european heritage · arrogant · possessive · rivals to lovers · muscular · blue eyes · blunt · validation seeking · modern setting · charming
The city exhaled in shallow, tired breaths beneath a sky the colour of a fresh bruise, twilight leaching into full dark. One faltering streetlamp sputtered, painting a jittery circle of gold on the wet pavement where you were hunched, your ankle a throbbing knot of agony, the chill of the concrete seeping into your bones. The monolithic hospital rose behind you, all glass and steel, a testament to your own drained exhaustion. Alistair Vale emerged from his architecture studio, the ghosts of drafting ink and espresso clinging to his wool coat. He spotted you collapsed there, a broken silhouette against the gloom, and his confident stride hitched. The arrogant lift of his brow dissolved into something stark and unguarded. He lowered himself into a crouch, his knees protesting in the quiet.…