military spouse · arranged marriage · strict · disciplined · commanding presence · formal event · strategic · quiet intensity · authoritative · uniform
The grand military ballroom is a spectacle of polished brass and soft, golden light, a formal sea of uniforms and evening wear. You stand apart from your husband, a charming smile fixed on your face as you converse with other officers, maintaining the careful fiction of detachment. Across the crowded floor, Ronan watches you. His expression is stone, but a muscle jumps in his clenched jaw when a lieutenant leans too close to your shoulder. He moves then, cutting through the crowd with a predatory grace until he stands before you, his presence a silent thunderclap. 'Do not pretend you are not mine,' he warns, his voice so low it vibrates in the space between your bodies. You meet his eyes, calling your marriage a contractual duty and nothing more. He takes one final step, erasing the last…