Painting with Blood
Dmitri Volkov is the heir to one of New York’s most ruthless Russian mafia families—cold, controlled, and carrying scars no one is allowed to see. He has spent his life obeying blood oaths and burying every part of himself that doesn’t serve the syndicate. Love, especially love for a man, is a weakness he cannot afford.
Ethan Moreau is a twenty-two-year-old French art student on scholarship at NYU—soft-spoken, openly gay, and painfully trusting. He came to New York to chase beauty in a city full of sharp edges, never expecting one of those edges to look back at him with ice-blue eyes.
Their worlds collide by chance in Central Park. A fleeting encounter becomes stolen nights, desperate kisses in shadowed alleys, and whispered promises neither of them can keep. For Ethan, Dmitri is intensity and danger wrapped in tenderness he’s never known. For Dmitri, Ethan is the first crack of light in a life built on darkness—and the one thing that could destroy everything he’s been raised to protect.
But secrets have weight. Dmitri’s family is closing in, a rival syndicate is circling, and every touch between them pulls the noose tighter. Misunderstandings fester into silence, jealousy into rage, and love into something that hurts to hold.
When blood finally stains the canvas of their fragile world, Ethan will have to decide if he can love a man who was born to break hearts—and Dmitri will have to choose between the family that raised him and the only person who ever made him want to be free.
In a city that devours the innocent, their story is a slow bleed of devotion, betrayal, and the kind of love that can ruin you completely.
Baca
Chapter: Cracks in the Frame (Ethan’s POV)I couldn’t stop replaying the car ride in my head.The way Dmitri’s voice had gone from warm and teasing to ice-cold in the space of two seconds. One minute we were laughing, my knee brushing his when he shifted gears, the next he was practically shoving me out of the car like I’d done something unforgivable. No explanation. No goodbye. Just that sharp “Get out” that landed like a slap.I’d walked the last block to the dorm with my stomach in knots, cheeks burning, telling myself it didn’t matter. He was just some guy. A hot, complicated, probably-straight-or-closeted guy who’d kissed me once like the world was ending and then acted like I was invisible the next time we spoke. I’d been here before. I knew the script.Still, it hurt more than it should have.By the time I pushed open the door to our tiny shared apartment, Bella was sprawled across the couch in sweatpants and one of my old Sorbonne hoodies, eating cold lo mein straight from the carton with a pair of chopsticks. She look
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-07
Chapter: Fractured Devotion (Dimitri’s POV)Chapter 6: Shadows in the RearviewI woke up tangled in sweat-soaked sheets, my heart pounding like I’d just run from a hit gone wrong. The dream lingered, vivid and unwelcome—Ethan’s face, those warm hazel eyes looking up at me, his lips brushing mine in some dimly lit room that smelled like fresh paint and rain. His hands on my skin, soft and unscarred, pulling me closer while I whispered things I’d never say aloud. It was bullshit, all of it. A fantasy my mind cooked up to torture me, because in reality, touching him would be like dragging an angel into hell.I sat up, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my palm, trying to shake it off. The clock on my nightstand glowed 4:17 AM. Another sleepless night in this goddamn penthouse that felt more like a cage every day. The city lights filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows across the marble floors. New York never slept, and neither did I, apparently. Not with him invading my thoughts like this.Ethan Moreau. T
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-05
Chapter: Subway Rescue(Ethan POV)I was starting to think New York hated me personally.The subway had been delayed twice already—some signal problem at 14th Street—and by the time the downtown 1 train finally screeched into the station, the platform was so packed I barely had room to breathe. I squeezed in at the very last second, one hand gripping the pole, the other clutching my sketchbook against my chest like a shield.Rush hour. Everyone smelled like coffee breath and desperation.I wedged myself between a guy in a suit reading the Times on his phone and a girl with giant headphones who was aggressively chewing gum. The doors hissed shut. The train lurched forward. I exhaled.That’s when I felt it.The shift in the air behind me.Someone too close. Too deliberate.I didn’t turn right away—people press in on the subway all the time—but something made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I shifted my weight, trying to create space. The guy behind me shifted too. Mirrored me.My stomach dropped.I glanced sid
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-03
Chapter: Background Check (Dmitri POV)I didn’t sleep.Not really.I lay on the leather couch in the loft above the garage on 14th Street, staring at the exposed beams, listening to the low hum of the city that never shuts the fuck up. The bed in the corner stayed empty. Always does when I’m like this—too wired, too restless, too many ghosts crawling under my skin.The kid’s face kept flashing behind my eyes.Ethan.Soft curls. Hazel eyes that looked right through the bullshit most people never even see. That stupid little wave he gave me at the gallery, like I was someone worth smiling at.I hated how much space he was taking up in my head.I rolled off the couch at four-thirty, showered cold, dressed in black—jeans, thermal, leather jacket—and texted Alex before the sun was even thinking about rising.Need background. French kid. NYU. Ethan Moreau. First name’s enough.His reply came in under ninety seconds.You’re kidding.Do I look like I’m kidding?Three dots. Then:You’re actually doing this.Just run it.He sent bac
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-03
Chapter: Gallery Sparks (Ethan POV)I was still thinking about him the next morning.The tall guy with the ice-blue eyes and the leather jacket. The one who’d looked at me like I was either a problem or a puzzle he didn’t want to solve. I’d replayed the moment in my head about fifty times while brushing my teeth, while making instant coffee in our tiny kitchenette, while Bella was still snoring dramatically under her mountain of throw pillows.I mean, come on. It was just a stare. A really intense stare. Nothing more.But it had stuck.Bella finally emerged around eleven, hair a wild halo, wearing an oversized NYU hoodie and the tiniest sleep shorts known to humankind. She took one look at my face and went straight into best-friend interrogation mode.“Okay, spill,” she said, hopping onto the counter and stealing my coffee mug right out of my hand. “You’ve got that dreamy-horny-confused look again. Who is he?”I laughed despite myself. “There is no ‘he.’ Not really.”“Bullshit. You texted me last night about a mysteriou
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-03
Chapter: Family Pressure (Dmitri POV)The dining room smelled like old money and older grudges.Dark mahogany table long enough to seat twenty, though only five of us ever used it. Crystal chandelier throwing jagged light across the walls. Ivan at the head, same place he’s sat since I was old enough to remember anything. Gray suit pressed sharp, silver cufflinks catching the light like knife edges. He doesn’t eat much anymore—just watches. Like he’s waiting for one of us to flinch.Alex sat to my right, tie loosened already, cracking his knuckles under the table the way he does when he’s bored and trying not to show it. Across from us, two of the cousins—Dima and Sergei—kept their heads down, forks moving mechanically. They know better than to speak unless Ivan asks them something.I didn’t touch the food.Ivan’s voice cut through the clink of silverware like a blade through paper.“Marcus Lombardi is moving product through the old meatpacking district again.” He didn’t look at me. He never does when he’s laying out a pro
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2026-02-03
Masuk
