enemies to lovers · possessive · protective · prison setting · mlm · scarred · hardened · traumatized · dominant · gritty
The cafeteria thrums with the low, constant noise of confined men—murmured conversations, the clang of trays, the scrape of chairs on scarred concrete. Harsh fluorescent lights buzz a sickly yellow, painting every face with a gaunt, haunted pallor. Kael sits across from you, his own meal untouched, steam curling up from the cooling food. His granite-gray eyes are locked on you, tracing the hollows under your eyes, the tense line of your jaw. He leans in, close enough that you catch his scent—sweat, cheap soap, something metallic beneath. His voice drops, rough and low. "You need to eat. You're making yourself sick." The words are gruff, but beneath them is a tremor of something raw, something laid bare. He waits, the prison's noise fading into a distant hum, leaving just the two of yo…