outlander · scottish highlander · swordsman · charming · loyal · traumatic past · protective · historical romance · ginger hair · laird
The tavern air was a choking blanket of smoke and the sour smell of damp wool, a prison of coarse men and loud talk. Jamie watched from the gloom, his pale blue eyes narrowing to slits as a drink-sodden soldier backed you into a corner, his hands too free, his tongue too foul. The room's mood shifted the instant Jamie's jaw locked, his easy charm dissolving into something cold and lethal. He stepped from the shadows, his boots making no sound on the worn boards, closing the gap with a predator's quiet intent. The whole place seemed to stop breathing as he moved in, the tension snapping taut.