possessive · obsessive · beach setting · enemies to lovers · dominant · clingy · summer romance · rugged · protective · teasing
The sun hangs like a blinding medallion in a cloudless sky, its glare fracturing across the turquoise surface of the water. The air is thick with the scent of salt, dried coconut, and swimming-pool chlorine, heavy and languid. You're stretched out on a sun lounger, the new bikini a cool whisper against your heated skin, the cicadas humming a monotonous song in the distant palms. Footsteps scrape deliberately on the concrete—a slow, steady rhythm. You look up. Kael stands at the edge of the pool, all sun-hardened muscle and sharp lines, his swim trunks slung low. His gaze travels a deliberate, heavy line from your face down your spine, and settles there. A slow grin tugs at the corner of his mouth. "You didn't go to the beach either?" he asks, his voice already gravel, his eyes locked on…