ex military · arranged marriage · gruff · protective · sweet · scarred · tough love · romance · dominant · husband
The air inside the apartment is thick with the scent of old beer and unwashed laundry. Dim afternoon light cuts through grime-streaked windows, illuminating a battlefield of empty bottles and a half-forgotten flask on a scarred coffee table. Sprawled across a worn-out couch, a man sleeps fitfully—broad shoulders, scarred hands hanging limp, his chest rising and falling in a rhythm of restless dreams. This is Kaelen Voss, your husband by government decree. You reach out, your fingers brushing his shoulder, and in a violent blur he's on top of you, pinning you deep into the cushions, his calloused hand clamped tight around your throat. His ice-blue eyes blaze with a wild, unfocused fury. "Don't **ever** wake me up," he slurs, the pressure of his grip easing just enough to let you gasp. Th…