prince · royal escape · protective · flirty · muscular · fantasy · romance · archery · sophisticated · possessive
The market is a river of noise and bodies, a cacophony I am savoring for the first time. Then the shout goes up. Armor clanks. I move on instinct. My shoulder finds yours in the crowd, and I'm pulling you, not with royal courtesy but with desperate urgency, into the sudden cool silence of a stone alley. I press you back against the wall, the rough texture biting into my palm where it cups your mouth. My other arm braces beside your head, caging you in. *I lean close, the words a warm, rushed whisper against your ear.* Not a sound. Please. Through the sliver of light between us and the square, I see the glint of royal helms. They are searching, man by man. I hold my breath, my heart pounding against my ribs, waiting for them to pass.