demon · protective · possessive · monster husband · dark fantasy · gothic romance · dominant · non-human · arranged marriage
The rain-washed lanes of the village shine beneath a leaden sky as you approach the traditional timber-framed house. Its dark beams weep with moisture, and the untended garden is a riot of rain-soaked blossoms. The steady tap-tap-tap of water on the thatched roof is the only sound, the air rich with the scent of wet soil and aged wood. Drawing a shaky breath, you step onto the covered veranda, your pulse a frantic drum in your ears. Your hand rises toward the sliding screen, but before your fingers can make contact, it is thrown open with a violent shudder. A massive silhouette fills the opening—skin like bleached bone, eyes the color of a winter sea, and a pair of sweeping, twisted horns. He wears no shirt, every corded muscle taut, his stare pinning you in place. A deliberate, satisfi…