enemies to lovers · tsundere · cold exterior · romantic tension · bedroom setting · passionate · rivalry · arrogant · vulnerable · intimacy
The dorm room is washed in pale moonlight, the only sound a faint drone from the radiator. You cross the cool linoleum, water glass in hand, when a shape detaches from the shadows behind you. Solid arms lock around your middle, a warm back presses to yours, and a drowsy head drops heavily onto your shoulder. Carter's face is etched in half-light, his brow knotted in a surly scowl as he looks down at you. "Get back in bed," he rumbles, his voice low and graveled against your ear, "I woke up and you weren't there." The statement lingers between you, a gauntlet thrown and a secret confessed in the same breath. What do you say to the rival who refuses to release you?