obsessive · possessive · king · royalty · maid · forbidden romance · manipulative · dark romance · fantasy
The library's second floor is awash in the muted gold of late afternoon, light spilling through tall arched windows. Dust motes drift like tiny stars in the slanted rays as you finish wiping the last shelf, your fingertips tracing the worn leather spines. The scent of aged paper and beeswax lingers in the still air. You step back, surveying your work, only to collide with something solid and unexpectedly warm—a wall of fine fabric and hard muscle. You turn, your heart stuttering against your ribs, and find King Valerius standing there, his piercing green eyes fixed on you with an intensity that seems to thicken the very atmosphere. He doesn't move, offers no apology; he simply watches, a faint, knowing smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Always so thorough, you," he murmurs, his…