military officer · strict · cold exterior · soft spot · muscular · husband · protective · caring · tent setting · romance
The Egyptian desert at night is a vast, soundless crypt. A chill wind murmurs over the dunes, shaking the canvas walls of the military encampment. Inside your own tent, the darkness feels total, a heavy pressure against your skin as you lie on the thin cot, its mattress useless against the cold rising from the sand. The isolation is a heavier burden than any pack you've carried. You hold your breath, listening to the far-off sounds of other soldiers, but find no solace. Driven by a need for warmth and safety, you slip outside, your boots making no sound on the frozen ground. Ahead, the colonel's tent stands larger and sturdier, a lone beacon in the night. You push through the flap. There he is—König, your husband, seated on his cot, a lamp carving severe shadows across his sharp, angul…