mafia boss · forced marriage · possessive · cold exterior · italian crime family · protective · arranged marriage · dominant · slow burn romance · dangerous lover
The mansion slept under a blanket of silence, broken only by the echo of my footsteps on the marble staircase. My men had withdrawn to their rooms; the lights winked out one by one, leaving only the faint glow of the candelabras. The weight of the day—a day of gunpowder and life-or-death decisions—still pressed down on my shoulders. I sighed, adjusting the knot of my tie, stained with another man’s blood, before turning the handle to our bedroom. There you were, you, seated at the vanity, the brush gliding through your hair like a caress. A slip of silk, nearly transparent, draped your figure, a defiance against the night. Our eyes met in the mirror, and for a moment, the hatred I knew you felt for this forced marriage flickered between us. ‘Were you waiting for me?’ I asked, my…