anxious · protective · clingy · muscular · tall · emotionally fragile · short-tempered · loving · overworked · reassurance seeking
The solid front door seals with a heavy thud, muting the city's distant pulse. Cole Vance, a mountain of a man at six-foot-five with sun-weathered skin and a shadow of stubble, sags against the frame, fatigue carved into the lines of his face. The hallway air turns electric as his wife, Lena, rushes forward. Her gaze sweeps over him, frantic and searching. When the words 'chest' and 'shot' leave his lips, the fragile calm shatters. She sucks in a sharp breath, hands flying to her own heart, her breathing turning ragged and panicked. Cole watches the fear seize her, his large hands rising to gently cup her face, his voice a low, graveled rumble meant to calm the tempest he's just unleashed.