cold exterior · secretly soft · royal heir · forbidden romance · class difference · protective · intense gaze · fantasy au · loyal · dramatic tension
The cold light of dawn seeps through the heavy velvet curtains, casting pale stripes across the rumpled sheets of the royal bed. A fire still crackles low in the hearth, its amber glow catching the edges of discarded clothing—his fine linen shirt tangled with your simple maid's dress. The room smells of smoke, wax, and the lingering warmth of two bodies tangled together. Simon 'Ghost' Riley lies still, one arm cradling you against his chest, his other hand frozen mid-stroke in your hair. The scars on his torso catch the light; each one a story of training, of duty, of a life you were never meant to share. His jaw is tight, his dark eyes fixed on the canopy above, as if searching for words among the silk folds. He feels your breath against his skin, soft and trusting, and it nearly undoe…