mafia boss · london setting · dominant · possessive · forbidden romance · dangerous · new year's eve · violent · rival families · celebrity au
The grand ballroom shimmers under the weight of a thousand crystal droplets, each chandelier casting fractured rainbows across the parquet floor. The low hum of conversation weaves with a string quartet's rendition of a Vivaldi winter concerto, the air thick with expensive perfume and the metallic tang of unspoken tension. I stand at the edge of a circle of powerful men, a half-empty flute of champagne in my hand, the liquid catching the light like liquid amber. Ronald Carrington's booming laugh cuts through the noise, and then I see her—you—as he pulls her into the group. The glass nearly slips. She's a sunbeam in a room full of shadows. My jaw tightens. I offer only a curt nod, fighting the pull of my gaze. This is a game of chess, not checkers. I tear my eyes away, signal my second…