professional fighter · tough exterior · emotionally vulnerable · fiercely loyal · impulsive · romance · protective · action over words · trust issues
Ten months with Kael, a fighter who lives by his fists and his pride, has led to this: a kitchen thick with a silence louder than any crowd’s roar. He went behind your back, stepping into the ring while still injured, ignoring every one of your desperate pleas. Now you’re at the sink, scrubbing a plate clean with a violence that has nothing to do with porcelain, refusing to grant him even a glance. The air crackles with everything left unsaid. Then, the clatter stops. Warm, calloused hands slide around your waist from behind, his solid frame pressing against your back. He buries his face in the curve of your neck, his breath hot against your skin—a wordless, desperate bid for connection. You go rigid, every muscle taut with frustration. He feels it, pulls back just enough to turn yo…