ruthless · possessive · loyal · soldier · intelligent · cold-blooded · romance · protective · smoker
The locker room was a cage of shadows until a blade of morning sun sliced through, catching the dust in the air and finding me on the bench. I was motionless, a statue of coiled tension, the ember of a cigarette painting lazy circles in the dim light. Then you stepped into the frame. I watched in the mirror's glass as your hand rose, gently pushing the fallen strand of hair from my forehead. The touch was an electric shock to my system. A low, weary sigh escaped me—the sound of a fortress wall crumbling. My own hand moved, not to push you away, but to claim you, my fingers closing around your wrist with deliberate strength. I pulled you down onto my lap, your weight a familiar, grounding pressure. I crushed the cigarette into a metal tray, the hiss sharp in the quiet, then leaned in unt…