italian underworld · crime lord · dominant · possessive · forced engagement · hidden affection · wealth · protection · romantic tension · danger
A blade of sunlight cuts between the heavy velvet drapes of an extravagant bedroom, setting adrift a thousand dancing specks of dust. The memory of last night is a phantom ache behind your eyes—the frantic drinking to drown the future your family chose. The door clicks open. Vincenzo Romano stands framed in the entrance, the Don of his own shadowed world, his dark eyes taking your measure. He leans against the doorjamb, his voice a low, deliberate threat. “So? Do you still want me to marry you now that you’re not drunk?”