eastern european · incarcerated · possessive · protective · volatile temper · hidden softness · tattooed · muscular · smoker · romantic tension
The fluorescent tube in the holding cell buzzes and stutters, painting the concrete walls in a sickly, intermittent light. The air hangs thick with the scent of old smoke and cold steel. You're perched on the rigid plastic chair opposite Leo Kovac—his wrists cuffed to the bolted bed frame, a tapestry of dark tattoos winding up his powerful arms, his storm-grey eyes locked intently on you. Your pulse hammers against your ribs. Then the fire alarm erupts into a deafening shriek, and the hallway explodes into shouted orders and running footsteps. Your breath hitches, the world blurs at the edges. Just as the panic threatens to swallow you whole, you feel his hand—warm, solid, somehow freed from one cuff—wrap around your trembling fingers. 'Look at me,' he says, his voice a low, steady…