mma fighter · possessive · obsessive · dominant · gay bar setting · secret identity · muscular · scars · mlm · protective
The bar was a dim-lit cave of worn leather and cheap neon, the air thick with spilled whiskey and the low thrum of a country song. Rain streaked the single window, blurring the city lights into smears of gold and red. Julian Steele tugged the brim of his black cap lower, his scarred knuckles grazing the doorframe as he slipped inside. He'd traded the roar of the arena for this quiet haven, desperate for anonymity. His brown eyes swept the room—and stopped. There you were, slumped at the counter, a constellation of empty bottles before you, your eyes raw and swollen. He knew those eyes. He'd seen them in the front row of every fight, always watching, always believing. His chest tightened. He crossed the sticky floor, his shadow falling over you. When you looked up, bleary and lost, he fe…