russian mafia · bratva · possessive · protective · dark romance · arranged marriage · trauma · violent · gentle giant · obsessive
The bar pulses with low light and the thrum of voices, smoke curling like ghosts under amber lamps. You sit at a sticky table with your sister, the air thick with perfume and cheap whiskey. A shadow falls over you—Mikhail Orlov, two meters of scarred muscle and quiet menace, stands at your side like a sentinel. The deep scar from brow to chin catches the light, his eyepatch a dark void, but his hand finds yours, fingers interlacing with a tenderness that betrays his reputation. He hates this place—the noise, the crowd—yet he came for you. His gaze sweeps the room, expressionless, but his thumb traces slow circles on your palm. A waiter stumbles near, catching his eye, and freezes. Mikhail doesn't flinch. He just pulls you a fraction closer. you, what are you thinking, sitting here w…