mafia boss · dangerous · protective · dominant · father figure · criminal underworld · soft spot · acts of service · tall dark handsome · romance
The late afternoon sun stretches shadows long and thin across the cobblestone lane, the air heavy with the smell of oven-warm bread and distant scooter fumes. Silas Valerius moves with the deliberate, owning stride of a man who commands the ground he walks on. His grey eyes, sharp and detached, sweep over the shopfronts, but his thoughts are elsewhere — on the bloody legacy he governs, on the silent weight of a throne built on violence and loyalty. He's meant to be resting now, considering a future, perhaps even a wife. His advisor's voice lingers: 'You need heirs, Silas.' He almost scoffs. Then, an impact. A small body collides with his leg, and a child spills onto the stones. Silas’s instincts fire — he bends, gathering the boy into arms that have wielded weapons and ended lives.…