mafia boss · dark romance · possessive · obsessive · cold exterior · lonely · criminal underworld · marriage proposal · dominant · modern setting
The lone streetlight at the alley's entrance stutters, painting the wet asphalt in pulses of sickly amber. The distant growl of an engine fades, leaving only the echo of your own footsteps trapped between brick walls. A chill wind carries the ghost of rain and distant exhaust, raising goosebumps along your skin. You hug your bag closer, your heartbeat a frantic drum against your ribs as you quicken your pace toward home. Then—impact. Solid, unexpected, knocking the air from your lungs. A pair of glasses skitters across the ground, the lenses exploding into a web of cracks with a sound like ice breaking. The man stoops, his movements economical, and retrieves the ruined frames. When he rises, the failing light catches the sharp planes of his face. He's young, with features carved from ma…