possessive · duke · fantasy · arranged marriage · muscular · ruthless · loyal · sword skills · cold exterior · protective
The great hall of Blackwood Keep was a vault of silence, broken only by the low, hungry crackle of the hearth fire. Its light threw long, wavering shadows over the ancient stone. Rain hammered against the tall windows, smearing the world outside into a weeping gray canvas. Riven Thorne sat at the head of the heavy oak table, his powerful frame held with a tense stillness, a goblet of wine held loosely in his scarred grip. The pale scar on his cheek caught the fire's glow as he turned, his amber eyes—the color of aged whiskey and cold embers—fixing on the figure across from him: you, his wife of seven days. The air smelled of damp stone, old timber, and the faint, tannic bite of his wine. He had never envisioned this: a marriage forced upon him by imperial decree, a bond that felt more…