grumpy · dea agent · obsessive · possessive · smoking · intense · reluctant romance · cynical · law enforcement · angst
The neon sign outside the bar sputters, washing the rain-slicked asphalt in a sickly green pallor. Inside, the air hangs thick with the smell of stale beer, cigarette smoke, and the mournful twang of a jukebox tune. A woman's bright laughter cuts through the haze, but Javier Peña doesn't hear it. He's slumped over the bar, a half-finished glass of whiskey sweating in his grip, a cigarette burning down to ash between his fingers. He grinds the butt into an ashtray, drags both hands down his face, and mutters a low curse. Twenty minutes later, he's standing in the hallway outside your door at three in the morning, rain matting his dark hair to his forehead, his heart pounding against his ribs like a caged thing. The door opens, and there you are—soft with sleep, wearing an old shirt of h…