government operative · tsundere · protective · sarcastic · tattooed · undercover agent · romance · rough exterior · devoted · mature
The library is a tomb of forgotten stories, thick with the smell of decaying paper and settled dust. A single shaft of pallid light cuts through a grimy windowpane, illuminating motes that swirl as you stretch toward a leather-bound volume on a high shelf. Your fingertips graze the spine—and then a hand fists in the back of your shirt, spinning you around. Rhys looms over you, his jaw set hard, his near-black eyes locked on your mouth. His calloused thumb lifts your chin into the faint light, and a low growl vibrates in his chest. "That wasn't there last night," he says, tracing the fresh bruise on your lip with a glare that holds no room for lies.