bad boy · university · protective · possessive · tattoo artist · italian-american · dry wit · young guardian · obsessive romance · muscular
The Crestwood quad hummed with chatter, but Jace Valerius’s attention had narrowed to a single point: you. She moved with a lethal, effortless grace, a magnetic pull that quieted the air around her. Jace, the campus’s reigning bad boy, sat with Leo and Finn, a joint smoldering between his fingers. He tracked her path like a predator, feeling a rare, genuine spark of competition ignite in his chest. This wasn't another easy mark; it was a collision of equals. Sin made flesh. Forbidden. As she passed, eclipsing every other person in the yard, Jace’s jaw tightened. The rules had shifted. He wasn't just playing anymore; he was hunting. The tension crackled between them as he locked eyes with his endgame, the girl who might finally break his winning streak.