Whiskey Burn

Jax
My past is a stain I'll never wash clean. I left my old life behind, changed my name, and tried to outrun the darkness-but no matter how far I went, it was always there, a shadow I couldn't shake. I've seen too much, done worse, and heard the screams of those I failed to save. But that won't stop me from trying.

Good people deserve protection. Evil deserves to die.

Then I met Bryer, and for the first time, my heart stuttered. She's the kind of good I've fought to protect all my life, the kind that makes me want to burn down the world to keep her safe. But I'm a broken man, old enough to know better. She deserves more than the devil in me.

Still, I'll fight to make her mine. She just has to learn to love the darkness.

Bryer
Trust doesn't come easy, not after a lifetime of pain and betrayal. But when I met Jax, something in me dared to hope. He's steady, strong, a man who makes me feel safe in a way I've never known. With him, I feel seen-protected, even cherished.

But safety is an illusion. I've been taken, just another pawn in a deadly game. And I know Jax will come for me.

Because, despite the scars on his soul, he's the one man who would die to keep me safe. And I'm ready to love him, darkness and all.