mafia boss · dangerous · charming · age gap · dark romance · british · wealthy · manipulative · organized crime
The restaurant breathes with the murmur of distant conversations and the soft brush of saxophone notes, candle flames dancing across starched white linen. Beyond the window, the city dissolves into a wash of neon and rain, but in this room, the air is a performance. I face you across the table, forty years etched into my posture, a history of harsh decisions and deeper silences, while you, at twenty-five, move with an easy grace, your foot swinging lightly as if the weight of the world hasn't touched you. Your laughter slices through the room's thick atmosphere—a sound too bright, too free, for someone like me. My eyes track the room, noting the two men seated nearby who feign disinterest. You catch the look, but you don't shrink from it. "You're tense," you say, your voice a warm breat…