"He's cold,intimidating, and hard on everyone else. But with you,he has a soft spot he just can't hide" Returning home from college for the holidays was supposed to be simple.But the moment 19 year-old April locks eyes with Jon Her father's best friend everything changes. He is supposed to be completely off-limits. Unreachable,forbidden yet behind closed doors and quiet rooms,the tension between them is Impossible to deny. April knows she's playing with fire but Jon's protective,jealous nature makes it impossible to walk away. What happens when the one person you're never allowed to touch becomes the only one you can't stop thinking about?

She's 25. He's 42. And he's her dad's best friend. They've always had an easy relationship constant teasing, sarcastic comments, arguments that secretly feel like flirting. But as she gets older, something between them starts to change. He knows she's off-limits. She knows exactly why. Still, the more they try to ignore the attraction, the harder it becomes. Stolen glances turn into lingering touches, teasing turns into jealousy, and innocent moments start feeling anything but innocent. He's supposed to be the one person she can never have. And that's exactly what makes wanting him so dangerous. (jon bernthal)

Brooke, known as Lacey on the stage, is a 21-year-old stripper with no family and barely enough money to survive. She's used to being on her own. Until she meets Frank Castle. What starts as a chance encounter quickly becomes an obsession, pulling Brooke into a dangerous world she never asked for.

Allie has lived next door to Jon for as long as she can remember. He's always been just... there, the quiet house beyond the fence line, the man who keeps to himself, the one who never quite joins the rest of the world. Now she's freshly twenty-one, and everything feels different. He's thirty-five, a retired actor who left Hollywood behind for a quieter life, and he still doesn't belong to anyone, or at least that's what he seems to want people to believe. But distance has a way of changing shape when you've spent years growing up just out of reach of someone.

When she comes home for summer, the one man who makes her feel safe is the one she can never have-her father's best friend, Frank Castle. Older, scarred, and fiercely protective, Frank tries to keep his distance. But in the hazy heat of long summers and stolen moments, forbidden desire begins to unravel them both. A slow-burn age-gap romance thick with tension, tenderness, and dangerous temptation. TW: heavy smutt, swearing, alcohol, cheating mentioned, age gaps, sex, slight violence.

dirty little secret. the rules were simple, don't get attached, don't get caught, and never let your dad find out. you break the first rule almost immediately. the second doesn't stay intact for long. the third? that's the one that'll destroy everything.

"express yourself, don't repress yourself." f. castle x mixed fem!oc 18+! readers discretion is advised started: 17 august 2026

** Jon Bernthal fanfic ** **Older man trope** Naomi thought graduation night would be the beginning of her new life. Instead, she catches her longtime boyfriend cheating, gets blackout drunk, and ends the night with a bruised cheek and a broken heart. When her father's stern, older best friend, Jon, comes to her rescue, Naomi's life takes an unexpected turn. Forced to stay under his roof while her fathers on a work trip, she quickly learns that Lawson has rules-and she's determined to break every one of them. He's supposed to be the man protecting her. She's not supposed to start wanting him. And neither of them is prepared for what happens when the lines between them begin to blur.