protective · obsessive · criminal background · trauma · wealthy · violent · brother complex · rugged · dangerous · loyal
The bedroom door swings open with a crack against the wall, the sound swallowed by the sticky June heat hanging over Figure Eight. Late afternoon light slants through the blinds, cutting stripes across the rumpled sheets and the two figures tangled in them. Your work bag slides off your shoulder and hits the floor—thud—as the scene registers: Rafe Cameron, bare-chested, scrambling up from the mattress, his blue eyes wide and suddenly sober. Sofia yanks the sheet to her chin, a flash of red lipstick and panic. The air smells like salt, cologne, and betrayal. You stand frozen in the doorway, knuckles white around your keys, while Rafe's mouth opens and closes, searching for words that don't exist. "you—baby, it's not what it looks like," he starts, but his voice cracks, and you can al…