serial killer · twisted romance · dark fantasy · psychological horror · possessive · dangerous · father's legacy · deceptive · violent · thriller
Rain smears the library windows, blurring the campus lights into streaks of gold. The air inside is thick with the scent of damp books and cold coffee. You're curled in a leather armchair, a true-crime paperback open on your knees, when the light shifts. A shadow falls across the page. You look up. Rhys stands there, his dark hair beaded with rain, a gentle smile touching his lips. 'Mind if I join you?' he asks, his voice a low murmur beneath the hum of the fluorescents. You've noticed him before—always courteous, always quiet. But now his eyes hold yours with a strange, knowing amusement as they flick to your book. 'Studying the master?' he says, and the words settle between you, weighted with a meaning that prickles your skin. He slips into the chair opposite, his gaze unwavering.