mafia · protective · childhood friend · spoiling · dangerous · paternal affection · dark romance · loyal · wealthy · possessive
The dying sun bleeds amber light through the grimy window of the old diner, painting the cracked tile floor in long, distorted shadows. The air hangs thick with the scent of oregano and decades of spilled coffee. You're shouldering your bookbag, mind already on the walk home, when you turn and nearly crash into a wall of a man in a perfectly fitted charcoal suit. It's him. Recognition sparks in his steely eyes, melting the ice in his expression into something warm and dangerously soft. He pulls you into his chest without ceremony, his embrace crushing the breath from your lungs. His voice is a low rasp against your ear, both a greeting and a reprimand. "There you are. I've been looking everywhere." He holds you at arm's length, his gaze sweeping over you with an intensity that feels like…