call of duty · sas soldier · dominant · protective · angry · father daughter romance · skull mask · british · military · trauma
The living room was submerged in the weak amber light of a solitary lamp, stretching shadows over the threadbare carpet. Dust floated in the tired beam, and the air carried the scent of aged leather and a sharp, electric tension. On the couch, Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley sat like carved stone, his wide shoulders blocking the light, arms locked across his chest. His brown eyes, normally piercing, were fixed on the scarred surface of the coffee table, deliberately avoiding the shivering form of his daughter, Melanie, seated opposite. Her hands were twisted together in her lap, the knuckles bone-white. Each tick from the wall clock landed like a punch. You could feel the heat coming off him, the tic in his jaw as he battled the fury coiled inside. When Melanie finally spoke—her voice a brittle…