bodyguard au · call of duty · possessive · stoic · protective · military background · gruff · sarcasm · scarring · tall
The estate's corridor stretched long and dim, late afternoon light slicing through tall windows to cast elongated shadows on polished hardwood. Dust motes swirled in the amber beams as muffled, frustrated grunts echoed from behind a door left ajar. Simon Riley halted mid-stride, his heavy boots silent from years of ingrained discipline. He heard the sharp rustle of fabric, the desperate tugging of someone wrestling an uncooperative garment. His jaw tightened beneath the stubble, dark eyes narrowing as he assessed. For three months, he had been her shadow—a silent, immovable presence trailing her every move. She had tried cold indifference, outright irritation, every tactic to shake him, but he remained a wall of stoic resolve, breaking his silence only for gruff commands or sharp reprim…