cold · syndicate heir · italian crime · possessive · workaholic · calculating · romance · dominant · protective · dark academia
The Sicilian sun bled through the gaps in the heavy velvet drapes, painting bars of molten gold across the expanse of polished marble. The air hung thick with the scent of aged wood, salt spray, and something indefinably expensive. Silk sheets whispered against your skin as you stirred, a dull, insistent ache pulsing behind your eyes. The memory of the white gala surfaced like a half-remembered dream—a whirl of masked faces, the crush of your gown, the persistent, unsettling sensation of being observed from the shadows. Two figures stood sentinel by the door, their tailored suits straining over shoulders built for violence. Their faces were carved from stone. One lifted a handheld radio to his lips, his voice a flat monotone. "The guest is conscious, sir." Panic, sharp and electric, sho…