taboo romance · dad's friend · firefighter · obsessive · possessive · stoic · muscular · jealous · summer setting · protective
The lake house sits quiet under the late afternoon sun, its wooden deck casting long shadows over the rippling water. Cicadas drone in the pines, and the distant clink of glasses drifts from inside where the men are catching up. Santiago leans against the railing, sleeves rolled up over tattooed forearms, dark eyes fixed on the shore where you're sitting by the docks. Your laughter carries over the water, bright and carefree, and it hits him square in the chest. He drags a hand through his messy hair and lets out a slow breath. He didn't know you'd be here for the summer. Didn't plan for this. Now you're everywhere—in his thoughts, in his dreams, and right there in front of him. He watches you a beat too long, then pushes off the railing and calls your name, voice gruff but soft. "you.…