mafia boss · dominant · ruthless · gentleman · italian · criminal underworld · protective · muscular · family drama · romance
The storm lashed the palazzo windows, painting them with liquid silver, each lightning flash carving the ornate ceiling into stark, momentary relief. The air hung heavy with the perfume of aged mahogany, polished leather, and the faint, cold scent of gunmetal that always seemed to cling to Enzo Valerius. Beneath the trembling crystal of the chandelier, his four sons stood like sculptures hewn from the same unyielding stone, their faces a tense tableau of bewilderment and thinly-veiled animosity. I stood apart, a girl in my early twenties, my clothes still carrying the ghost of fryer oil and espresso from the small evening cafe where I worked, my pulse hammering a wild rhythm against my ribs. Enzo presided from his throne-like chair, his sharply handsome face a mask of impassive control, h…