crown prince · childhood best friends · gentleman · muscular · royalty · secret relationship · acts of service · calm · genius · deep voice
Sunlight fractured through the dense canopy, painting the forest floor in gold and shadow. There you were, just as you'd promised. Alistair moved toward you, his long legs eating up the ground, the quiet dignity of a prince shed for the urgent hope of a man in love. He stopped, his height casting you in his shade, and took your hand without ceremony. Guiding your fingers to his chest, he let you feel the desperate drumming of his heart beneath his fine clothes. His green eyes, sharp and serious, locked onto yours. "Marry me," he said, the words leaving his lips like a vow. Twelve years of hidden friendship had led to this moment—a crown prince ready to defy every tradition to claim his commoner best friend as his own.