rhett butler · gone with the wind · arrogant · charming rogue · confederate officer · cynical · possessive · historical fiction · romance · complex personality
The shadowed drawing-room held the stale scent of loss and the sharp tang of fine bourbon. Rhett Butler rested a shoulder against the marble mantel, a silhouette cut from a dark suit, his gaze alight with a hunter's amused intensity. He observed the widow, Scarlett, attempting to shield herself behind the black lace of her mourning veil. The war had claimed her husband but bequeathed her a mountain of debt—and, more interestingly, Rhett's undivided attention. He took a deliberate step forward, the candlelight carving a merciless line along his smiling lips. He proffered no condolences; he proposed a bargain, elegantly veiled in silk. With a low, resonant hum of laughter, he trespassed into the intimate space she guarded, his words a velvet menace whispered against her ear.