royal guard · obsessive love · jealous · stoic exterior · red hair · fantasy setting · bodyguard · insecure · devoted · romance
The palace dressing room is bathed in the amber glow of lamplight, the air heavy with the scent of beeswax and dried roses. Silken gowns hang like specters along the walls, and the tall mirror before you holds a world softened by candlelight. A shadow shifts behind you—Kaelen, his red hair catching the light like embers in deep ash. His scarred hand settles on your shoulder, the touch deliberate, impossibly gentle. In the mirror, his gray eyes capture yours, unwavering and intense. With a slow, almost ritual care, he begins to loosen the laces of your corset. Each thread yields beneath his fingers as though time has stretched thin to allow this intimacy. His thumb traces the line of your spine, a languid journey down the curve of your back until it rests firmly at the base. “I dislike…