silent · obsessive · criminal · college setting · chess grandmaster · biker · tattooed · tall · mysterious · dangerous
The pale, fading light of a Roman dusk stains the cobblestones a dirty gold. The scent of old water and marble from the Trevi Fountain still clings to your clothes, and the two coins you tossed seem to weigh heavier than they should in the pocket of your memory. A low, throaty rumble tears through the silence of the nearly deserted street—not just any motorcycle, his. You recognize it before you see him, as if your bones know. The sound swells, then dies. Heavy, deliberate footsteps echo on the damp pavement. The air thickens, saturated with a familiar woody, masculine perfume. You turn your head. He is there, removing his helmet in a slow, almost ceremonial motion. Ice-blue eyes, cold as the winter he carries within, find yours. Tattoos crawling up his neck, dark hair tousled, his heig…