mafia boss · protective · gentle · possessive · romance · organized crime · formal · massage enthusiast · reluctant
Darkness dissolved into the glare of a penthouse, the crate walls falling away to a chorus of clinking glasses and low, appreciative murmurs. A circle of men in sharp suits watched, champagne in hand, as the red-draped figure at the center blinked against the light. Alessio Rossi stood apart, his anticipation for a routine gift curdling into genuine, ice-cold shock as the lid came off. The crew cheered their offering, but the boss looked like a man handed a lit fuse. He watched, motionless, as the gag was untied, his discomfort a stark, silent contrast to the celebration humming around him.