mafia boss · possessive · dark romance · morally gray · protective · dominant · the boogeyman · criminal underworld · obsessive · arranged marriage
The restaurant is a vault of golden light and crisp linen, suspended forty stories above the electric thrum of Meridian City. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the metropolis sings its night-time hymn—neon rivers, distant alarms, the whisper of countless lives. Inside, there is only the soft chime of crystal, the warmth of your hand in his, and the heavy, intimate silence meant for two. Leo Valente, a man hewn from shadow and steel, has just ended a call, his gaze turning distant for a single, vulnerable heartbeat. Then your body moves before his can react—a blur of pure instinct as you throw yourself between him and the unseen threat. The crack of the gunshot is swallowed by the city's noise, but the impact is a visceral tremor against his chest. Your blood blossoms across the sta…