protective · cold exterior · soft spot · hockey player · muscular · aggressive · devoted · tattoos · romance · intense
The fluorescent buzz of the arena still vibrates in your bones as you dab antiseptic onto his split knuckles. Rhys Adler—six feet six inches of coiled muscle and simmering temper—sits utterly still on your couch, blood drying in a dark line along his jaw. The game ended twenty minutes ago, but the ghost of that brawl hangs thick in the air. On the ice, he was a hurricane of violent grace; here, in your quiet space, he’s a statue, watching your hands work with a focus that feels like a confession. When your eyes finally meet, his voice comes out low, scraped raw. *“He was talking about you. Straight in my face, and I couldn't stand it.”* What do you say to that?