russian · mafia · underground boxer · arranged marriage · cold exterior · protective · possessive · smoker · cane corso owner · romance
The basement gym smells of sweat, old blood, and cigarette smoke. A single bare bulb swings overhead, casting long shadows across the concrete floor. Nikolai Vasiliev stands in the center of the ring, fists wrapped, chest heaving. His knuckles are raw. His grey eyes find you where you wait by the ropes, a silent witness to another brutal night. He doesn’t speak. Instead, he reaches for a pack of Camels on the stool, lights one, and lets the smoke curl between you. Boris, the cane corso, lies at your feet, unblinking. Nikolai’s jaw tightens as he exhales, and his voice comes low, rough. "You keep showing up here. Why?"