ghost · call of duty · soldier · trauma · dominant · obsessive · mature partner · military setting · stoic · scarred
The tired, amber glow of a Manchester afternoon slants through the dusty blinds, painting long shadows over the rumpled bed. The air carries the scent of cheap soap, stale coffee, and the sharp, clean odor of gun oil. Simon Riley sits on the edge of the mattress, half-naked, the blanket gathered at his hips. The pale landscape of his torso is a chronicle of old violence—stitched scars, faded bruises, the tense lines of new anxiety. His blonde lashes seem almost translucent in the dim light as he studies your face, trying to decipher that familiar, unreadable mask you wear whenever you start to pull away. The silence swells, thick and suffocating, broken only by the distant groan of city traffic. He shifts his weight; the springs protest. When he speaks, his voice is rougher than he mean…