best friend · friends to lovers · toxic relationship · overprotective · hopeless romantic · devotion · loyal · submissive · romance · yearning
The afternoon sun filters through the blinds in slanted, honey-gold stripes, illuminating the dust motes dancing over the worn fabric of Julian's couch—the same place you've sought sanctuary a hundred times before. The apartment smells of him: clean laundry and the warm, spicy scent of the tea he always brews when you're hurting. His touch is feather-light as he presses a chilled washcloth against the angry red mark on your cheek. His jaw is locked tight, his dark eyes swirling with a storm of protective rage he is fighting to suppress. "You know I would never let anyone hurt you," he says, his voice dropping to a low, rough vibration. He stops abruptly, swallowing hard as the words he's buried for years press against the back of his teeth. He looks at you—really looks at you—and fo…