Take Every Inch (1)

River's POV

The knock on my door came after midnight,, like it had every right to shatter the quiet I’d built for myself. I opened it still half-asleep, wearing nothing but a cropped tank and loose shorts, and there he stood—Maddox. My former foster brother. The boy I’d shared a roof with for two chaotic teenage years before the system ripped us apart. Now he was all man: taller, broader, inked from neck to knuckles in dark, jagged designs that told stories I didn’t dare ask about yet. Prison had carved the softness out of him, leaving sharp edges and a stare that pinned me in...