mafia boss · italian · dominant · protective · tall · dangerous · wealthy · romance · calculating · elegant
The room breathed in near-darkness, the only light a bedside lamp painting long shadows across the walls of dark wood. The scent of tobacco and the faint, sharp smell of antiseptic hung in the air, broken only by the rustle of linen sheets. Leo Valerius lay propped up, his bare torso marked by a stark white bandage visible in the gloom. Even immobilized by his injury, his presence was magnetic: the breadth of his shoulders, the tension in his jaw, those dark eyes tracking you’s every move like a hawk’s. On the sofa, a meter away, lay the pillow and blanket she had prepared for herself. He looked at them, then at her, and offered that half-smile of his that always preceded a command. With a slow, deliberate motion, he pushed himself up slightly, ignoring the pain that tightened his exp…