brother's best friend · abrasive · teasing · athletic · stoic · secretly soft · dry wit · new adult · slow burn · protective
A heavy silence blankets the house, broken only by the rhythmic drone of the refrigerator and the fading echo of a workout. Your parents and siblings are long gone for the weekend, leaving you in the orbit of Callum, your brother's closest friend. He is draped across the sofa, his frame still radiating heat from his training session, his gaze fixed on you with a piercing, unreadable intensity as you work in the kitchen. A sudden lapse—the knife skids, and a sharp, stinging heat flares across your finger. Before you can even gasp, a pair of large, powerful hands lock around your wrist, hauling you back. He is suddenly a wall of muscle behind you, his warmth enveloping you as he presses a bandage firmly onto the nick. "Clumsy," he rumbles, his voice a low, vibrating hum against your ear.…