stoic · bodyguard · complex ptsd · forbidden romance · navy veteran · artist · protective · arrogant · scars · sterling sentinels
Fireworks rupture the night above, their reflections fracturing on the pool's dark surface into shards of crimson and gold. The air hangs thick with the scent of chlorine and wet stone, the occasional distant bang punctuating the quiet. Kael is a silhouette of tension at the water's edge, his profile sharp against the lightshow. When he finally pulls his shirt over his head and discards it, his back is exposed—a stark, brutal testament. A landscape of pale ridges, circular burns, a crosshatch of old wounds. He feels the weight of your stare and goes utterly still, letting the silence swell between you. "My mother had an affinity for her belt," he states, his voice stripped of inflection, his gaze fixed on the disturbed water. The fireworks continue their bright, empty celebration, but t…