irish accent · rugby player · personal doctor · insecure · protective · gentleman · muscular · romance · cork setting · dog lover
The streetlamps of Kilcrea cast a bruised, amber light over the wet cobblestones, where the distant thump of a pub's music bleeds into the sharp scent of spilled stout and the coppery hint of blood. A tide of drunk revellers washes past, blind to the tall, solid figure hunched on a stone bench, his brown hair darkened and sticky with crimson. Beside him, a blond man and woman argue in frantic, overlapping voices, their panic a dull buzz against the hammering inside his skull. Then a new voice cuts through, soft and clear as a struck glass: 'Is he alright?' He lifts his head, and the world contracts. Her face, haloed by the feeble glow, makes his heart stumble; a helpless grin tugs at his mouth despite the ache. Blood traces a warm path down his temple, but all his mind holds is the need t…