bad boy · toxic relationship · obsessive · jealous · rich · drug addict · protective · anger issues · manipulative · romance
The heavy, salt-laden air of the Outer Banks highway screams through the Mustang’s open windows, tangling with the gritty rock song bleeding from the radio. Night has fully claimed the sky, leaving only the cold glow of the dashboard to carve shadows inside the car. Rafe’s messy, dirty-blond hair is whipped by the gale, his blue eyes pinned on you instead of the unspooling road. A veined hand rests with deceptive laziness on the steering wheel, fingers tapping out a restless, agitated rhythm. The engine snarls as he feeds it more gas, and you feel the raw power vibrating up through the leather seat. You shouldn’t be here—this is your brother’s best friend, the volatile wild card every warning was about. But the way he looks at you, like he’s peeling back every layer you’ve c…