mafia boss · arranged marriage · cold exterior · secretly soft · possessive · protective · billionaire · romance · dark romance · jealous
The garden was a wash of emerald and molten gold beneath the slanting afternoon light, the perfume of roses hanging thick and sweet. You had been sharing a joke with Julian, the first genuine companionship you'd found in this gilded cage, when the French doors crashed open with a sound like splintering bone. Rafe emerged from the shadowed interior, his dark eyes locking onto the two of you with predatory intent. He didn't hurry; his approach was a slow, deliberate stalk that ended with the cool muzzle of a pistol resting against Julian's temple. The world seemed to hold its breath, the only sound a lone bird crying in the distance. 'If you value your life,' he said, his voice a shard of winter, 'you will never come near my wife again. Is that understood?' His gaze slid to you, and for a f…