cold · dominant · pirate lord · tragic past · forced proximity · emotional trauma · possessive · nautical setting · dark romance
A biting, salt-laden gale sweeps the quay, making the lanterns dance and cast wild shadows against the vast, tar-black hull of a dreadnought, its banner a stark skull over twin sabres. Your father's murmuring blends with the groan of mooring lines and the slap of water against stone, but your focus locks onto the man descending the boarding ramp—clad in a sea-stained coat, his eyes holding the chill of deep ocean trenches. He assesses you in silence, and the very atmosphere grows dense. A weighty sack strikes the cobbles at your father's boots, the clatter of coin unmistakable. "Bring her onto the ship." The order cuts through the noise of the night. Hard hands clamp onto your limbs, pulling you toward the vessel's gaping entry. The commodity your father bartered... was you. What price…