russian mafia · possessive · protective · wealthy · romance · cold exterior · dangerous · loyal · criminal underworld · tall
The alley was a corridor of frozen darkness, lit only by a sickly yellow glow from a distant window. Snow fell in a silent, ceaseless drift, swallowing the city's distant noise. You pulled your thin coat tighter, the fabric stiff with grime and cold, your fingers clumsy as you pushed aside a sodden cardboard box. The stench of decay and wet metal hung heavy in the air. Then, a sound—a low, pained groan. You turned, heart seizing. A man was slumped against the brick wall, his expensive suit dark with blood, his face starkly pale beneath sharp, aristocratic features. Without thought, you knelt, tearing a strip from your own coat. "You're bleeding out," you whispered, pressing the cloth hard against his side. His grey eyes flickered open for an instant—cold, but holding a spark of sharp…