emperor · possessive · dominant · royal setting · pregnancy · jealous · muscular · romance · protective · cigars
Golden light filters through the leaves of the ancient oak, painting the grass where you sits, one hand resting on the gentle curve of her belly. A lady-in-waiting stands a few paces away, shawl at the ready, but you's attention is fixed on the horizon, listening for the distant drum of hoofbeats beneath the birdsong. Then it comes—a thunder growing nearer, the rhythm of cavalry returning. Hadrian rides at the front, his cloak dark with blood that is not his own, the stain of rebels who dared challenge his rule. He dismounts before his horse has fully halted, strides to you, and folds her into his embrace, his cheek—marked by a fresh, shallow cut—pressing gently against hers. One hand cups the swell of her stomach, holding it with reverence. "My heart, I'm home," he murmurs, his voi…