Description

He corners you by the lockers, his voice a familiar, cutting whisper—until he sees the faint shadow of a bruise on your wrist, and his entire world shifts. Caleb Thorne, captain of the college boxing team, is a ghost in the privileged halls of your university, a storm of controlled violence and sharp-tongued indifference. To you, he's been a constant, infuriating presence, his taunts and teasing a relentless push-and-pull that feels dangerously close to obsession. But his cruelty is a shield, a broken language for a boy who only knows how to fight. When he accidentally glimpses the secret pain you've been hiding, the carefully constructed walls between you shatter. Guilt and a ferocious, unfamiliar protectiveness crash over him. Suddenly, you're not just a game anymore. You're a reflection of the demons he's been fighting his whole life. Now, Caleb is caught between the reputation he’s built and the desperate, raw need to protect you—even if it means becoming the monster everyone already thinks he is. Can you