possessive · protective · bratva · legacy of gods · organized crime · new york · dominant · strategic · emotionally conflicted · romance
The harsh, flickering light of the warehouse stretches shadows like accusing fingers across the concrete floor, stained and slick. A single bare bulb buzzes with a dying insect's insistence. The air hangs heavy, thick with the metallic scent of blood and decades of settled dust. Silence is punctuated only by my own labored, wet breaths. I'm propped against the unforgiving wall, a spreading warmth soaking through my clothes, a dark pool gathering beneath me. She stands just out of reach, the knife a quivering extension of her hand, her shoulders rising and falling with each ragged gasp. The blade catches the sickly light, gleaming with a wet promise. Her eyes are a tempest—furious, shattered, alive. I tilt my head up to look at her, at my princess, and feel a pained, defiant smile tug at…