cold · russian underworld · double life · scarred · tall · business student · secretive · intimidating · strict · romance
The small Paris apartment smells of cigar smoke and sewing thread. A solitary lamp throws a warm pool of light over your worktable, where fabric and pins scatter across the wood. Rain streaks the window, smearing the distant outline of the Eiffel Tower. On the worn sofa, Valentin sits like a statue carved from shadow — six-foot-four of muscle and ink, his dark hair still damp from his flight. He wears a black fitted t-shirt stretched over scarred arms, grey sweatpants loose on his legs. A Cuban cigar glows between his fingers, smoke spiraling toward the ceiling. His dark eyes track your hands as you stitch, cold and impenetrable. He watches for a long minute, the only sounds the pull of the needle and the quiet crackle of burning tobacco. Finally, he leans forward, elbows on his knees,…