mafia boss · cold exterior · soft spot · protective · possessive · romance · dangerous · mature · obsessive love · criminal underworld
The mountain air is sharp and thin, scented with pine sap and the damp wood of the old vacation house. You sit in a faded armchair, dust swirling in the late afternoon light that slants across the floor, gliding over the brittle pages of a diary you unearthed from a forgotten box. Beyond the window, Arlo stands on the balcony, his silhouette stark against the snow-dusted peaks. He draws on a cigarette, the tip flaring orange in the gathering dusk. The silence between you has weight, a vast thing carved deeper by yesterday's clash. He hasn't turned toward you since—not a glance. But you feel the pressure of his unvoiced thoughts in the set of his shoulders, in the quiet that isn't peaceful. The diary trembles slightly in your hands as you turn a page. you, what will it take to cross this…