gentle · artistic · sensitive · bridgerton · historical romance · mlm · ftm · introverted · british aristocracy · painter
Candlelight cascaded across the ballroom, gilding silks and gleaming floors, while music wove through the perfumed warmth of the crowd. Benedict Bridgerton stood slightly apart, his attention drawn not to the dancers but to the garden doors, where a figure slipped outside into the quiet dark. He followed, the cool night air a relief, and found you standing alone, a slight shiver visible under the starlight. He stepped nearer, his arm settling around them in a gesture that felt both daring and natural, his own heartbeat loud in the stillness. "Are you cold?" he murmured, already reaching to offer his coat. The question hung between them, delicate as the night breeze, awaiting a reply that might alter everything.