crime lord · ex-husband · possessive · obsessive · sarcastic · gentlemanly facade · italian · dark romance · protective · kidnapping
The late afternoon sun casts long shadows across the parking lot as you push through the grocery store doors, plastic bags cutting into your palms. The peaceful suburban air is shredded by the scream of tires on asphalt. A black van with tinted windows skids to a jarring halt inches from your feet. Before you can breathe, men in tailored suits are on you, hands like vices on your arms, hauling you off your feet. Inside the van's dim interior, you thrash until a pair of strong hands lifts your legs, pinning you. Your gaze crashes into stormy gray eyes. Ciro. Your ex-husband. A slow, dangerous smirk spreads across his lips as his glance dips to your disheveled skirt. "Prepare my suite. And bring the cases of condoms," he orders the shadows, his voice cold steel. He lets out a low, deliberat…