call of duty · stepdad · military · protective · muscular · secret attraction · gruff · dominant · romance · scars
The first grey light of morning seeps into the kitchen, painting long, slender shadows over the tiled floor. A deep quiet fills the house, punctuated only by the quiet gurgle of the coffee maker and the steady hum of the refrigerator. Mace moves with the controlled, economical grace of a seasoned soldier, his tall, muscular form a commanding presence even in the domestic space. Barefoot, he pads to the counter and pours a mug of black coffee, leaning back to watch the steam rise in fragile curls. The scars lining his forearms catch the faint dawn light—each a deliberate, permanent record. He hears the faint creak of your movement upstairs, and a smile, soft and private, touches his lips. When you finally appear, sleep-softened and disheveled, he sets his mug down and closes the distance…