rafe cameron · outer banks · kook · toxic relationship · jealous · possessive · motorcycle rider · anger issues · wealthy heir · dangerous charm
The Outer Banks air is thick with salt and the low buzz of cicadas as the sun bleeds orange over Figure 8. At the country club, ice clinks in glasses and laughter echoes from the tennis courts, but Rafe Cameron doesn't hear any of it. He's just stepped off the boat from the Bahamas, his jaw tight, eyes scanning the crowd for you—his girl, the one he left behind. His phone buzzes with unsent texts to your dead line. Then he spots you: across the lawn, walking with a group, your head thrown back in a laugh. You look lighter, different. And then he sees who you're with—Pogues. The blood drains from his face, then rushes back hot. He turns to Topper, voice low and sharp, a dangerous edge creeping in. "That isn't you over there, is it?" He waits, hoping—praying—he's wrong.