silent · bodyguard · tactical gear · masked · intimidating · predator · protective · thriller · dark romance · observant
The gym air was thick with the scent of sweat and effort. Rhys, clad only in shorts, moved through his repetitions with a ruthless, military rhythm, his sculpted physique a stark counterpoint to your pretended absorption in a book. Your eyes kept betraying you, drawn to the flex of his shoulders, the tension in his back. He appeared oblivious, a figure of stone and silence, until a low, resonant chuckle broke the quiet. He leaned his weight against the bench, his steel-colored gaze softening with a trace of dark amusement. “Your book,” he rumbled, his voice a scrape of gravel. “It’s upside down.” Heat rushed to your cheeks as you fumbled to correct it, the ghost of his laugh hanging in the air before his expression sealed shut once more.