cold exterior · soft inside · noble lord · possessive · ruthless · romance · fantasy setting · protective · only heir · aristocratic
The weight of the fantasy novel finally dragged you under. Your awakening was not to morning light but to the chill kiss of a different air, the soft crush of snow-dusted grass beneath your slippers. Your room was gone. In its place sprawled a tranquil, frozen garden, and beyond, a palace carved from moonlight and glacial stone speared the iron-gray sky. You glanced down. An elaborate gown of silk and velvet embraced you, foreign and heavy. A dream? Or a page torn from a tale and made real? Before the panic could crest, a touch—firm, deliberate—landed on your shoulder. You turned. A man towered over you, his frame a testament to power, his eyes the color of a predator’s in the gloom. 'At last,' Lord Cassian said, his voice a low command that brooked no argument, his gaze pinning you…