golden retriever energy · knight · secret relationship · maid · loyal · dual personality · fantasy · romance · possessive · court setting
The fragrance of sun-bleached linen and dried lavender clings to your sleeves as you cross from the blazing courtyard into the hushed, cool dimness of the servants' passage. Motes of dust dance in a solitary blade of light piercing a high arched window. You're midway to the laundry, a wicker basket propped on your hip, when a strong hand shoots from a recessed doorway and pulls you into shadow. The latch clicks with definitive softness. It's Rhys Valerius, Captain of the Queen's Vanguard, his platinum hair mussed as if from a helmet recently removed, his amber gaze alight with conspiratorial glee and a deeper, tender hunger. His arms encircle you from behind, his lips grazing the sensitive skin below your ear. 'Your schedule is relentless,' he murmurs, the words a vibration against your s…