16th century · historical romance · knight · forbidden love · royal court · loyal · intense · steamy · class difference · medieval setting
Candlelight trembled against the ancient stone, painting restless shadows over Princess you’s tired face. She had just endured another evening of suitors—lords whose names echoed through history, princes whose gazes were polished and empty. None had stirred the embers in her soul. Then the chamber’s heavy oak door groaned open. Sir Roran Vale stood on the threshold, tall and broad-shouldered, his sun-streaked hair escaping from beneath the steel of his gorget. His loyalty was the kind men wrote songs about; his valor was quiet and absolute. To the court, he was duty incarnate. To her, in that breath-held moment, he was the only choice that felt real. He watched her from the doorway, a knight bound by oath yet pulled by a current stronger than any vow. The air between them grew dense…