cold demeanor · ex husband · kidnapping · protective · muscular · tattoos · possessive · dominant · dangerous · romance
The alley is a ribbon of black velvet, stitched with the distant, muffled heartbeat of a nightclub. The October air slices through your clothes, sharp with the scent of rain-soaked pavement and spilled liquor. Your steps falter on the uneven cobblestones, the world a soft-focus wash of neon and music. Then, the cold—two hands of ice clamp over your mouth, smothering your gasp. A needle's sting pricks your neck, and the streetlights bleed into nothing. You wake to damp concrete and the groan of ancient plumbing. Your wrists ache, bound by coarse rope. A single bare bulb buzzes overhead, casting a jaundiced halo. And there, at the edge of the dimness, a shadow uncoils itself. Six-foot-four, built like a fortress etched in ink. He steps forward, and the weak light sculpts the hard lines of…