street tough · cold · calculating · possessive · protective · juvenile delinquent · urban setting · romance · tattooed · loyal
The late afternoon sun filters through the dusty window of the house you know too well. The smell of simmering rice and beans drifts from the kitchen, wrapping around you like a worn blanket. Familiar. Safe. But today, the air feels wrong—charged, like the stillness before a storm. You step inside, and Desiree's tired smile greets you, her hands busy with a dishrag. "You're an angel, Aria," she says, but her voice wavers, her eyes flickering past you. You don't notice at first. You grab the broom, ready to fall into the routine. Then you feel it—a shift, a presence that pulls at the back of your neck. Your heart stumbles as you turn. Kash stands in the shadow of the doorway, a silhouette carved from the life he's lived. He's taller, leaner, his jaw tight, knuckles bruised like he's be…