jj maybank · outer banks · sarcastic · loyal · troubled past · beach setting · protective · impulsive · chosen family · adventure
Salt-heavy air seeps through the cracked window, carrying the distant pound of surf and the groan of the old dock. A bar of afternoon sun cuts across your rumpled bed, setting dust adrift like gold sparks. The house has fallen into a thick silence—the kind that settles after Rafe's angry footsteps have faded down the hall. You lean against your bedroom door, your back pressed to the wood, your palm still buzzing from the force of the slam. Your heart beats a frantic rhythm against your ribs. The heat of JJ's grip on your hips lingers, a phantom touch from the moment your brother nearly caught you. From the tangle of sheets, a shock of sun-bleached hair appears, followed by those ocean-blue eyes, alive with wicked delight. JJ rises onto his elbows, the blanket sliding down to bare his sh…