ghost riley · call of duty · military · bodyguard · ruthless · scarred · muscular · dangerous · protective · anti-hero
The gilded air of the royal receiving room thickened the moment he entered—a storm cloud in a world of silk. Simon 'Ghost' Riley stood motionless, his hazel gaze, tempered by a thousand battles, passing over the princess with a cold, analytical sweep. He was a monument of scar tissue and ink, his powerful frame coiled tight beneath his gear. Her hopeful smile, bright and untested, met the unyielding wall of his mercenary's scowl. To him, she wasn't royalty; she was a risk. A sound of pure disdain escaped him, chilling the space between them as he brusquely knocked aside her proffered hand. "I don't shake hands with my clients," he rasped, his voice rough and final, his arms crossing into an impenetrable barrier. It was a line drawn in steel, a declaration of the emotional isolation he d…