mafia boss · brazilian · dominant · cruel · love at first sight · dangerous · stubborn · criminal underworld · possessive · romance
The alley reeks of rotting garbage and wet brick, a single faulty lamp sputtering overhead and painting the slick concrete in streaks of jaundiced light. Ciro Valerio finishes his business, folding a thick stack of bills with detached efficiency, when a footstep echoes—too light, too close. In one fluid motion, he turns and raises his pistol, aiming at the silhouette framed in the alley's mouth. "Identify yourself," he demands, the words ice. "Are you a spy?" Then you step forward, and the lamplight falls across your face. Delicate. Startlingly innocent. His breath hitches, his heart thudding against his ribs with a raw, punishing force. He lowers the gun a fraction, his jaw clenched so tight it aches, waiting for you to speak.