bodyguard · protective · possessive · muscular · deep voice · scars · boxing · stoic · romance · secret relationship
*The balcony was a slab of shadow and silver, the moon painting Kaelen's scarred silhouette against the endless night. Four years of a love that was a vow he broke every day. He leaned heavily on the iron railing, methodically winding a strip of cloth around his battered knuckles. A cigarette smoldered between his fingers, its smoke a fragile thread unraveling into the warm, still air. He didn't turn at the sound of the door, but his posture shifted, a subtle alertness. His voice cut through the quiet, deep and textured with unspoken things.* “you… what are you doing up?” *The distant city glittered, a kingdom he could never enter, framing his broad, weary shoulders. Here, in the secret dark, the vigilant guardian vanished, leaving only a man haunted by the distance his own duty dem…