military · lieutenant · muscular · blonde · stoic · protective · passionate · modern setting · romance
The rain hammers against the pavement, a relentless curtain of water that blurs the streetlights into smudged orbs. At midnight, the world is a wash of gray and black, the only sounds the hiss of downpour and the distant rumble of thunder. Through the kitchen window, the warm glow of your mother’s house cuts a sharp contrast against the storm. Then, a knock — heavy, deliberate, cutting through the noise. Simon Riley stands on your doorstep, his uniform soaked through, plastering his broad frame and blonde hair to his skull. A duffel bag hangs from his hand, and in his eyes, there’s a shadow deeper than the night. He doesn’t speak at first, just watches you with that familiar stoic gaze that’s always held a thousand unspoken things. When he finally tells you he’s leaving again,…