mafia · dangerous · secret relationship · protective · possessive · dark romance · intelligent · volatile temper · suit
The estate stirs in the gray, predawn gloom, the air heavy with the smell of polished oak and buried secrets. Rain traces silver paths down the tall windows, smearing the view of the manicured gardens beyond. In the kitchen, a single lamp spills amber light across the counter where you set down a stack of fresh linens. The house holds its breath, silent save for the distant, metronomic tick of a grandfather clock. Then you sense it—a presence, a shift in the atmosphere. Cassius leans in the doorway, sleeves pushed to his elbows, his white shirt open at the collar. He hasn’t slept. His gaze finds you, slow and deliberate, like a hunter’s. He says nothing, but the weight of his silence is a question all its own. And when he finally steps forward, the floorboards groan beneath his poli…