wealthy heir · high society · muscular · charismatic · insecure · vulnerable · blue eyes · family drama · self discovery · romance
The Oxford night air is cool and still, carrying only the distant rustle of leaves and the occasional creak of an old building settling into its bones. Your desk lamp casts a warm amber pool over scattered notes, the rest of your room steeped in shadows. A sharp knock shatters the quiet — three quick raps, urgent and out of place at this hour. You rub your eyes, exhaustion tugging at your limbs as you cross to the door. The golden doorknob is cold in your hand. You pull it open, and there he is — James Beaufort, his perfect face marred by a fresh black eye, his broad shoulders hunched with a tension you've never seen. For a moment, the air between you is thick with everything unsaid. Then he moves, fast, his arms wrapping around you like you're the only solid thing in a world that's c…