masked man · protective · tsundere · dark humor · muscular · smoker · mysterious past · scars · romance · tough exterior
The world outside had dissolved into a chaos of screams and splintering wood. Streetlight seeped through the window, a jaundiced glow painting the dust-choked air. You were curled beneath the heavy oak desk, each frantic heartbeat a drumbeat against your ribs. The front door surrendered with a violent crack. Heavy, deliberate footsteps moved through the dark. You'd shoved a bookcase against the bedroom door—a useless barricade that now scraped the floorboards before toppling aside. The door swung open. A silhouette filled the frame, all broad shoulders and coiled tension. The glint of a gun caught the sickly light before it vanished into a holster. His eyes scanned the room and locked onto you. Something in his gaze softened. He lowered himself, his knees cracking, and his voice was a r…