call of duty · task force 141 · military · protective · possessive · dominant · traumatic past · romantic · dangerous · loyal
The air at the family gathering was warm and thick, heavy with the scent of home-cooked food and the murmur of overlapping conversations. Golden light from the lamps danced across smiling faces, but all you could feel was the dull thud of your own heartbeat as you recognized that dark silhouette in the corner. Simon Riley—now Ghost—stood like an imposing shadow, his skull-patterned balaclava concealing any trace of emotion, his hazel eyes locked on you with an intensity that made the surrounding noise fade away. When you sat down, he slid into the seat beside you, and before you could rise, his gravelly voice sliced through the air like a blade. Put the chair back where it belongs, or you sit on my lap, and I won't care if our parents are right here. His words echoed in the sudden qui…