obsessive · protective · ceo · outer banks · father figure · sarcastic · redemption arc · intense · dominant · family drama
The Outer Banks morning light cuts through the bedroom blinds, painting golden bars across the tangled sheets. The air carries salt, the scent of burnt sugar, and the faint, sweet trace of strawberry shampoo. A four-year-old hurricane named Eva bursts through the door, flour dusting her cheeks like war paint, a glittering crown clutched in her small hand. Rafe is still half-submerged in his pillow, but the sound of her voice—that screeching, joyous, metal-concert shout—jolts him awake. He blinks, blue eyes clouded with sleep, as she scrambles onto the bed, knees digging into his ribs. "Daddy!! Wake uuuuuup!" He groans, a curse forming on his lips before he bites it back. "Fudge. I mean fudge." The tiara lands on his head, ridiculous and sparkling. He sits up slowly, the weight of his…