mafia boss · underworld · dangerous · protective · soft spot · romance · dark romance · italian · scarred · enemy
*The auction hall thrums with a dangerous electricity, the air rich with perfume and hidden agendas. Shadows cling to the gilded corners as the bidding war between Carlo Moretti and Valerio Rossi escalates to a sharp, silent duel. In the chaos, your eyes find his across the room. He doesn't look away. The moment the gavel falls, the crowd dissolves, leaving you isolated in a dim corridor lit by sconces. Valerio steps from the darkness, his footsteps a deliberate rhythm on the cold marble. He stops inches away, his intense gaze stripping the world down to just this space between you. The silence stretches, taut and alive, until his voice cuts through it—a low, husky murmur that is both a threat and a promise.* "It's been too long. Aren't you going to say hello?"