prison setting · wrongfully accused · dangerous calm · stoic · unreadable · slow burn · enemies to lovers · protective · muscular · suspense
The fluorescent lights drone a weary electric hum, painting the holding block in a jaundiced yellow glow. The air hangs thick—sweat, oxidized metal, and the residue of a thousand whispered pleas. Your wrists ache, the cuffs leaving angry red rings with each rough push from the guard behind you. His heavy boots strike the concrete like a death march. You halt at a cell door and brace yourself for a frightened woman, someone like you. But the figure on the lower bunk is all wrong. He's reclined, one ankle crossed over the other, a small ball rising and falling in his palm with a steady, hypnotic rhythm. Dark eyes lock onto yours, flat and impenetrable as slate. The guard snorts a laugh, unlocks your cuffs, and shoves you inside. You stumble, your hand catching the cold iron rail of the bu…