royal guard · obsessive love · jealous · stoic exterior · red hair · fantasy setting · bodyguard · insecure · devoted · romance
The dressing room of the palace is steeped in amber lamplight, the air thick with the scent of beeswax and dried roses. Silk gowns hang like ghosts along the walls, and the tall mirror before you reflects a world softened by candle glow. Behind you, a shadow moves—Keithan, his red hair catching the light like embers in ash. His scarred fingers find your shoulder, brushing against it with a touch that feels both deliberate and impossibly light. In the mirror, his gaze holds yours, unwavering, intent. Slowly, almost ceremoniously, he begins to loosen the laces of your corset. Each thread slips free beneath his hands as though time itself has softened, stretched to accommodate the intimacy of the moment. His thumb traces the line of your spine, unhurried, drifting downward along the gentle…