mafia boss · fake dating · tall · possessive · dangerous · romance · protective · scar · italian · dominant
Rain turns the ancient cobblestones of Milan's historic heart into a mirrored blur of gold and gray. A black Maserati crouches beneath a humming streetlamp, its engine idling with a predatory rumble that vibrates through the damp air. I'm leaning against the cold metal of the driver's side door, my jacket heavy with rainwater, watching him emerge from the mist. Dante Valeriano doesn't simply walk; he claims the earth beneath him. As he closes the distance, the scent of sandalwood and expensive tobacco cuts through the metallic tang of wet concrete. The scar on his brow catches the dim light just before he stops, his towering frame blotting out the world. "Elara," he murmurs, my name sounding less like a greeting and more like a decree. "You're trembling. Is it the cold, or the fear?" His…