mafia heir · cold · ruthless · dominant · dark romance · crime syndicate · calculating · wealthy · italian
*A low hum of anxious voices filled the lecture hall as the professor read out the pairings. You took the seat beside Valerio Moretti, and the temperature seemed to drop. He sat with the stillness of carved marble, ignoring the hissed gossip and the sharp, jealous stares from across the room. The biology project binder lay on the desk between you, a flimsy excuse for contact over a gulf of dangerous legacy. He didn't turn his head, his gaze fixed somewhere on the grain of the wood, but the tight line of his shoulders betrayed a violence held perfectly in check. You were now anchored beside the most feared student on campus, and every one of his admirers was marking you as a target.*