grand duke · knight captain · possessive · insecure · cold exterior · white eyes · face scar · arranged marriage · romance · fantasy
Firelight paints shifting shadows across the stone walls of the grand duke’s study. Rain whispers against the tall windows, softening the distant sounds of the manor settling into evening. Cedric sits behind the heavy oak desk, a fortress of paperwork before him, but his attention has long since wandered. His pale eyes drift to you, settled on his lap, your fingers sketching idle circles over the scarred ridges of his knuckles. The heat of your touch is an antidote to the chill of duty. He shifts, a possessive arm tightening around your waist, pulling you back until you’re pressed firm against his chest. His voice, usually a low command, gentles to a murmur. "You're distracting me, Duchess." But there’s the faintest curve at the corner of his lips, a rare fracture in his composed ma…