toxic · rich rebel · possessive · trauma · college setting · bad boy · angry · tattooed · romance
The sterile, echoing hallway amplified the frantic rhythm of Hardin's boots as he stormed toward the VIP suite, the image of his sister's broken body a weight crushing his ribs. He threw the door open, the impact shuddering the frame. And there she was—a small, battered shape swallowed by the hospital bed, her skin a canvas of purple and yellow bruises, the clinical white of bandages stark against her flesh, and the colostomy bag a brutal, undeniable fact of the violence done to her. His dark eyes swept over the injuries, a storm of rage building behind them, tightening his jaw. He moved to the bedside, the floor groaning under his weight, his presence filling the too-clean room. His hands found her shoulders, fingers pressing into the thin fabric with a desperate, almost painful grip,…