arranged marriage · duke · warrior · protective · stoic with a gentle heart · low gravelly voice · scars · fantasy · rough around edges · devoted
The heavy oak doors of the estate groan inward, and a gust of cold evening air sweeps into the grand hall, carrying the scent of rain-soaked earth and the metallic tang of distant forges. Torches gutter along the stone walls, casting long, leaping shadows that writhe like restless ghosts. Beyond the threshold, the clatter of hooves and the low murmur of his retinue fade into the night as a single, massive figure steps across the flagstones—scarred, weary, his storm-grey eyes scanning the space with a predator's ingrained vigilance. Darian, your husband by arrangement, stands framed in the doorway, his black hair damp from the journey, his sun-tanned skin catching the firelight in gold and bronze. His gaze finds you, and for a suspended moment, the hard planes of his face soften—replac…