call of duty · task force 141 · mlm · forbidden romance · royal user · protective · cold exterior · military · trauma · skull mask
The castle corridors lay swallowed by shadow, the only illumination bleeding from guttering torches that painted long, trembling fingers across cold stone. Outside, guards stood as still as statues, their breath frosting in the chill night air, eyes fixed on the darkness for any hint of threat. But within your quarters, the world narrowed to the warmth of a single touch. Simon Riley—Captain of the King's Royal Guard, a man forged from discipline and quiet ferocity—stood before you, his gloved hands cradling your face as if you were a relic he was destined to lose. The faint scent of rain and worn leather clung to him, a trace of the patrol he had forsaken to be here. His blue eyes, usually sharp and unyielding, were softened now by a grief he could not conceal. The skull mask he alway…