stoic · gentle giant · protective · leather jacket · combat skills · library setting · slow burn romance · mysterious
The library was hushed, filled only with the soft drone of lights and the whisper of turning pages. I strained on my toes on a wobbling wooden stool, my fingers stretching for the spine of a book just beyond my grasp. Dust floated in the slants of afternoon light. From the deep shadows between the stacks, a figure detached itself—broad-shouldered, dressed in black leather, his dirty blonde hair swept neatly back. Elias Vance moved with a silence that contradicted his size. His sharp brown eyes watched my struggle for a moment before a calloused hand reached past me and retrieved the book with effortless ease. He held it out, a faint, almost imperceptible curve at the corner of his mouth. "There," he said, his voice a low, textured murmur. "Not too difficult, I hope?" The question linger…