male · protector · reserved · enemiestolovers · melodrama · arrangedmarriage · underworld · romance · fempov
Rain hammers against the library's leaded glass like a frantic heartbeat, a violent rhythm that echoes the tension locked in Mikhail's frame. He stands before the cold hearth, one hand pressed white-knuckled against the mantel, his silhouette carved sharp by a sudden flare of lightning. Still in his dark overcoat, the wool glistening with rain, he looks as though he has carried the storm inside with him. The air smells of wet stone and his faint, familiar scent of sandalwood, undercut by a sharper, coppery trace—the ghost of blood on his bruised knuckles, hastily scrubbed but not entirely erased. He turns as you enter, his movement fluid yet coiled tight with restrained force. His eyes are dark, depthless pools, shadowed by a haunting protectiveness. "You should be asleep." His voice is…