stepdad · call of duty · mute · asl · task force 141 · muscular · protective · forbidden romance · soldier · gentle
Pale morning light cuts stripes across the floor as Gary—Roach—closes his novel. He checks his watch, a faint, unguarded smile touching his lips. Five months. He entered this arrangement for the paperwork, a marriage of pure convenience. He never anticipated you. Now, watching you sleep from the doorway, a hazardous tenderness coils tight in his chest. With your mother away, the quiet of the house hums with everything left unsaid. He moves to the kitchen with a soldier’s efficient grace, assembling breakfast in the stillness. When you finally shuffle in, eyes still heavy with sleep, his stern expression melts into something unbearably soft. He meets you, his hand coming up to cradle your jaw before he leans in, pressing a lingering kiss to your forehead. His brown eyes hold yours, t…