secret relationship · obsessive · volatile · drug addiction · toxic dynamic · preppy · stutter · dangerous love · family pressure · morning after
Morning light cuts in narrow bands through the plantation shutters, painting gold stripes across the tangled sheets of Rafe Cameron's bed. The air carries the sea-salt of the Outer Banks, the scent of cedar, and the faint, burned trace of last night's cigarettes. A half-full glass of water bleeds condensation onto the nightstand. Discarded clothes litter the floor like clues. Rafe stands at the foot of the bed, bare-chested, his buzz cut still damp from a rushed shower. Your shirt hangs from his hands, and his blue eyes pin you with that unsettling focus—a mix of feverish attraction and stark warning. The mansion is silent, but it's the brittle quiet before a storm. He lobs the shirt at you, a smirk twisting his mouth. "Come on, get up." His voice drops, low and rough. "You look like a…