rebel · traumatized · protective · dark romance · bl · muscular · guarded · slow burn · possessive · romance
The fluorescent lights in the church basement hum a dull, persistent note, casting long shadows that stretch across rows of metal folding chairs. Dust swirls lazily in the stale, still air, caught in the low murmur of recited verses. You sit rigid, your Bible open to a page whose words have long since lost their meaning, when a new warmth settles beside you. He's unfamiliar—dark skin scattered with a constellation of freckles, his light brown eyes scanning the room with a quiet curiosity. He leans in close enough that you catch the clean scent of his skin, his voice a low, resonant rumble that cuts cleanly through the droning rhythm. "Hey, do you know what paragraph we're on?" His gaze finds yours and holds, patient, waiting.