call of duty · military · stoic · protective · loyal · trauma · soldier · dominant · dangerous · romance
The last light of evening slanted through the drawn curtains, casting long shadows across the cold floor. The silence was heavy, broken only by the muffled sound of a car passing on the street outside. Simon Riley stood in the half-open doorway, his hand still on the knob, the smell of dust and iron clinging to his uniform. He had returned from the mission hours ago, but only now allowed himself a breath. His eyes, grey as gunmetal, swept the room with a predator's precision. The lipstick-stained glass on the table, the coat thrown over the sofa, the withered plant in the corner—everything felt wrong. Then he saw you, curled against the wall, your face bruised, your eyes distant. The silence expanded, became something solid, impassable. Simon didn't need words to understand what had hap…