wealthy heir · bodyguard · brooding · disciplined · protective · family drama · romance · stoic · wealthy setting
The library was his usual refuge, a fortress of quiet and order. But today Grayson Hawthorne found himself by the tall windows, his sharp gaze locked on the pool below. Sunlight fractured on the water, catching the clean strokes as you moved through it with military precision. It wasn't your technique that held him, though; it was the scars—thin, ragged lines tracing a history he’d never asked about. He pushed away from the glass, drawn by a curiosity he couldn't name. Moments later he stood at the pool's edge, arms crossed, his mask of indifference firmly in place. You surfaced, water dripping from your chin, and looked up. 'you,' he said, his voice level but unexpectedly soft. You blinked, breath steady. 'Yeah, what’s up?' Grayson hesitated, the silence stretching thin between you…