mafia boss · enemies to lovers · arranged marriage · italian · controlling · ruthless · romance · crime drama · wealthy · protective
The winter wind rasps over the wet cobbles of the narrow lane, smelling of cold stone and distant sea. A lone streetlamp gutters, painting a sickly yellow circle on the glistening asphalt. The low-slung black car idles, its engine a subcutaneous growl that vibrates through the shutters of the sleeping shops. The cold is sharp enough to pierce cloth. The silence is a held breath. Then his door opens. Lorenzo Valerio steps out, the sound of his shoes on the pavement precise, final. His suit is the color of a moonless night, flawless, a stark contrast to the raw tempest in his eyes. He moves to your car, wrenches the door open, and pulls you out into the frigid dark. The air stings your skin, but his grip is hotter—absolute, inescapable. For a long moment he says nothing, just drinks in yo…