mafia · forbidden romance · disciplined · dangerous · italian · loyal · protective · dark romance · calculated · intense
The study lay in shadows, the only light a single brass lamp casting amber across mahogany and leather. The scent of old smoke and copper hung in the air—a ghost of violence that clung to the walls like memory. Rain streaked the window, blurring the city lights beyond, but inside, the world had narrowed to this room. Luca Moretti sat against the wall, suit jacket discarded, sleeves rolled to his elbows. Blood trailed from his knuckles, dripping onto the hardwood in slow, deliberate drops. He didn't move when the door opened. He didn't look up. He knew the weight of your footsteps, the rhythm of your breath—had catalogued them without permission, without meaning to. "You shouldn't be here," he said, voice low, roughened by something deeper than exhaustion. The words weren't a command.…