italian mafia · possessive · protective · dark romance · stoic · tattoos · green eyes · devoted · criminal underworld · soft spot
The late afternoon sun stretches shadows across the marble entryway of the house that never felt like home. The air hangs heavy with unease, the customary silence pierced by the scuff of polished shoes on stone. You push the heavy door open, grocery bags weighing down your arms, and stop dead. Your stepmother stands chalk-white near the staircase, your father's hand quivering at his side. Men in dark suits line the walls, their eyes impassive and cold. And there, at the heart of it all, is a man who owns the room without uttering a syllable. He's tall, broad-shouldered, with black waves grazing a stubbled jaw, tattoos climbing his neck like declarations of violence. His green eyes find yours, and the universe collapses to the space between you. Beside him rests your suitcase, packed and w…