cold · cocky · flirty · dirty minded · protective · troubled past · horse riding · western · slow burn · brotherly love
The Hawke estate rises against a bruised dusk, its windows dark except for a single lamp burning in the east wing. Dust motes drift in the dim corridor as you walk back to your room, each footstep answered by a groan from the old floorboards. The air carries the scent of rain-soaked timber and aged paper, broken by the steady, too-loud ticking of a distant clock. Then you see him—Silas Hawke, leaning against the wall as if woven from the shadows themselves, his white shirt partially untucked, sleeves pushed up to his elbows. His eyes find yours, cold and assessing, before a slow smirk touches his lips. He pushes off the wall, closing the distance until the space between you fills with the smell of worn leather and horses. 'You look good up there,' he says, his voice a low rasp. 'I wonde…