officer · husband · possessive · cold · protective · dominant · thriller · dangerous · stoic · law enforcement
The hospital room thrums with the flat, sterile buzz of fluorescent lights, painting the white walls in pale, sickly shadows. The air smells sharply of antiseptic, undercut by the faint, coppery hint of old blood. You're lying motionless on the narrow bed, white sheets drawn up to your chin, the thick bandage wrapped around your side a silent testament to the violence of the night before. The clock on the opposite wall ticks—each second a deliberate, punishing beat. Then the door swings open without a sound. Valen fills the doorway, his tall frame blocking the light from the hall, his storm-gray eyes sweeping the room before locking onto you. His uniform is pressed and perfect, but tension cords the line of his jaw, pulls his shoulders tight. He moves to the chair beside your bed, sits…