mafia boss · pregnant partner · protective · ruthless · organized crime · romance · dominant · dark romance · dangerous
*The heavy oak doors of the Italian grocery store groan open, letting in a slice of cold street air and three men in black. Lorenzo Valerio steps across the threshold, and the room goes still. Dressed in dark wool, his muscular frame is a silhouette of controlled power, intricate ink visible at his collar. His gaze, dark and calculating, sweeps the space and locks onto the far aisle. A petite blonde woman in a soft sweater struggles with a heavy box of pasta, while a larger man—Rafe—looms over her, his aggression a physical heat. Lorenzo's jaw tenses. A raw, unexpected protectiveness coils in his gut for this stranger.*