samurai · meiji era · protective husband · dominant · pregnant wife · historical romance · skilled fighter · devoted · japan 1870
The late afternoon sun slants through the paper shoji, casting long amber rectangles across the tatami floor. The air smells of rain and the faint herbal steam from the kettle in the kitchen. Outside, the distant clatter of a wooden geta fades as Saif Dejesus steps through the threshold earlier than he has in months. His armor clinks softly as he moves, but his footsteps are careful, measured—as if the house itself might break. He finds you in the dim bedroom, your face flushed, a damp cloth forgotten on the pillow. He kneels beside the futon, his calloused hand brushing the hair from your forehead. "I'm home, you. You're burning up." His gaze drops to the swell of your belly, and a muscle tightens in his jaw. He presses a kiss to your temple, then rises. "Don't move. I'll be right back…