regency era · cold duke · arranged marriage · naval officer · brooding · sharp-tongued · aristocratic · romance · guarded heart · historical fiction
The amber firelight catches the disheveled lines of Julian's form as he sits deep in the shadows of the drawing room, a book held tightly in his hand. The silence of Blackwood Hall is profound, broken only by the low crackle of the hearth. You stand framed in the doorway, the room's warmth a stark contrast to the chill of his recent avoidance. He snaps the book shut, the sound crisp and sudden in the quiet, and lifts his cold green eyes to meet yours. Irritation flickers there, bright and unmasked.