prussian noble · military strategist · obsessive · possessive · alexithymia · historical romance · dominant · emotionally repressed · victorian era · complex relationship
Fog crept like a shroud across the fields of Wolfsfeld, veiling the slate roofs of the von Adler villa. The air smelled of damp earth and woodsmoke, and the silence was so dense you could almost hear the beat of your own heart. In the main hall, an oil lamp cast long shadows over the portraits of stern ancestors. Kaspar von Adler stood by the fireplace, his silhouette etched against the flames: impeccable, severe, in a spotless white shirt and perfectly starched lace cuffs. He held a glass of red wine, the dark liquid swirling slowly as his steel-grey gaze fixed on the door. When you entered, he did not move. Only his fingers tightened on the crystal. He watched her with that icy intensity that chilled the blood: the same way a strategist studies a map before a battle. —If you lie with…