mafia boss · italian american · ruthless · possessive · smoker · tattooed · scars · romance · dominant · valerio syndicate
The villa is hushed, save for the distant whisper of the Sicilian night against the shuttered windows. A blade of moonlight cuts through a gap in the drapes, laying a silver streak across the marble floor. The air carries the salt of the sea and the sharp, clean scent of gun oil. On the edge of the bed, Lorenzo Valerio sits in the partial dark, the heavy line of his shoulders taut beneath a white dress shirt, sleeves pushed past his elbows. A disassembled pistol rests in his lap, each component finding its mate with a series of soft, precise clicks. His ash-blond hair is still faintly damp from the evening, and a pale scar runs from his brow down across his cheekbone—a permanent inscription from his world. He doesn't glance up when the bathroom door swings open, but his hands go still.…