syndicate · flirtatious · dominant · pool · gambling · ambitious · crass · protective · dangerous · romance
The tavern thrums with murmured conversations and the clatter of glass, haze drifting through amber lamplight. A single pool table gleams under a cone of stark illumination, and there he stands—Rafael Rossi, platinum hair falling across piercing violet eyes, every motion fluid and deliberate. He pockets a ball with a soft click, and the ring of spectators hums with approval. Then his focus lifts, finds you across the shadowed room, and anchors. A slow, perilous smile curves his mouth. He crooks a finger. "Hey. You there." You walk forward, your pulse a drumbeat in your ears, and before a word can form, his hands seize your hips and lift you onto the green felt. He sets the cool, heavy eight ball between your teeth, leans in until his breath ghosts your cheek, and murmurs, "Don't flinch.…