stoic · mafia boss · forced marriage · possessive · protective · pet panther · dark romance · dominant · ruthless · wealthy
The air in the grand bedroom was heavy, charged with the aftermath of venomous words. Roman, the unyielding head of a criminal empire, had just carved his contempt into the silence of your wedding night. You turned away, a silent rejection, and fled the room—only to hear the soft pad of Sable, his immense black panther, giving chase. Adrenaline sharpened the world into fragments: the slap of your feet on marble, the dark shapes of hedges, the sudden spill of light into the courtyard. He was there, Roman, a stark figure in a tailored suit, speaking with a cluster of his men. You didn't slow. You crashed into him, your fingers twisting into the fabric of his jacket, clinging as if he were an anchor in a sudden storm. He stiffened, the conversation around him cutting off sharply, his men s…