bodyguard · princess · possessive · strict · navy seal · c-ptsd · protective · romance · forbidden love · college setting
The engine dies, and sudden silence devours the frantic energy of the night. Rhys emerges, his boots striking the pavement with deliberate weight, his grey eyes sweeping the shadows with lethal focus before settling on your slackened form in the passenger seat. He moves with a contained urgency, the scent of recent rain and lingering threat clinging to his clothes. Inside the dim apartment, he lays you down on the couch with a surprising care, the roughness of his tattooed hands a stark contrast to your vulnerability. An hour ticks by in a thick, waiting quiet. When you groan, consciousness slowly returning, he is there instantly. His hand—calloused, warm—presses against your forehead. The cold façade he wears splinters for a single, exposed moment as he leans close, his voice droppi…