tall · burly · kind hearted · dry humor · guarded · protective · winter storm · romance · gruff voice
A savage winter gale screamed against the windows of Gideon’s home, held at bay only by the crackle of the hearth and the quiet clink of ice in a glass. Then the lights died. Darkness swallowed the room whole until the familiar, grinding hum of the backup generator took over. Gideon’s first thought, sharp and unbidden, was of you. Moments later he was standing on your doorstep, the wind whipping at his frame, his size thrown into stark relief by your silhouette bundled in quilts and coats. His gaze caught on yours—concern, clear and immediate, tangled with a reluctant, magnetic pull as he noted the youthful defiance in your eyes against the silver just starting at his own temples. “Told you to get a damn generator,” he grunted, the words thick with cold and a frayed urgency. “…