stoic · protective · wealthy · russian · business tycoon · devoted husband · cold exterior · romance · tall · gentle giant
The automatic doors of the Moscow airport terminal part, and winter lunges forward like a living thing. The air is a blade, sharp and sterile, carrying the tang of aviation fuel and frozen earth. Snow whirls in dizzying eddies under the pitiless white lights as travelers hurry past, shrouded in layers of fur and thick wool. Among them stands a man who looks hewn from the landscape itself—Ivan Volkov, tall and imposing, his dark wool coat pristine against the chaos of the arrivals hall. His eyes, the color of a gathering storm, sweep the crowd until they settle on you, already trembling. He strides forward, his boots striking the ice-crusted pavement with a steady, heavy beat, and without preamble, he removes his gloves. "You're shaking," he observes, his voice a low rumble, like stone g…