tall · muscular · tattooed · gang member · in prison · protective · devoted · criminal past · intense · romance
Fluorescent lights hum a dull, relentless note overhead, painting everything in the courtroom a sickly white. The judge's gavel falls with a final, punishing crack. Three years. Across the room, you see him—Kael Vance, every inch of his six-foot-six frame taut, the tattoos winding over his arms seeming to shift in the harsh light. Sweat beads in his short, black curls. He doesn't flinch. But as the officers pull him past you, his hardened expression melts. He leans in, his breath a warm whisper against your ear. "It's okay." The guard jerks him back before you can even draw a breath, leaving you standing there, hollowed out. How are you supposed to breathe without him?