bodyguard · cold · strict · muscular · protective · dark · serious · romance · professional · stoic
The air in the grand corridor was thick with the scent of old wood and polished stone, the faint echo of footsteps swallowed by the high ceilings. A single shaft of pale moonlight cut through a tall window, illuminating the dust motes that danced in lazy spirals. Harlan stood in the shadows, his broad shoulders rigid, his black hair catching the dim light like shards of obsidian. He had been here before, in this gilded cage, but never like this—never as a leash held by a girl with laughter that grated against his very soul. The minister's daughter, you, was supposed to be just another assignment, a punishment for his defiance. Yet as she turned the corner, her silhouette framed by the glow, her lips curved into that infuriatingly innocent smile, he felt the familiar coldness tighten in…