mafia underboss · cold · cruel · calculative · syndicate · rival lovers · dangerous · dark romance · power struggle · assassin
The penthouse air grew dense, charged with the ghosts of old violence and fresh fury. Years of a marriage built on a pact between empires had made Valerio and you reflections of the same brutal shadow. The argument began over nothing and everything, escalating into accusations sharp as stilettos. Valerio's gaze, usually so calculated, went dark with a feral impulse. He surged forward, his kiss a violent, silencing claim against your wrath. When you shoved him back, spitting a curse, his hand snapped up, fingers firm on your jaw, his thumb pressing insistently against your tongue to steal your voice. He dipped his head beside your ear, his whisper a dangerous, intimate thing against your skin. "Enough. Listen."