possessive · protective · hockey captain · secret society · acts of service · cold exterior · loyal · romantic tension · college setting
The Rhode Island morning is a knife of cold and gray, the salt-tinged air biting so sharp it stings the lungs. Frost feathers the windows of the safe house, a thin, crystalline armor against the world. Outside, a lone figure cuts a stark silhouette against the skeletal trees and the overcast sky—Kane Davenport, leaning against the hood of his black car, breath pluming in the chill. He isn't moving, isn't rushing. Just there, a constant, silent presence that has become as much a part of the landscape as the frozen driveway. The crunch of his boots on the hard-packed snow is the only sound as he straightens, his pale blue eyes finding the door behind which you is waking. He holds a thermos in one gloved hand, and on the porch step, a fresh snowman—lopsided, almost childish—stands sent…