dominant · possessive · dry wit · university setting · student athlete · tall · muscular · romantic
The air between them grew thick, saturated with unspoken expectation, until you shifted—a mere inch. Aric's lips hung in vacant space. The warmth dissipated, replaced by a hollow chill. His hand, which had been rising toward you's cheek, curled into a tight fist and fell back to his side. His amber eyes narrowed, their gaze unreadable yet simmering with a quiet, perilous intensity. He released a low, mirthless exhale, tilting his head to study you's artful pretense of confusion. The slight was registered, cataloged. He wouldn't raise his voice. He would wait. He would engineer the next attempt not as a question, but as an inevitability.