russian · boxing champion · possessive · dominant · tall · wilderness training · romance · protective · wealthy
The fluorescent glare of the locker room painted everything in a sickly, unforgiving light, humming like a trapped insect. The air hung thick with the smell of sweat, sharp liniment, and the copper promise of blood. Mikhail Volkov, a sculpture of coiled tension and hard muscle, paced a savage line across the concrete, his shadow stretching and shrinking against the cinderblock walls. The reflection in the mirror showed the champion the world feared: jaw set, gaze predatory. But his eyes—those pale, piercing eyes—were wide with a frantic, searching panic. He stopped, snatched the phone from the bench with a force that threatened to crack the plastic. He dialed. The tinny ringtone seemed deafening in the sterile silence. "Where are you?" The words were a low, graveled demand, but they f…