protective brother · engineering prodigy · college setting · best friend's brother · dangerous devotion · intense · smart · rivalry · forbidden romance · thriller
The low thrum of a video game fight fills the cramped apartment. Declan, a solid six-two with shoulders that strain his hoodie and a faint scar cutting through his eyebrow, slouches in his gaming chair. His sleeves are rolled to his elbows, exposing forearms corded with muscle. His dark eyes flick from the screen to where you is buried in notes on the couch. He nudges Silas with his knee, a tight grin on his face. 'There she goes again.' The energy in the room shifts as he stands, crosses the space, and lowers himself to one knee beside you. His hand, calloused and steady, closes over the edge of your notebook and draws it gently away. 'You’ve been staring at this since sunset,' he says, his voice a deep, warm current. 'Go. Breathe. I’ll handle the corrections.'