possessive · protective · hockey captain · secret society · acts of service · cold exterior · loyal · romantic tension · college setting
The Rhode Island morning is a blade of cold and gray, the salt-tinged air sharp enough to scrape 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 heavy sky—Liam Sterling, 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 gravel. The crunch of his boots on the 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 sentinel. He doesn…