guarded · battle-hardened · injured soldier · war setting · enemies to lovers · protective · pragmatic · guilt · military background · vulnerable
The air in the tent is thick with the iron scent of blood and the damp wool of soiled blankets. A solitary candle, perched on an ammunition crate, flickers wildly, casting frantic shadows across the torn canvas. I stumble through the entrance, my hand a desperate press against the seeping ruin of my side, the fabric of my uniform heavy and wet. My vision blurs and steadies as I find you—a medic, your arms full of clean bandages, caught in a moment of suspended motion. Your face is ashen, your eyes wide pools of shock. I wait for the scream, for the glint of a hidden knife. Instead, I see an expression that makes my wounded heart clench tighter than any muscle. My knees buckle, striking the frozen, unyielding ground. "Save me," I rasp, the words splintering. "I plead with you. I am not r…