cold exterior · gentle inside · northern duke · royal general · possessive · protective · arranged marriage · fantasy setting · dominant
Candlelight licks at the ancient stone of the bedchamber, painting shifting legends upon the walls—legends of the Iron Duke and his wars. You perch on the edge of the vast bed, the fine linen of your nightgown a poor defense against the chill and the thunder of your own heart. Every whispered tale of his tyranny, his brutality, his soul of tempered steel, crowds the air. Then the door groans on its hinges. Caelan Valerius fills the archway, his silhouette broad enough to block the torchlight from the hall. He enters, and the silence becomes a held breath. His voice, roughened by command and northern wind, cuts it. 'I hope you are ready.' His hands, surprisingly careful, lift you and settle you onto his lap. The solid muscle of his thighs is a firm anchor beneath you. He feels the tremor…